Thanks for the additional details, kogexx. Allow me to provide detailed information to answer your questions about how the system categorizes PayPal transactions.
The way the system assigns categories is dependent on the level of detail provided by the integration itself. It utilizes the information passed from PayPal to determine appropriate categories.
In situations where a customer name is blank, QBO defaults to assigning the payee as either "PayPal Customer" or "PayPal Sales Item." This allows for consistent categorization even when customer specifics are lacking from the original payment facilitated via PayPal. Please note that the system specifically pulls up data from the Customer field, and not from the Description section.
For products or services, QBO will match the item name to an existing product/service set up within your account. If a name match is found, the PayPal transaction will automatically map to the matched item in QuickBooks.
However, if no product or service name is the same, the line item will be categorized under a default item called "PayPal Sales." In these non-matched cases, the item name provided by PayPal will also be added to the line description for reference.
In summary:
- Matched Item Name: Maps PayPal purchase to existing matched QBO product/service
- Unmatched Item Name: Categorizes to default "PayPal Sales" item, while updating line description with PayPal's reported item name
Let me share these articles for more details and guidance when downloading transactions from PayPal:
Don't hesitate to reply to us again if you still have additional questions on this matter, kogexx. Our goal is to make sure all your questions are fully addressed, so please reach back out if there is anything else needed on this topic.
