Totally hate all the automatic matching QBO has instituted. Makes bookkeeping for clients even harder and makes mistakes.

Hi there, Tracy117. 

I've seen you've exerted effort in explaining the situation of your client's issues in QuickBooks Online (QBO). And how you wish to determine the reason behind such an instance to stop it from happening.

QuickBooks tries to match downloaded transactions to any entries in your register automatically. You can review the matches before adding them to the register.

Also, QuickBooks makes a match if the bank feeds and the transactions that you've manually entered in the register have the same information (ex. check numbers, amounts, dates, and payees).

To ensure the matches are correct, I recommend creating banking rules. For more details, I suggest checking this article's Optional - Create rules to categorize transactions section: Add and Match Bank Feed Transactions.

I'd like to share this reference that you can check out to guide you in managing your bank transactions together with smooth reconciliation: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

You can always find me here if you have any other questions about this or with QBO. I'll be around for you. Take care!

Tracy, I totally agree with you.  I was trying to give it a chance using my own books (because I have a client that uses it), but it's not working for me.  Most of my clients are Sole Proprietors and Single-member LLC's, and I won't be switching them over. I am sticking with the Desktop version and I placed my clients on a QB Self-Employed subscription, to work on the go. I update their books in the Premier Accountant Desktop version using the activity they process from QB Self-employed.  It works very well for all of us.  I cannot stand working in QBO, from it's appearance to navigating through my workflow. I'm dropping one client because they insist on staying with QBO. I just don't like anything about it; for me, it's annoying.  Wishing you the best on making it work for you - if you're sticking with it, of course.  Thanks for sharing.

I totally agree. The same issue arises in Quickbooks Desktop. Automatic matching and hiding the real account register in 'enhanced' and 'advanced' bank feeds is horrible. It offers no time savings; none.  I've use 'classic mode' bank feed in desktop QB for years where I can actually see MY account register. Now my credit card feed was 'upgraded' and must use 'Advance mode'. It adds a layer to downloading and matching transactions that encourages errors. You can't see account names you try to assign as the account field is inexplicably about 15 characters wide and doesn't automatically filter by what you've typed. For example, I have income and expense categories that both contain "unit 1". In register or classic mode I can type just that part and then choose which of the two I want. In the 'Advanced mode' I have to know the entire account name (ex: Income:rent:unit 1)

Today, I had a charge that was unrecognized by QB so I tried to add via manual mode. The transaction I wanted wasn't one of my choices; just two with completely different dates and amounts. Opening the register, the one I wanted was clearly there. So, I had to ignore the download item and make a note on the actual transaction. 

Several years ago QB tried to force 'Enhanced mode' on everyone; it was horrible and still is. It took months before 'classic mode' was returned. Initially the response was "this is the future and users must adapt". Amazing! It still works no better than the improved 'advanced mode'. Now they are doing the same thing with 'Advanced mode' and updated bank connections. Absolutely no reason classic mode couldn't be maintained for all accounts

The whole purpose of an account register is to track expenses and income and enter it once to avoid errors. Why hide it? I handle my own books and taxes and a I cannot imagine the grief for accountants who get company books at the end of the year with clients that try to use 'advanced mode' and 'express mode'. 

So, my bank still works with classic mode and I'm forced to switch back and forth between modes. Just knowing QB would love to eliminate 'classic mode' scares me.

What happened to the Classic Mode? Since OBO upgraded the Bank Feed requirements, I am unable to use the classic mode or Side by Side mode for bank feeds. 

Is the classic mode gone? 

Hi there, VISION123.

I want to make sure you're able to do your Banking tasks. Please note that the Classic mode is available in QuickBooks Desktop. 

In QuickBooks Online, you can view your account in Business view and Accountant view mode. If your account is on a Business view, you can Bookkeeping from the left menu. Choose Transactions, go to the Bank transactions tab to see the latest downloaded entries. 

If you need to create new transactions, select All Sales tab, then New transactions. Please see the attached screenshot below as your visual guide.

You can also browse this article to learn more about this: Switch between Business and Accountant view in QuickBooks Online.

If you're using the Accountant view, simply select Banking from the left menu. You can also browse these articles to help manage your Banking page.

• Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online
• Set up bank rules to categorize online banking transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Stay in touch with me if you need more help by commenting below. I'm always right here to guide you.

Hi LeizyIM,

Based on what I am reading and watching in the Help section, the automatic matching of deposits is 2-step: matching a processed payment to an invoice and categorizing the matching bank deposit. However, the 2nd step is not happening, leaving all the bank deposits in the feed. No matter whom I get on the phone line at support, nobody knows how to help me. This has been going on for months rendering both QBO and QB payments useless. Do you have suggestions on how to make it work or at least fix the pre-existing harm? Thank you!

MaryLand, do you have solutions for the situation where automatic matching to invoices does not work? The payments processed in QBO get matched but not the bank deposits, contrary to what the help video explains (https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/payment-processing/automatic-matching...). Now I cannot undo the matched payments (can I?) and have no idea what these orphaned bank deposits are. 

I have some information to share with you concerning the ongoing issue, @OMOM, and I know this isn't a simple process for you.

 I appreciate the effort you've taken to resolve the matching problems in QuickBooks Online.

I see that a case has been opened in your name. Rest assured that the account has been added to the investigation, and you will be getting updates on how the problem is progressing.

Once everything is good on your end, see this guide if you want to personalize invoices in QBO: Customize invoices, estimates, and sales receipts in QuickBooks Online.

Please let us know if you need anything else about banking, invoices, or QuickBooks in general. We'll make sure to respond as soon as we can. Take the best care!

Hi @Mich_S,

What was the information you meant to share? I don't see anything in your reply.

What's the ETA and case #?

Thanks!

I had this same issue as our customers pay in increments and deposits and not total invoice amounts. It took me no kidding 3 weeks to get someone competent at quickbooks who had any idea what they were doing or how to fix a problem THEIR system creates because it is basically just dumb. The person I was working with for almost 4 hours finally got to the problem root and told me to do this, hope it helps:

When a payment is received on your banking feed and you have an open invoice>you click on the payment/deposit and click find matches>once there make sure the end date is the last of the month for whatever month you are in> scroll down to match the correct invoice.

From there the invoice is linked automatically to the online bank payment and will update amounts or show paid in the system.

From what I understand the only thing that has to be completed to make it report correctly is the matching of the bank deposit/payment with the invoice. I was told not to categorize anything as that is what creates the duplicate reporting of payments/deposits. We did have to go in and make sure my invoices were setup to show paid in A/R and not the "bank" register for quickbooks but if that is done then your process is just that one step.

I do totally agree with everything everyone is saying about matching. I cannot tell you the amount of time I have spent undoing what quickbooks did and just today spent another 2 hours with their customer services because their "payroll" system is reporting as duplicate payments to 2 different accounts as well as the payroll taxes paid/withheld. Only to be told to make the duplicate account THEY created inactive, which as everyone knows does not work since quickbooks will still log payments there. Don't even get me started on not being able to combine accounts or merge things in the chart of accounts and no delete option. Like who designed this system a 3yo!?!?!?!?

@cv1987 After a few hours of being bounced around, I came across a really wonderful and knowledgeable agent, Kelly. She knew the solution right away. The problem lies within the Payment settings under the gear icon. QBO sneaked in their QB Checking as the default account for processed deposits. I know for a fact that I have had my regular bank set up for payment recognition, but no longer, as we just discovered. (How do I know? 2 years ago, I had a huge investigation brought on after the payments routed through QB Checking disappeared. After the intrusion of the Office of the President, all of my settings were scrutinized by the developers to ensure no more money went missing, and we made sure we got rid of QB Checking. I made sure I switched to another payment platform except for a few sporadic QB charges.)

So you want to make sure that your payment settings under the gear button are set for your business checking account, not QB Checking. As for the deposits that have been already impacted, go to Sales, click on the Payment and click on the link with the date of deposit. It will take you to the next screen on the very top of which you will see QB Checking in the drop-down, so change that to your business checking. After that, the deposit in the bank feed will turn out as matchable, giving you a correct cue.

The takeaway is a combination of the very valuable information that you spent your time collecting and sharing (which I truly appreciate), the solution I just shared, and the fact that the automatic matching does not work as designed and intended. I never turned on the auto-matching - I assume the QBO did it in their usual manner of doing something against their customer's will as it does with many other things. It is time to turn it off and test it with another payment to see if this eliminates the matching difficulties and possibly to inactivate QB Checking from the Chart of Accounts. It is intended to herd you into Intuit's ecosystem via the default utilization of their checking account.

