Matching Banking / Credit Card Entries to Bill

Hi there, Bookeeping101.

Welcome back here in QuickBooks Community. I'll provide information and steps to ensure that you're able to properly match your transactions in QuickBooks Desktop.

It could be the message you receive " To match a downloaded transaction to one in your Quickbooks you first need to select a transaction in your Quickbooks" is caused by unchecking the box option beside the Status column from your downloaded entries. That said, I suggest making sure that you're able to checkmark the box. And, choose the drop-down arrow in the Action column. From there, you'll have the option to choose Match to existing transactions. Once done, please follow the steps below to finish the process.

1. Choose the matching transaction. Then, select Save and add to register.
2. If the amount doesn’t match, select Resolve to split entries to balance the remaining amount. You can also add resolving split entries in an existing posted transaction for deposits and payments.
3. If you’re matching a money-out transaction to existing bills, edit the amounts under the To Pay column to indicate full or partial payments against bills.
4. Hit Save and add to register to add the transaction to your books.

For additional information, you can click this article: Add and match Bank Feed transactions in QuickBooks Desktop.

On the other hand, the paid bill shows as a "Bill Pmt-Cheque" type because the payment method used when the time bill is going to pay is a Check. With this, you can go to the Vendor Center and locate the bill payment to verify the payment method used. 

Here's how:

1. Click the Vendors menu at the top. Then, choose the Vendor Center.
2. Select the Vendor tab. Then, type the name of the vendor in the search icon.
3. From the Vendor Information, find the bill payment. And, you're able to verify the payment method used. 

Please refer to this article to see different Bank Feeds errors in QuickBooks Desktop and how to fix them: Fix OL and OLSU Bank Feeds errors in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if there's anything else you need help with. I'm always here to back you up. Keep safe!

Than you ChristieAnn.  My version of Quickbooks Desktop Pro (2020) looks different than what you're showing me.  

On the Banking Feed screen, I don't see any checkboxes in the Downloaded Transaction field (attached photo).  Does it work differently in this version?

With regards to the Vendor Information screen, it does show as a Bill Pmt-Cheque (attached photo).  I'm nearly positive that I chose Direct Debit from the Bank Account (hense the Num field shows Debit), but I would like to double check.  Can I go ahead and delete the Bill Payment from the Bank Feed screen to redo it (despite the warning given) or will it cause issues?  Is there any other way to change it after it's been posted?

Thanks again for your help,

Here's the other screenshot, the reply seems to only allow me to post one at at time.

Hi Bookeeping101,

Thanks for those screenshots. I can explain why what you're seeing looks different than what my colleague's did and can help you with matching your transactions in the QuickBooks Desktop banking feed.

To start, the reason your options looked different is because you have a Canadian version of the software. Your question about matching the entry to the bill from the bank feed ended up posted to the US QuickBooks Community forum. That's okay, my colleague alerted me, and I'm here to help you now.

Looking at your screenshot of the banking feed itself, the first thing that stands out to me is that you've got a blank line selected in the top section and then nothing selected in the bottom section. To match in the bank feed, you'll want to make sure that the appropriate transactions from each section are selected. Essentially, make sure that the two you're trying to match are chosen. Here's an example from a test file, and I've added a blue outline around the two transactions in question to highlight them further.

When you've got one transaction from each section selected, you can then click the Match button and you'll be good to go. Give that a shot and let me know if it makes a difference.

If that's what you've already been doing and you're still getting that message, I recommend contacting QuickBooks Desktop support outside of the QuickBooks Community so that a member of our team can go over this with you in detail to figure out what's going on. You can call 1-833-317-2226 and follow the prompts for QuickBooks Desktop to reach someone. Our chat support team can also help. The link is available in the following article, along with support hours: Intuit QuickBooks Desktop software support policies

Wishing you the best!

Thank you.  So the Matching function is only for items you want to add by hand?  What I am trying to do is match to an existing open Bill.  How should I do that?

I only seem to have access to the US Community Board.  I see this error when I try to access the Canadian Community Board to post.  How can I get this fixed so I can get the appropriate help?

Thank you,

Thanks for sending the screenshot for what you see when you try to access the Canadian QuickBooks Community. I see that it looks like you're trying to post to the QuickBooks News section of the forum, which is why you're getting that message. In this case, you'll want to use a different section of the forum for your posts. Here are the steps.

