I need to be able to upload transactions with their category and class already assigned

  Thanks for sharing your concern here in the Community, @bobbieme. I'll share further details to categorize bank transactions in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

When you download transactions from your bank into QuickBooks, it's essential to categorize them to ensure that they are assigned to the correct accounts. There are two ways to make this categorization. You can use spreadsheet sync or set up bank rules. Both methods will automatically fill in transactions downloaded from the bank.

Here's how to import data using Spreadsheet Sync:

1. Select Add and edit data in the Spreadsheet Sync panel.
2. In the Select Company dropdown, select the company data you want to add or edit.
3. In the Select Record Type dropdown, select a record template.
4. To download data from your QuickBooks Online Advance account, select Edit QuickBooks Record and Sync Back. 
5. Once you’ve added all the information, select Load Template to view the template and add or edit the data.
6. In the post? column, select Yes in the transactions that you want to import.
7. In the task panel, select Sync to QuickBooks. Then, select View Sync Details to see the number of line items that were successfully imported and any errors.

Alternatively, you can set up bank rules in QBO. Here's how:

1. Go to Settings, then select Rules.
2. Select the new rule.
3. Enter a name in the What do you want to call this rule? field.
4. From the Apply this to transactions that are dropdown, select Money in or Money out.
5. From the dropdown, select a bank or credit card account, or select All bank accounts.
6. Set the rules and conditions. You can set a single rule with up to five conditions. Set and include the following, then select + Add a condition.
7. In the Conditions section, choose whether the rule applies to the description, bank text, or amount. Then select Contains, Doesn't contain, or Is exactly to decide how QuickBooks applies the rules.
8. Select the settings for the rule. Select the transaction type, category, tags, and payee to apply.
9. Select Save.

You may refer to this article for further details: Set up bank rules to categorize online banking transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Furthermore, I've also attached this helpful resource to help reconcile your accounts so they always match your bank and credit card statements: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

That should keep you going today. Feel free to reach out if you have more banking queries in QuickBooks Online. Have a great day ahead.

MichaelaS,  Thank you for your response.

When I follow your directions for using the Spreadsheet Sync, when I reach step 3, you say "In the Select Record Type dropdown, select a record template".  This is where  I get lost.

I don't see a template that I can use to load bank or credit card transactions.

The templates listed to select are:

Invoices and Bills

Journal Entries

Purchase and Sales Receipts

Vendor and Customers

Chart of Accounts

Inventory Items

Classes and Departments

Time Activities

Estimates

Employees

Purchase Order

Is it possible for me to 'create' a new template?

Thanks for your help.

Hello there, @bobbieme.

Thank you for clarifying. Yes, you're correct that's the only option for using Spreadsheet Sync is for the list template and transaction template. I can see it's important to upload your bank or credit card transactions in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

You can upload bank and credit card transactions using a CSV file and manually categorize and add class to each transaction. 

Here's how to manually upload the transactions:

1. Go to Transactions, then select Bank Transactions.
2. Select the blue tile for the account you want to upload the transactions into.
3. Choose the Link account▼ dropdown, then select Upload from the file.
4. Select Drag and drop or select files and select the file you downloaded from your bank. Then, select Continue.
5. In the QuickBooks account▼ dropdown, select the account you want to upload the transactions into. Then, select Continue.
6. Follow the onscreen steps to match the columns on the file with the correct fields in QuickBooks. Then select Continue.
7. Select the transactions you like to import. Then select Continue.
8. Select Yes. Click Done.

Additionally, you can check out this article to view various guidelines to assist you in your online transactions' reconciliation process: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online

If you have any questions about uploading your bank or credit card transactions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm here to help you. Stay safe!

Thanks for the response.  But I must be missing something.  I tried to fill out a test file for the csv file, populating the class and category fields. but those were NOT imported.  It still asked my to review and select categories.   If I have to do all this one by one, I'll have to hire another person!

We hear your sentiments, @bobbieme. Let me share some info regarding the CSV file formats when uploading transactions.

You can upload CSVs with either the following 3-column or 4-column format. The 3-column format includes the Date, Description, and Amount columns. On the other hand, the 4-column format consists of the Date, Description, Credit, and Debit columns. Please note that these are the only columns that QuickBooks can handle in this order. For your reference, visit this article: Format CSV files in Excel to get bank transactions into QuickBooks.

Currently, the option to include the Class and Category in the columns is unavailable in QuickBooks Online (QBO). However, you can manually categorize your transactions and create classes. Also, you can set up bank rules to automatically categorize your bank transactions.

To help improve your experience with QBO, your valuable feedback goes directly to our product development team for review and consideration.

Here's how to send it:

1. Go to the Gear icon and choose Feedback.
2. Enter your comments or suggestions.
3. Click Next to submit.

Once you've successfully matched and categorized your transactions, you can reconcile your accounts to ensure they always match your bank and credit card statements. Check out this article for guidance: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

If you have any other concerns besides CSV file formats, feel free to reach out to us anytime. We're always here to help you in any way we can.

Yikes! I'm in the same place as the original poster, only trying to include information that will connect to the customer. Don't care if it is the email address, name, or anything that will allow us to quickly connect the transaction to the customer. I'm happy to manually do that in the matching stage but need the info there to eliminate the need to go back and cross reference each transaction. Tried adding it as the Check Number (a field that is listed as optional but matchable when uploading) but regardless of what I use (tried the transaction ID number, customer email, and customer name), the file doesn't actually upload anything when matched to a column in the csv file (and, very annoyingly, it doesn't give you any feedback for why it won't upload).