@cv1987 After a few hours of being bounced around, I came across a really wonderful and knowledgeable agent, Kelly. She knew the solution right away. The problem lies within the Payment settings under the gear icon. QBO sneaked in their QB Checking as the default account for processed deposits. I know for a fact that I have had my regular bank set up for payment recognition, but no longer, as we just discovered. (How do I know? 2 years ago, I had a huge investigation brought on after the payments routed through QB Checking disappeared. After the intrusion of the Office of the President, all of my settings were scrutinized by the developers to ensure no more money went missing, and we made sure we got rid of QB Checking. I made sure I switched to another payment platform except for a few sporadic QB charges.)

So you want to make sure that your payment settings under the gear button are set for your business checking account, not QB Checking. As for the deposits that have been already impacted, go to Sales, click on the Payment and click on the link with the date of deposit. It will take you to the next screen on the very top of which you will see QB Checking in the drop-down, so change that to your business checking. After that, the deposit in the bank feed will turn out as matchable, giving you a correct cue.

The takeaway is a combination of the very valuable information that you spent your time collecting and sharing (which I truly appreciate), the solution I just shared, and the fact that the automatic matching does not work as designed and intended. I never turned on the auto-matching - I assume the QBO did it in their usual manner of doing something against their customer's will as it does with many other things. It is time to turn it off and test it with another payment to see if this eliminates the matching difficulties and possibly to inactivate QB Checking from the Chart of Accounts. It is intended to herd you into Intuit's ecosystem via the default utilization of their checking account.

@cv1987 You might also want to check the QB Checking register for any unanticipated transactions. Mine had a bunch of deposits and merchant account fees that should have been recorded to my business checking. The agent showed me to click on each, edit it and select your business checking in the drop-down which appeared on the next screen. It was a lot of manual labor but eventually, I zeroed out the balance.

100%!

the last few months have been a nightmare for one of my clients who issues invoices (many of them at the same time for the same amount for different clients)..   automatch has cost me many many hours un- matching, removing the QB deposit, creating a NEW bank deposit and then manually matching.

How did we find out there was an issue?   because my client all innocently called and said, my income has doubled and I don't think that's right!?   I investigated and compared SALES to INCOME for a given client and then dug until I found the problem.

Initially I thought she was making a mistake but it seems not... QBO matches the invoice to (sometimes the right one, sometimes the wrong one) and then when the deposit comes through the bank feed and shows "match" it was matched.  Who would have imagined that would result in double the income (when it wasn't).  Some of the issue is that maybe 80% of her invoices are paid in two parts and QBO smooshes payments together to pay off an entire invoice vs. recognizing the partial payment.

Now I see I can turn off the auto matching (I did) but wondering if there are other things I can do to make sure this nightmare doesn't keep happening?   I can't bill my client (around 16 hrs of my time to resolve the problem so far) and just can't afford for it to continue - my client is losing faith in QBO and I think she is wondering if I have made a mistake.

What else can I do to avoid this issue?

Plum

Hi there, @PlumBookkeeperCO.

Thank you for joining this thread and sharing your concern regarding the Auto-match feature. I understand how important proper recordkeeping is to business. 

QuickBooks automatically links bank deposits that correspond to QuickBooks Payments transactions. This helps you save time as it eliminates manual review process. However, we still recommend to double-check your matches in the Categorized or Reviewed tab to ensure everything is correct.

Here's how:

1. Go to Banking.
2. Choose the tile for the account you want to review.
3. Select the Categorized or Reviewed tab.
4. Click the link in the Added or Matched column to review the transaction.

If you need to change or edit them, undo and categorize them again. As you mentioned, you may also turn off the Auto-match feature by following these easy steps:

1. Go to the Categorized or Reviewed tab.
2. Select Settings ⚙ at the top of the transaction list.
3. Turn the Automatic matching switch Off.
   

Once done, manually match new deposits to the correct invoices.

