Bank Transactions

angelacct · ‎April 08, 2021

I am very confused about "adding" "categorizing" and/or "matching" transactions from the bank feed. Unfortunately, the more I try to learn about HOW to do this, the more questions I keep coming up with. Especially from the Accountant side.

How do you know if a "Matched" transaction is categorized right or not? Unless YOU were the one making the transactions in the first place, how do you know if they're categorized correctly or not? I realize some things will be at least somewhat obvious, but it terrifies me that if I do not categorize them correctly, a clients financial statements won't accurately depict their Profit/Loss, Income/Expenses, Assets, Liabilities, and Equity. Yikes! Plus, I really don't want to have to keep calling them and ask if they remember specific trans. from 3 weeks ago, or for $X amt. That could get time consuming and messy. So...
Is there a way to "track" a transaction all the way back in QB's to see exactly where it came from? For instance, track it back to a customer invoice or to a vendor bill or expense? (So I don't have to call and ask)
If there's no way to track a trans. back to where it originated, then (a) How do you know when to "Add" a transaction into QB's? (b) Couldn't there end up being multiples of the same trans. if you "Add" it and it was already in QB's, or your client adds it from their side at a later date?
How to find those "Multiple" trans. combined into one on the bank feed?

Example:

Bank feed shows a check for $305.50, but there's no "match" because it was actually

$200 billable expense and
$105.50 job materials expense;

They were both purchased at the same vendor, therefore only one check for the total amount of $305.50. HOW can you track that back in QuickBooks to know that?

I believe it would end up being a split transaction

(1) for billable exp. $200 to Customer, and
(2) job materials exp. $105.50.

However, unless I was the one who had written that check out on that particular date, I'd have No Way of knowing that.

Is there any help for me, or am I just completely lost? :)

Please. Any and all assistance, recommendations, and advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Rasa-LilaM · ‎April 08, 2021

It’s nice to see you in the Community, angelacct.

Allow me to share some information about adding, matching, and categorizing transactions. Then, guide you on how to handle these tasks in the online program.

QuickBooks Online scans your bank data looking for matches, rules, and recognized transactions. It will recommend a specific category for the entries.

This is the account the program wants to categorize them into. However, you can always change the category type and put it in a different account. For more information on how to manage your downloaded entries efficiently, check out the following article: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

For your other concerns, you can run the Transaction List by Customer and Transaction List by Vendor Reports to track where the entry came from (customer or vendor).

Here’s how:

Tap the Reports menu on the left panel and enter Transaction List by Customer and Transaction List by Vendor Report in the search field.
Click the Report period drop-down and set the date range you wish to view the statement.
Press Run report to apply the changes.

I'm adding a sample screenshot for visual reference.

When the online system looks for matches, it reviews recorded transactions that might be a match. You can also click the Find Match button to manually find the entries.

We have collected resources that contain tips and screens on how to handle online banking activities.

Don’t hesitate to visit the Community again if you have other concerns. I’ll get back to help and make sure you’re taken care of.

View solution in original post

Rasa-LilaM · ‎April 08, 2021

It’s nice to see you in the Community, angelacct.

Allow me to share some information about adding, matching, and categorizing transactions. Then, guide you on how to handle these tasks in the online program.

QuickBooks Online scans your bank data looking for matches, rules, and recognized transactions. It will recommend a specific category for the entries.

This is the account the program wants to categorize them into. However, you can always change the category type and put it in a different account. For more information on how to manage your downloaded entries efficiently, check out the following article: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

For your other concerns, you can run the Transaction List by Customer and Transaction List by Vendor Reports to track where the entry came from (customer or vendor).

Here’s how:

Tap the Reports menu on the left panel and enter Transaction List by Customer and Transaction List by Vendor Report in the search field.
Click the Report period drop-down and set the date range you wish to view the statement.
Press Run report to apply the changes.

I'm adding a sample screenshot for visual reference.

When the online system looks for matches, it reviews recorded transactions that might be a match. You can also click the Find Match button to manually find the entries.

We have collected resources that contain tips and screens on how to handle online banking activities.

Don’t hesitate to visit the Community again if you have other concerns. I’ll get back to help and make sure you’re taken care of.

angelacct · ‎April 10, 2021

Rasa-LilaM,

Thanks so much. The tips & links were extremely helpful. I learned about the Audit Log while digging deeper into one of the links you included. So, between printing the "Reports" and the "Audit Log" I had no problem tracking transactions and therefore Categorizing them with confidence. Yippie!

In the end, there was only one transaction I could not categorize because I could not find the transaction anywhere... It was recorded as "Uncategorized Income" by QB and because I couldn't find a "match" I was going to "Add" it as a new transaction. But then I realized I kept seeing an "Expense" transaction for the exact amount, on the exact date, to the same "Payee" each time I tried to "Find a Match." So...Questions of course

Does this mean it was entered into QB's wrong? (Expense instead of Income) OR
Is it a New transaction and should be "Added"? OR
Is it a "Refund or Allowance" for the Expense already in QB's? OR
Should I just wait a couple of days until more transactions are entered and check for a "Match" again?

Thanks again. I really appreciate all the help. Have a great day. :)

LieraMarie_A · ‎April 10, 2021

Thanks for following up this thread, @angelacct. I'd be happy to answer all your questions at hand.

First, one way to verify if it's an income or expense is how it is shown from your bank feeds. If it's a positive amount or showing under the Received column, then it falls to the income account. Otherwise, it should be an expense if it's a negative amount or showing under Spent.

Second, if you're able to verify that it's not an existing transaction, you can add it to start a brand new transaction for you.

Find a downloaded transaction with the Add option in the Action column.
Select the transaction to expand the view.
Review the recommended Category. This is the account QuickBooks wants to categorize the transaction into. For example, for a gas expense, QuickBooks may suggest categorizing it under Travel Expenses. You can always change the category and put it in a different account.
Change the vendor or customer as needed.
If you think you already entered this transaction into QuickBooks, select the Find record option. Review the list of possible matches and select one if you find it.
When everything looks good, select Add.

To know more about matching downloaded transactions, you can check out this article: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Third, it could be a refund or credits from a vendor. You can check out this guide for the detailed steps: How to enter a refund in QuickBooks.

Lastly, you can wait for a couple of days and review for a match again. I've included an article that will help you in matching your transactions: Tips for Working in QuickBooks Online’s Bank Feeds: Matching Transactions.

I'm always here if you need any more help categorizing your transactions in QuickBooks Online. I look forward to being able to help you again in the future. Have a great day!

Topics

Training

Community

Resources

Bank Transactions