Paypal downloads showing incorrect description

(ok looks like I'm in)

Does anyone else have this problem? I download transactions from Paypal into Quickbooks using the bank link. The descriptions on the transactions as shown in QBO are sometimes incorrect. I am looking at a live example right now -- the description indicates a payment from a donor who did not donate until 8 days later. I'm simultaneously logged into Paypal and can see the transaction -- obviously for a different donor. 

Huge time suck on my side, getting faked out by incorrect descriptions -- makes it hard to match up sales receipts because I'm focused on the name in the download, which is incorrect. We like to thank our donors through paypal with a personalized letter (we are small enough that our donors like the personal touch).

I have no idea whether this is a QBO or paypal issue -- I know that if I call PP they will say (as they have in the past) call Intuit. The person from QBO support says they have seen this issue before.

I appreciate the additional details about your concern with the descriptions of PayPal transactions, FPCNS. They are hugely helpful for narrowing down exactly what the situation is.

Please note that the accuracy of your transaction information in Online Banking depends on the data provided by the financial institutions. It includes the names of the payees, accompanying memos, and descriptions of the downloaded transactions.

In addition to that, the information we receive from PayPal can differ depending on how it has been used in different situations. For example, the amount of detail we get can be influenced by various factors, such as the details provided by a customer when paying for an invoice.

The system simply shows the exact details once they're downloaded into the program. 

I checked our system for open alerts or investigations and I can't see anything related to incorrect descriptions for PayPal transactions at the moment. 

In this situation, I suggest contacting PayPal to inquire if there is any issue on their end that may be causing the discrepancy in names when downloading transactions.

Allow me to share these articles as well in case you need more resources when working with the Online Banking feature: 

• Exclude a Bank Transaction You Downloaded Into QuickBooks Online
• Use the Connect to PayPal app with QuickBooks Online

If you have any questions or need further assistance with your banking transactions in QBO or any general inquiries, please don't hesitate to post them in the Community, FPCNS. We are here to help and available whenever you need assistance.

Thanks. Like I said above, I am looking at a description that cannot exist -- identifying a donor as of a certain date when that donor did not donate until 8 days later!

I do not understand how you wrote that there are no open alerts when I reported one prior to you posting your message. Do you see my phone call in the alerts database which you are accessing? 

Tech support, as I mentioned above, said she would send me a case number and to follow up on Monday, but she did not send a case number, so I'm guessing that QBO has not logged my problem or my call at all.

I need QBO to go look at the interaction between QBO and paypal for this specific transaction and provide me a screenshot of the description line that actually passed from paypal. If the line is as QBO represents, then I can go back to paypal with the question, else, if i go back to paypal without any evidence, they will simply say it is a QBO problem. I have played this game before with QBO and paypal and investigation on my side, without the underlying documentation which QBO possesses and i am guessing tech support has not been trained to access, simply results in a giant time suck on my side without any resolution.

I completely understand how you feel about the incorrect description in the PayPal download and the missing case number, @suds1. I want to assure you that your concerns are valid, and we'll take them to management to make our customer service better.

It's possible that the issue of the missing case number in the PayPal download was either not logged or not communicated to you correctly. To keep you updated on the status of your case via email, I recommend contacting our QuickBooks Online Support team. They can add you to the list of affected users and review your previous interactions to check if there is an ongoing investigation linked to your case. 

To follow up with the QuickBooks Online Support team, please follow these steps:  

1. Sign in to your QuickBooks Online company.
2. Go to the Help icon.
3. Click the Search tab and select Contact Us.
4. Provide a summary of your concern and click Continue.
5. You can choose either to chat with us or have us call you.

Please be aware that I cannot directly access the alerts database, but I will work with our support team to ensure that they are aware of your concerns and are taking the necessary steps to assist you. 

Just in case you want more resources when working with the Online Banking feature, you may check out this article guide for more information: 
 

• Use the Connect to PayPal app with QuickBooks Online
• Exclude a Bank Transaction You Downloaded Into QuickBooks Online

If you have any further questions about transaction description in QuickBooks Online, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're always here to help you.

I've done so and will see if I can at least open a case on this issue. I've also put in a message to paypal support and have also posted in the paypal community to see if anyone else has dealt with this problem. Like I said, I have a live example sitting in front of me.

for my own reference: the original case number was 15108239798, which Quickbooks closed (unclear why).

Today 29 November 2023 Quickbooks opened a new case number 15108412270 

Paypal gave the standard response (go ask Quickbooks).

Also for my own reference: There is also a case number 15108258890, but I'm not sure what topic -- possibly the same question regarding incorrect descriptions of paypal activity.

From PP a few days ago 

It appears PayPal is utilizing the correct data on our end. To investigate whether PayPal is sending incorrect data to QBO, please request the request and response API logs from QBO. Based on the requests and responses they are making/receiving, we can better understand when the mix up is happening.

From PP today

There is not a problem I'm finding on our end, as the information is recorded properly in transaction and reporting portals. It is not protocol to escalate for further investigation of a non-issue, so I wouldn't be escalating just yet, lest the escalation case be closed right away. We do need to figure out what communications Quickbooks is receiving. Since the error you're finding is on the Quickbooks end, I'm afraid the burden of investigation is on Quickbooks. Since I do not have your Quickbooks account information or the insight into the issue as you do, please apply pressure to be escalated to the Quickbook developers, or reach out to the developers directly.

If I get a resolution to this, I will post in the community. Right now, the integrity of what is shown in Quickbooks as coming from PP is in serious doubt. Still, no idea whether the error is on the QBO side or the PP side. 

I wish there was a way the engineering teams at Paypal and Quickbooks could easily talk to each other.

Could someone from Quickbooks support possibly pick this up? Phone/chat support is refusing to assist, saying it is Paypal's problem, while Paypal (as I state above) says everything looks good on their end. Paypal is requesting that I act as the liaison between QB and PP on this issue. Their request is for certain API logs. I think the better solution is for QB engineers to talk to PP engineers, but it sounds like that can't happen. I am a poor go-between for software engineers.

Calling support now You are all set. Here is your case number: 15109135676

new case You are all set. Here is your case number: 15109136615

Tina