Why would a Batch Expenses csv import file that has the correct account name, cause QBO to throw an error

Hi Jennifer,

We'll help you check what's causing the error. However, we would need more details to understand the scenario better. So these expenses are bank transactions, right? Then, when you tried categorizing them, you selected the AMEX account from the Category field and that's causing the error?

On the other hand, I'm not seeing a screenshot in your post. Can you please try posting it again? You can edit your question to add it.

Thank you in advance.

Thank you, Jess.

I posted the question from QBO and it didn't give me an option to attach that screenshot. Now that it's in this forum, though, I have provided the image. See how it says, "We couldn't find a Payment Account with value AMEX?" However, directly below that you can see the drop-down box has AMEX as an option. When I use Const Ck (it's not showing in the drop-down in the image, but it can be seen in the transactions above) everything works fine, but for some reason QBO is not liking my AMEX payment account and I have a sneaking suspicion it's being picky about Bank vs Credit Card accounts. If I wasn't able to select AMEX from the drop-down I could accept this error, but being that I Can select it manually, I'm calling the error into question.

A second question is about the Ref No. Not all of my expenses have a Ref No. but if I don't put a value in the csv file, QBO kicks that record out. Electric bills, for example, never have an invoice number so I had to use the account number to make QBO happy. The problem with that is that number will never change so it does me little good when trying to locate an expense. See Duke Energy? I set the Ref No. to the account number (I redacted the ending numbers) so QBO would accept the transaction, but I really don't want that information there. If it was a unique identifier it would be useful, but as I have 4 other transactions for that account number already it's redundant and I would search for the transactions by class instead of Ref No. for that vendor. ;tldr: It seems silly to require a Ref No. on the .csv file when it's not a required field when manually entering expenses.

Thank you again for your help.

Thank you, Jess.

I posted the question from QBO and it didn't give me an option to attach that screenshot. Now that it's in this forum, though, I have provided the image. See how it says, "We couldn't find a Payment Account with value AMEX?" However, directly below that you can see the drop-down box has AMEX as an option. When I use Const Ck (it's not showing in the drop-down in the image, but it can be seen in the transactions above) everything works fine, but for some reason QBO is not liking my AMEX payment account and I have a sneaking suspicion it's being picky about Bank vs Credit Card accounts. If I wasn't able to select AMEX from the drop-down I could accept this error, but being that I Can select it manually, I'm calling the error into question.

A second question is about the Ref No. Not all of my expenses have a Ref No. but if I don't put a value in the csv file, QBO kicks that record out. Electric bills, for example, never have an invoice number so I had to use the account number to make QBO happy. The problem with that is that number will never change so it does me little good when trying to locate an expense. See Duke Energy? I set the Ref No. to the account number (I redacted the ending numbers) so QBO would accept the transaction, but I really don't want that information there. If it was a unique identifier it would be useful, but as I have 4 other transactions for that account number already it's redundant and I would search for the transactions by class instead of Ref No. for that vendor. ;tldr: It seems silly to require a Ref No. on the .csv file when it's not a required field when manually entering expenses.

Thank you again for your help.

Thanks for coming back and providing us in-depth details of your concern, JMFS.

I appreciate you for providing the screenshots for us to better isolate the issue. We can select the Amex account as long as it is set up in your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account. We can try to toggle it by choosing a different account, then re-select AMEX. If the same thing happens, let's try opening your account using a private browser or an incognito window. This browsing doesn’t store data and will help the page load without issues from temporary data. 

• Press Ctrl + Shift + N (Google Chrome)
• Press Ctrl + Shift + P (Mozilla Firefox)
• Press Command + Shift + N (Safari)

If it works, it’s a good idea to clear the cache to start on a clean slate. This process helps the browser to fetch the latest version of the webpage and a faster browsing experience. You can also use a supported, up-to-date browser to roll out the possibility of a browser-related issue.

If the problem persists, it would be best to contact our Customer Support Team. They'll pull up your account in a secure environment and investigate what's causing this issue. You may send a message via chat, call us at a time convenient to you, or we’ll get in touch with you instead. To ensure we address your concern, our representatives are available from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays and 6:00 AM - 3:00 PM on Saturdays, PST. See our support hours and types for more details about this one. Here's how to reach them: 

1. Go to the Help menu at the upper right.
2. Select Contact Us.
3. Enter your concern.
4. Click Let’s talk.
5. Choose Get a callback. 
6. Type in your contact info.
7. Select Confirm my call.

To make sure the transactions import correctly, we need to enter the value in Ref No. in the CSV file. See Format CSV files in Excel to get bank transactions into QuickBooks article for more details about this one. Feel free to visit our Banking page for more insights about managing your bank transactions. 

Keep me posted if you need a hand with reconciling your bank accounts or any QBO related. Assistance is just one post away. You have a good one. 

Thank you for the response, RCV.  I always use incognito mode for Chrome and before I contact y'all I always test in a Firefox private window, and Edge.  I try to do the preliminary work myself and use support as the last resort.

I don't understand why a Ref No. has to be used when it's not required to enter expenses manually.  It doesn't make sense.  I can show hundreds of expenses I've entered where I haven't input a Ref No.  I can make something up if QBO is going to persist with that requirement, it just doesn't make sense (to me) why manually entering expenses doesn't require it, but importing does.

It sounds like I'll need to get help via the screen share option because I had already done the cache step.  Is there a chat option for the screen share session?  I don't hear very well and we have really bad phone reception (we live in a rural area with little coverage).

Take care.

Thanks for coming back to the Community, JMFS.

I appreciate all your efforts in trying to resolve the importing error. Let me point you in the right direction to get the transactions imported into QBO.

We’ll have to perform in-depth troubleshooting steps to identify the root cause of the issue. The process requires us to collect personal data to open an account.

I suggest you get in touch with our QBO Care Team for further assistance. One of our specialists can access your company in a secure space. Then, perform a screen-sharing session to check the mapping and settings of the CSV file. Also, they’ll guide you on how to apply the permanent fix.

1. Click on the Help icon at the top to display the QB Assistant window.
2. From there, tap the Talk to a human menu and enter the issue/topic.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
4. From the option, choose the Send a message button to chat with an agent or Get a callback. Please know both options can do a screen-sharing session.

I’m also adding some articles to help you in the future. From there, you’ll find detailed instructions on how to troubleshoot bank importing errors and information on the supported file format in QBO.

• Fix bank upload errors
• Format CSV files in Excel to get bank transactions into QuickBooks

Feel free to visit the Community again if you need help with QBO. I’ll be around to provide further assistance. Have a great rest of the day.

Update:  this seems to have been corrected.  I have made no updates to my spreadsheet / csv / name of the account, but it is now being accepted.