Disconnect accounts connected to online banking

When you connect an account to online banking, QuickBooks automatically downloads your recent transactions. If you only want to stop new downloads, disconnect the account. If you no longer use the account in QuickBooks, make it inactive. Making an account inactive also disconnects it from online banking.

Understand the difference between disconnecting and making an account inactive

There's a big difference between disconnecting an account from online banking and making it inactive from your chart of accounts.

Disconnect the account if you want to stop QuickBooks from downloading new transactions but keep the account active in your chart of accounts. Disconnecting doesn't make the account inactive. You can reconnect it later if you need.

Make the account inactive if you no longer use it in QuickBooks. Making it inactive also disconnects it from online banking. QuickBooks shows (Deleted) next to the account name, but the account isn't gone. You can still open it, its transactions stay in your reports, and you can make it active again at any time.

If you have an account that's not connected to a bank or credit card and you don’t need it anymore, learn how to make an account inactive.

Before you disconnect

These three checks make it easier to reconnect the account later without duplicate transactions or balance changes.

Fix bank connection errors

If the account shows a bank connection error, fix the error before you disconnect. If the error message tells you to disconnect and reconnect, go ahead. Follow the steps in Bank errors and missing transactions in QuickBooks Online first. If you disconnect an account while it has an error, it might download duplicate transactions when you reconnect it.

If the error continues, sign in to QuickBooks with an incognito or private browser, or try other browser troubleshooting options.

Add or match all pending transactions

Before you disconnect, add or match every transaction in the Pending tab. This keeps a complete record up to the disconnect date and makes duplicates easier to spot when transactions download again.

When you disconnect, QuickBooks removes any transactions still in the Pending tab. A few banks resend pending items if you later restore the same connection, but that's up to the bank and isn't guaranteed.

Balance the account

Make sure the balance is $0. If the account still has a balance, QuickBooks posts an adjusting entry and moves the balance to other accounts. If you're not sure, check with your accountant first.

Make note of your opening balance

Write down the account's opening balance from the reconciliation screen. When you reconnect, QuickBooks may treat it as a brand-new bank connection, create a new account in your chart of accounts, and add an automatic opening balance transaction.

Disconnect an account connected to online banking

When you disconnect an account, you’ll no longer see transactions that still need to be categorized in the Pending tab. If the transactions are older than 90 days, you won’t be able to download them from the bank when you reconnect. In this case, you can still manually upload old transactions.

You can reconnect the account to start downloading transactions again.

In QuickBooks Online and Intuit Enterprise Suite

In QuickBooks Solopreneur