A bug in QBO: category pulldown broken in Banking/downloaded transactions

Hello there, @DougF. I appreciate you sharing detailed information about the list of categories that aren't showing when you create a transaction in the Banking menu. Let me share some troubleshooting steps to fix the bug you've experienced.

The unusual behavior of the QBO system, such as categories not showing in the drop-down, can be attributed to the browser collecting excessive data from frequent page visits over time. To address this issue, you can try performing some troubleshooting steps to isolate the problem.

Let's try to access your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account through an incognito window to determine if the issue is related to your browser.

Here are the shortcut keys:

• Google Chrome: press Ctrl + Shift + N  
• Mozilla Firefox: press Ctrl + Shift + P
• Safari: press Command + Shift + N

If it works, you’ll have to go back to your regular browser and clear the cache to improve the program's performance. Using other supported browsers is a good alternative too. 

Moreover, there are times the system auto-categorize transactions with similar bank details from one category to another once you've activate the Enable suggested categorization. To confirm this, you may follow the steps below:

1. Click the Transactions tab.
2. Select Bank transactions.
3. Click the small Gear icon and uncheck the Enable suggested categorization field.
   

I will share some resources that will guide you on how to categorize your transactions and set up bank rules in QuickBooks:

• Categorize online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online
• How to set and use banking rules for downloaded transactions.

I'm looking forward to having this sorted out. Feel free to leave a reply if you need further assistance in categorizing your bank transactions. The Community team always has your back. Have a good one.

I was on QBO chat for 2.5 hours and tried the incognito thing with the Edge browser (I use Chrome) and there was no difference. And I just did it myself (with Ctrl-Shift-N) and there was no difference. The pulldown list behavior didn't change. It was still broken.

I know how to set up rules and I have quite a few which work just fine. The problem of bad pulldown lists is orthogonal to rules. Whatever the rule sets the category to is irrelevant; the pulldown list should allow me to modify it.

We appreciate you getting back here in the thread, @DougF.

Before we dig deeper into your concern, know that this isn't the experience we'd want you to have when using QuickBooks Online (QBO). Upon reading through your initial post, a possible reason why it occurs on your end is that the Enable suggested categorization option is active on your Banking page, causing it to show a list of categories or a single category. You'll want to disable or uncheck the feature to get through your current situation. We can write down the steps to get you going:

1. Access your QuickBooks Online company.
2. On the left navigational bar, go to the Banking tab.
3. Click the Gear icon beside the Export icon.
4. In the Transaction details section, uncheck Enable suggested categorization.

Once done, you can perform the browsing troubleshooting method provided by the previous representative to ensure you're starting with a clean slate when accessing QBO. If the issue persists, it's best to contact our Customer Care Team so they can check your account and conduct further investigation to determine the root cause of the problem. See this page for more information: QuickBooks Online Support.

In addition, we've added this set of articles to help you learn more about reconciling an account, fixing a reconciliation, and ensuring your data stays accurate inside the program:

• Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks.
• Fix issues at the end of a reconciliation in QuickBooks Online.
• Run reports in QuickBooks Online.
• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online.

@DougF, please let us know how it goes. The Community Team is 24/7, and we're determined to help you address this issue as soon as possible. You can also visit us anytime if you have any additional queries related to the program. We've got you covered. Take care!

A similar thing is happening to me, but it's not in QBO, it's in the 2023 Mac desktop version of Quickbooks. When I download transactions from the bank, and attempt to fill the categories, it automatically chooses categories for me always starting with the first letter I start with. As a for instance, I might want to input the category "PersonaL', and as soon as I type the P, QB propagates with Photo Expense, and then I have to delete all letters other than the P, and start again. This is happening with every category. I have tried rebuilding QB, and it doesn't help.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

I'm happy to assist you with showing your QuickBooks Desktop dropdown feature on banking, @Joolk2. Let me share more information.

When categorizing transactions in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac, please know that the program will automatically suggest the first category from your Chart of Accounts (COA) that matches the initial letter you type. For example, typing the letter "P" will suggest "Photo Expense" if it’s the first "P" category in your COA.

To ensure you select the correct account, especially when multiple accounts start with the same letter, I recommend typing the full name of the account. For instance, if you need to select "Personal Expense," typing word "Personal" will help QuickBooks accurately suggest the right account. Additionally, you can use the arrow keys to navigate through the suggested accounts quickly.

Moreover, let me share this article to help you with reconciling: Reconcile accounts in QuickBooks for Mac.

Keep me posted if you still have questions about your banking category. Have a great day, and take care always.

This did not help me. My QB version is up to date, and when I click on help, and chat it the link is broken. I called a couple of days ago and because I'm not an admin, no one could help me.

Thanks for joining this thread, Joolk2. I appreciate your detailed information.

If you're unable to reach support while using QuickBooks, you can get in touch with them through our website.

Here's how:
 

1. Go to our Contact Us page.
2. In the Which product is your question about? drop-down list, choose QuickBooks for Mac.
3. Use your available text box to explain what you need help with.
4. Select Continue.
5. Proceed with the presented steps. You may be asked to sign in to your Intuit Account.
   
   

Additionally, our Customer Care team's direct contact number can be found in our Contact QuickBooks support article.

In regard to needing to be made into an admin, Intuit Accounts only have one primary admin per company. They can also have a payroll administrator. If you're unable to sign in as the primary admin, you can send a request to our Account Protection team to allow a transfer of your primary contact of the file.

If your request is approved, Intuit will let you know when the primary admin and/or contact role(s) have been transferred to you. Once you've received confirmation, you'll be able to sign in with your email address you provided the next time you use QuickBooks.

After you've been granted access as your company's primary admin user, you can refer to the steps below for how to change your primary administrator:
 

1. In the top menu bar, go to Company, My Company, then click Manage Your Account.
2. Sign in with your Intuit Account credentials and scroll down to the Primary Contact section.
3. Hit Change.
4. Specify a new primary contact from your list of contacts on the account, then select Save and Close.

I've also included a detailed resource about changing primary administrators which may come in handy moving forward: Transfer your primary admin role

Please feel welcome to send a reply if there's any questions. Have a wonderful Friday!