Keep me in the loop if you have additional questions about the process. I'd be happy to assist further.

too bad this doesnt work. when you create a rule, it doesnt take affect and the auto match does. otherwise this would be a fine solution

I don't see this option for my credit card accounts to turn off auto matching.  I have re-occurring fees that QBO tries to auto-match to transactions that have already been entered in my account from prior months.  Now I have to go transaction by transaction to categorize them b/c QBO tries to auto-match.  This is not a feature but rather a problem.  Seems like something the software should allow you to toggle easily.  Why isn't it?

Hey there, @chackmanhas.

Thanks for joining the thread and adding a screenshot. 

Based on the screenshot that you've shared, it seems that this transaction is still on the For review tab. Once QuickBooks downloads your latest transactions, it looks for and tries to match them with the ones you've already entered into the program.

Since you have multiple transactions with the same amounts as the downloaded, the system automatically detects them as a possible match. This is why it shows the suggested transactions which you can pair. This is a built-in feature in QuickBooks and the option to turn it off is unavailable. 

If you're using bank rules, then this can be the reason why your transactions are being automatically categorized on the Banking page. You can turn off or disable this feature by following these steps:

1. Go to the Banking menu and select Rules.
2. Check the box for the rule you want to disable or delete.
3. Click the Batch Actions drop-down list, then choose if you want to Delete, Disable, or Turn off auto-add the rule.
4. Select Yes to confirm.

For additional info, you can check out these articles:

• Set up bank rules to categorize online banking transactions in QuickBooks Online.
• Categorize and match online bank transactions in QBO.

I've got you covered if you have further questions about categorizing bank transactions. Don't forget to include my name in your reply so that I can get back here and answer all your QuickBooks concerns. Take care always and stay safe!

Thanks for the reply.  Auto-Categorization is great, but why would I want to auto-match a new transaction to a completely different one?  Seems like a flaw in the logic of auto-match.  I download all my transactions from the bank therefore they are all unique and auto-matching has no place in my workflow.  Based on the thread and my searching I am not the only one who wants the ability to turn auto-matching off.  I already submitted a feedback submission for this item.  thanks

What we want, as professional accountants, is for Intuit to TURN OFF the automatic matching always, unless WE decide it can help and then turn it on ourselves for our clients. There are TOO MANY automatic functions within the online versions that are not in the Desktop versions, which is why we, as the professional accountants do NOT always recommend that our clients move over to QBO! This also goes for many accounts in the Chart of Accounts that cannot be deleted or made inactive because Quickbooks has set them up (without our permission) and won't let us change them. 

What we want, as professional accountants, is for the automatic matching to be turned OFF always, unless we, as the professionals, decide it is OK for our clients to use. This has caused untold hours of work and cost us and our clients thousands to fix the incorrect matching that QBO does. Many times we can manually enter all the transactions faster and more correctly than this auto feature does.

Completely agree!  QBO is a nightmare for accountants.  

My issue is that for two new clients, I entered previous transactions manually through April 30, and reconciled those months.  I set up the bank to sync as of May 1, but QBO went back and messed with something and that forced a $16,949 reconciliation entry when I reconciled May.  I cannot figure out how to fix this, it should be as simple as reversing an entry that was made automatically, but you can't see where these phantom entries come from.  Similar thing happened on a credit card account for a new client.  

I'm a LONG time QB user, and in general have always appreciated all Desktop versions because they are true double entry systems.  QBO is truly "trying to do too much" as you mentioned.  Every accountant I know hates this version.

Hi there, LibbyVB. 

I totally get how important it is to manage your finances. It's crucial to keep everything organized and accurate. If you've reconciled those transactions, we can undo them, don't worry. We can take care of that for you and make sure your book stays in tip-top shape.   

Here's how: 

1. Go to Banking, and select the bank account. 
2. Under Categorized, hit Undo.

On the other hand, if you set up bank rules, these rules allow the software to automatically categorize transactions based on patterns it recognizes in your spending habits. However, it's important to note that this automation isn't foolproof. If you want to maintain more control over your categorization, it's best to disable or delete these rules and manually categorize your transactions.

For more detailed information about banking rules, you can refer to this link: How to set and use banking rules for downloaded transactions.

Once everything is set, you can start reconciling your accounts anytime.

If you have questions or need further help with QuickBooks, please visit us anytime. You can also mention my name in your posts. I'll be right here to assist you.