1. Go to the Canadian Community Forum.
2. Scroll to the Get help with QuickBooks section.
3. Choose QuickBooks Q&A.
4. Select a topic area other than QuickBooks News.
5. Click Start a discussion.

Give that a try and let me know if you get the same error. If so, I can bring it up to a Community moderator to see what's going on. Don't worry about reposting this question about the bank feeds, though. I can help you here as I'm a member of the Canadian support team.

As for matching your bill to your transaction in the banking feed, I've just done some further research and see now that your situation will need a few different steps. For matching, the program wants to match against a payment transaction rather than an open bill. That being said, you can still match your bill payment from your feed to your bill in QuickBooks. Here are those steps.

1. Select the bill payment from the Downloaded transactions section.
2. Click Add One to QuickBooks.
3. Choose As a payment for a previously created bill, using the Pay Bills window and click OK to match to an open bill.
4. Select the bill in question and verify all other details.
5. Click Pay Selected Bills to match the payment.

That'll create the match for you without having to manually create a bill payment. Try that out and let me know if that gets you back on track. I'll keep an eye out for a response from you.

Thank you, Laura!

Those instructions work for getting to the Canadian forum.  Previously I was going to the "Community" header and selecting "Ask the Community" in the drop down.  Seems to work on the US site, but not the Canadian.  

I have matched them following your recommended process before, it works.  I just wondered if I was missing something more  (I guess I'm not!).

Related question:  My matched transactions are all coming in as "Bill Pmt-Cheque" Types on the Bill Tracker screen (but the Number says "Debit".  I just tried "Deleting Bill Pmt-Cheque" in the top section of the Bank Feed to redo it to confirm I hadn't left it as a cheque type during the matching process.  While it's deleted from the top and shows as unpaid on the Bill Tracker screen, it doesn't show back up in the Downloaded Transaction table so I can rematch it.  How do I get it back?

Since you were so helpful here, I have another live discussion regarding issues with getting the Banking Feed to update.  Not sure if this is also different because I'm in the Canadian version and maybe you can help me out?

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/banking/re-updating-bank-feed-issues/01/749397/hig...

Thank you, that worked.

So am I correct in understanding that once an entry is matched that there is no way to undo or edit it without the banking entry being deleted and needed to be reentered manually?  I have to admit, sometimes I need to correct things :S  I'm used to Quickbooks Online where if you unmatch something, it simply returns to your "For Review" list on your banking page (which is pretty helpful and a good reminder of what is still outstanding).  

On a related note, is there anyway to "Exclude" banking entries from the "Downloaded Transaction" screen if you've deemed them not necessary (ex: I'm moving my books from platforms or between bookkeepers and some of the starting data is irrelevant to me as it should be captured in prior year).  Again, Quickbooks Online has the "Excluded" section of the banking page where items can be parked at anytime so they're not constantly clogging up your to dos, but are still there if they need to be reviewed at anytime.  

That should hopefully be the last question on this topic.  Thanks again for your help,

I'm happy to be able to assist! I know exactly the features you're talking about in QuickBooks Online when it comes to undoing a match from the Categorized section, working with the For Review section, and being able to match again. Those definitely are really handy to have, and I appreciate why you'd be looking for them in QuickBooks Desktop as well.

QuickBooks Desktop works differently in this regard and those features aren't currently available. Depending on what you need to change on the transaction, you may be able to make those changes without deleting them, even if it's been matched. For instance, on a matched transaction, you can still change the date and the reference number details for instance. To change more significant details like the vendor name or something like that, however, deleting the transaction is in order.

For times where you do want to redownload the bank statement for the feed instead of recreating a transaction manually, I've been doing more research and here's something you can consider since there isn't an Exclude button like in QuickBooks Online. When you download a set of transactions, the program groups them into a statement in the Bank Feed Centre. If you were to download a statement a second time, it would just mean you have two copies of it. What you can do with the second copy is manage the transactions you'd like from it, click Done,  then Yes on the window that wants you to confirm you're finished, and then move on.

