Skip to main content

Get 50% OFF QuickBooks for 3 months*

Buy now
Switch to QuickBooks and 70% off for 3 Months
Talk to Sales: 877-683-3280
Hours
Mon - Fri, 5am - 6pm PST
Sat - Sun, 7am - 4pm PST
Product support & help
Need help signing in?
C
coventgardenmartin
July 17, 2021
Question

Paypal Transactions Downloaded Have Mostly Empty Description Fields

  • July 17, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 1 view

I've just joined QBO and have multiple bank accounts. I've attached them all and downloaded transactions going back to the 1st of the year. When I look at TRANSACTIONS / BANKING and select the Paypal bank I see all the transactions but the DESCRIPTION field for more than 80% of them is blank. The remaining 20% are normal and say Uber or Airbnb or Google. And when I click the gear and add Payee or Show Detail I get Paypal for all of them and the detail is always a long transaction ID like: Transaction ID: 3YS86149WH5095338https://www.paypal.com/activity/payment/3YB8614FFS5095338 I have to literally click every one of these transactions to be taken to Paypal to see it says something like: Seller: KEY FOOD GROCERY STORE  etc. This should be in the description fields so I can make rules and easily identify the purchase but this is nowhere to be found in these 80% of the transactions.

 

Did I import them improperly in the initial bank setup of QBO? Should I be seeing these seller names in the transactions like I do for all of the other accounts I have on QBO? They are formatted slightly differently but you can see who the business is and can make a rule. What am I doing wrong? Or need to do?

 

Desperate for some help. Thanks! 

1 reply

MichelleBh
MichelleBh
Level 8
July 17, 2021

I appreciate you for uploading your PayPal data into QuickBooks, @coventgardenmartin.

 

I have here some troubleshooting steps with your PayPal transactions in QuickBooks Online (QBO). Thus, you can see the appropriate transaction description without a moment's delay. 

 

Missing details or data in QBO are usually the results of outdated or corrupt cache files in your web browser. Not to worry, you can clear them in just a few easy steps. To begin, I'd suggest logging in to your QBO account through incognito. This way, you can check if it's a browser-related issue. 

 

Here are the keyboard shortcuts:

  • Ctrl + Shift + N (Google Chrome)
  • Ctrl + Shift + P (Firefox)
  • Control + Option + P (Safari)
  • Ctrl + Shift + P (Microsoft Edge)

 

Once logged in, re-check the description of your transaction on the Banking page to verify if it's already performing well. If that works, you'll want to clear the cache of your regular browser. Doing this will force QuickBooks to load a fresh copy of everything on the screen and help to restore those missing descriptions. In addition, using another supported browser is a great decision too. 

 

If the issue persists, I'd recommend contacting PayPal support. They have tools to review your account settings and find a way to include the transaction description while integrating. This way, you see the description within QuickBooks automatically. Also, the transactions being downloaded to QBO are dependent on what the financial institution provided.

 

Once everything is in order, you can now categorize and reconcile your PayPal account whenever you're ready. Then review your chart of accounts to track all the data you've entered into the system. 

 

Feel easy to visit these articles below the frequently asked questions about importing PayPal transactions and other related topics. 

 

 

Should you have any other concerns or questions about PayPal data, please don't hesitate to get back to me. I'm more than happy to help you. Stay safe.

C
coventgardenmartinAuthor
July 17, 2021

Thanks so much for your response. I logged into incognito mode and the issue is still there. I've attached a screen capture.

 

Are you suggesting my next step is to contact Paypal support?

 

Since I've only reconciled a few transaction, can I delete the entire Paypal account and all the transactions and begin anew? Would that also be a possible working solution? There are hundreds of transactions downloaded and if all of them are "corrupted" I don't see how any Paypal support solution would affect already downloaded transactions.

JessT
JessTModerator
Moderator
July 17, 2021

Thank you for the screenshot, coventgardenmartin.

 

I think what MichelleBh tried to say is that we have no control over what data PayPal provides. That’s why she suggested contacting their Support team to check if there’s an option to include the description or bank details in all transactions. Let me continue to help you with this.

 

On the other hand, I also like the idea of ​​restarting and re-downloading your transactions. However, I cannot guarantee a favorable result since we only rely on the details provided by PayPal feeds. And before doing that, we'll remove the existing transactions and the ones added to your books to avoid duplicates. We won't necessarily delete the PayPal account, just the transactions.

 

  1. On the Banking page, go to the For review section.
  2. Select all transactions by placing a checkmark in their checkboxes.
  3. Choose the Exclude option.
  4. Go to the Categorized section.
  5. Select all added PayPal transactions and click Undo.
  6. Go to the Excluded tab.
  7. Select all PayPal transactions and click Delete.
  8. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

 

After removing all transactions, disconnect your PayPal account and then reconnect it back to be able to redownload the same list of transactions.
 

  1. On the Banking page, select the Edit (pencil) icon on the PayPal Bank account.
  2. Select Edit Settings.
  3. Select Disconnect PayPal.

 

Here are articles for your additional reference:

 

Let me know if you have additional questions about your PayPal transactions. I'll be more than happy to help you again. Take care!

Need QuickBooks guidance?
Log in to access expert advice and community support instantly.
Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement