Bank of America Global Card Access

I am totally confused.  I can link credit cards to QuickBooks and update them routinely.  Why do I need to install this additional software and add apps to my system?

Allow me to clear the confusion about QuickBooks Online Banking, trevecpa.

You don't need to install additional software to bring your transactions from Bank of America Global Access into your company file. Web Connector is only used if you're adding or connecting a third-party app in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Using Web Connect is the other option for bringing banking transactions into the program. The first one is Direct Connect, which is what you only need to provide your banking details, and transactions are automatically downloaded. WebConnect was added because there are banks that do not support Direct Connect just like Bank of America. 

This means that you'll start with downloading your transactions from the BOA's website. Then, import them using these steps:

1. Go to your bank's website and download your statement as a .QBO file.
2. Click the Banking menu, select Bank Feeds, then choose Import Web Connect Files.
3. Select the .QBO file you saved, then select Open.
4. When asked to select your bank account:
   • Use a QuickBooks account that exists if the account you're importing transactions into is already set up in QuickBooks.
   • Create a new QuickBooks account if the account you're importing transactions into isn't in QuickBooks yet. 
5. Choose Continue. You'll see a dialog box telling you that the data has been successfully read into QuickBooks. Select OK.
6. Go to the Bank Feeds Center to review your transactions.

Additional details about both options and online banking in general are discussed here: Download Bank Feed Transactions in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if the transactions from Bank of America are already imported in QuickBooks. You can also ask more questions if you still need more assistance from us.

This is a manual solution that requires the user to download data from BofA and then to upload the data to QBDT.  This is not what I am looking for.  I am looking for a link to BofA that will either automatically refresh or refresh on request by the user and transfer the Credit Card info directly to QBDT just like CCs in Quicken do.  Bank 'of America no longer supports Direct Connect but does support Web Access.

There is another issue with BofA Global Card Access.  GCA is the parent account for all the company employees daughter credit cards.  I don't know yet, if the GCA parent accounts has all the activity and QBDT only needs to talk to that one account or do we have to link all the daughter cards to QBDT.  I hope to talk with BofA shortly and they can help answer that question. 

Hi RoseJillB,

I have a question which is at the end of this story:

I worked with Bank of America Global Card Access to do as you suggested.  I think we should publish the steps for the global access program, so users know the steps to take to download all transactions from the master account.  I downloaded a web connect file, saved the file to my hard drive, opened QB, went to the downloaded file and clicked to open.  The bank feed dialog box automatically appeared.  GREAT! And it looks like the Bank of America GCA account is linked. I think.

But - 392 transactions are waiting to be added to QB. Why is QB waiting?  I opened the tab to the left (shown below) and you see below that the FIACardServices Account Customer ID is all zeros. The QB emblem is near this area.  Do I need to go through QB back to the bank with our Intuit account open to get this number?  What is this number and is it the reason the transactions are waiting?  Thanks for your help!

The company with which I am working is still not able to use Bank of America Web Access.  This is because if we go through the QB routine to set up the accounts, the company is asked to log into the Intuit web site.  They cannot do this as it gives Intuit access to extremely sensitive transactions - as is discussed in lengthy comments on this site.  Is there any solution to this issue?

The company with which I am working is still not able to use Bank of America Web Access.  This is because if we go through the QB routine to set up the accounts, the company is asked to log into the Intuit web site.  They cannot do this as it gives Intuit access to extremely sensitive transactions - as is discussed in lengthy comments on this site.  Is there any solution to this issue?

Are we relegated to going to the bank and downloading over 50 accounts of data one at a time every month, because Intuit thinks they have a privilege to view our transactions?

I appreciate you for getting back to us, trevecpa.

You're correct. You'll have to download the transactions manually. Once you connect your Bank of America account, the system will download them for you automatically.

Once you connect the account, the information and privacy are protected. You may read through this article for more details: Privacy Statement.

After downloading the transactions, you can categorize them to ensure they're on the correct accounts.

I'll be around if you have other concerns with categorizing or the privacy statement.

I am a little more savvy now and need some clarification.

To link the B of A GCA master account for future automatic downloads, I need to set up the CC account, go to B of A created a download file and bring it into QB.  Once that is done I can go back to set up the bank feeds and link QB account to the B of A GCA account.  Then I will be able to update QB via the link and not have to use log into B of A create the download, etc.  Is this correct?

Hello there, @trevecpa.

Right now, QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) doesn’t have the option to directly connect your Bank of America account to the application. This means that the option to sync your bank transactions to automatically download is unavailable.

To get these into your bank feeds, you’ll need to follow the Web Connect alternatives to manually bring them into your file.

To start importing your transactions via Web Connect, you can follow the steps below: 

1. Go to the Banking menu, and select Bank Feeds.
2. Click the Import Web Connect Files.
3. Select the .QBO file you saved. Then, select Open.
4. When asked to select your bank account:
• If the account you're importing transactions into is already set up in QuickBooks, select Use a QuickBooks account that exists.
• Choose Create a new QuickBooks account if the account you're importing transactions into isn't in QuickBooks yet.
5. Tap Continue and OK.
6. Go to the Bank Feeds Center to review your transactions.

Moreover, you can ask your financial institution to support a direct connection with QuickBooks. This way, you can import transactions seamlessly.

Additionally, I’ve added some resources you can look into to keep you guided in adding and matching transactions and reconciling your account:

• Add and match Bank Feed transactions in QuickBooks Desktop
• Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Desktop

I’m always here whenever you need my help. You can tap the reply button or post your concerns here.