Unlike in QuickBooks Online, you won't have a feed of tons of duplicate transactions sitting there and cluttering things up. It would just be the duplicate statement that you can ignore. It shouldn't impact your books negatively to have the second copy there.

All the same, this is another fantastic opportunity for feedback. Feel free to use those same steps I outlined earlier to share with the team about what you'd like to see with the options in the banking feeds.

I hope this helps. :)

How do I download a second statement from the same account?  It just seems to update the existing statement every time I go online and download the transactions from my bank website again. 

And should I ever be using the "delete statement" button?

And I seem to be having issues where step three on the below list doesn't occur.  It goes directly to an "Enter Credit Card Charges" window without first prompting to ask if I've like to add as a payment for a previously created bill.  This is why I was so confused in the first place on how to match to existing bills from the banking screen.  Why does it sometimes give me the option but not always?

1. Select the bill payment from the Downloaded transactions section.
2. Click Add One to QuickBooks.
3. Choose As a payment for a previously created bill, using the Pay Bills window and click OK to match to an open bill.
4. Select the bill in question and verify all other details.
5. Click Pay Selected Bills to match the payment.

Let me help you today, Bookeeping101.

The As a payment for a previously created bill, using the Pay Bills window option will appear if a vendor has an open bill. 

On the other hand, you can select Download Transaction to get second statements from your bank. This opens a browser window to your bank's website where you need to sign in and download the Web Connect file.

You can also do it outside of QuickBooks Desktop. Let me show you how:

1. Open a web browser and go to your bank’s website.
2. Sign in to your bank account using your normal process.
3. Download your transactions as a QuickBooks Web Connect (.qbo) file.
4. Once you have the Web Connect file, follow the steps to import it into QuickBooks Desktop.

Please know that every bank has a different method for downloading QuickBooks Web Connect files. If you're not sure how to do it, visit your bank's website and look for their steps. If you can't find any, reach out to your bank for help.

Let me know if you need anything else about matching transactions in QuickBooks Desktop. I'll be right here to help you.

There seems to occasionally be a glitch then, because I made the bill and then went to the banking screen to go and match it and it didn't give me that option.  I'll try shutting the program down and reopening it next time to see if that solves it.  I was eventually able to match it by doing it in the reverse (selecting Pay Bill on the Bill Tracker screen and then having it match on the Bank Feed screen).

Where do I find "Download Transaction"?  I'm in the Canadian version; unfortunately I posted this originally on the wrong board and have fixed my mistake moving forward for all future posts.  Only see three buttons on the Bank Feed Screen: Go Online (which updates the existing statement with new entries), Review Statement (which opens it) and Delete.  

If I Delete a Statement, does it keep all of the work that was done and added to Quickbooks or will there be some impact?

Hi Bookeeping101. Glad to hear from you again! I wouldn't want you to continue working with a product that's glitching. My goal is to assist you so you can reap the amazing benefit of using QuickBooks. Is the program working normally after restarting it? Deleting a statement can affect your balances. Is there a reason you're looking at deleting a statement?

I'll reply here when I find another instance with an open bill that it's not giving me the option to match under "Add One to Quickbooks".  It's happened to be a few times in the last two weeks (I just transitioned from Quickbooks Online at the start of this fiscal year).

In the messages above, I was inquiring about the ability to "Exclude" (term from Quickbooks Online) banking records from the statement that I know I do not need.  In this case, it's because they belong to items in the prior fiscal year with a previous bookkeeper (but they overlap with dates of some entries I do need).  I'd rather not see them ever time I open the statement moving forward, a nice tidy list of what is still outstanding would be preferred!  The recommendation above was to create a second copy of the statement, but I can't figure out how to do that - it just keeps updating the first copy with new transactions.  My second thought was deleting the current statement if everything I need to deal with is done and creating a new statement only with the dates I need moving forward.  Can you tell if these are good options or if something else exists that I should be doing instead?

I see what you're saying. I appreciate you providing a detailed explanation. The steps with the "Download transaction" option are based on the US version of QuickBooks. You'd need to download the transactions again from your bank and here's an article which shows you how. You can also delete the current statement as long the right transactions are recorded correctly in QuickBooks and from here you can also import other transactions if you'd like. Keep in mind that you'll have to download these transactions from your bank. Let me know if you have questions.