Why does a negative transaction that I downloaded from my bank and have categorized as an Expense show up as a positive value for that category when I run a P

Hi there, vacations365-aol.

I can share some information about how QuickBooks populates the data in your financial reports.

Usually, the amount of the deposit will show as negative in the Profit and Loss report if it was posted to an expense account. On the other hand, a deposit will become positive if it's categorized as an income.

To narrow down the problem, open each transaction and verify it was posted to the appropriate category. This way,  you can ensure that your books and reports are accurate and up-to-date. 

Here's how:

1. Go to Reports tab. Open the Profit and Loss report.

2. Select Run report after selecting the appropriate reporting date.
3. Click on the Amount of a section you believe to be incorrect. A list of all transactions feeding that amount will appear.

4. From this report, you can open and review any transaction by clicking on it.

You may want to check this link: Customize reports in QuickBooks Online. This will guide you on how to make your reports more presentable and fit your specific needs.

To keep your accounts accurate, I'd suggest doing reconciliation every month to detect discrepancies. You can refer to this article for the detailed steps: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online. It also contains information on how you can change your past reconciliations in QuickBooks.

I'm always around should you have other questions about running reports. Have a great day.

Hello Leizy.  Thank You for your response.  I did what you stated and it looks like it has posted to an Expense Account but marked as a positive value.  I am attaching a screen shot for the transaction.  I am not sure why it is showing as a Split Transaction either.  All I did was downloaded the transaction from my back and categorized it into this Other Expense Account.  

Hello there, vacations365-aol.

One of the possible reasons why deposits turn into payment is that the posting account is incorrect. When the deposit is categorized as an income, it'll result in a positive value. While if it's categorized under expense, it'll turn into payment and result in a negative total because it'll be deducted from your account. This means, the negative value affects your bank account. While the positive ones affect the expense account. 

Let's review your bank statements and compare each transaction with what's recorded in QuickBooks. Make sure you entered everything into QuickBooks. If your accounts are connected to online banking, review and categorize all of your downloaded transactions.

The following article will provide more information: How accounts are affected by debits and credits.

I'll be around in the Community if you need further assistance. Take care and have a fantastic day!

Hi Tizah.  My bank account is connected to Quickbooks and it downloaded the transaction as a debit/Withdrawal from my bank account.  I categorized that transaction as an Expense but it is showing up in the categorized as a credit to the account.  I am attaching a screen shot of that transaction from the Quickbooks bank account.  

Hi there, vacations365-aol.

Thank you for visiting again the QuickBooks Community and for providing a screenshot of your concern. With this, I'll be sharing details on how entries work in QuickBooks. Then, ensure you'll be able to track your transaction correctly.

The downloaded data in QuickBooks Online operated on what your bank shares with us and how they're posted online. However, CSV files for credit card accounts will display in reverse in the bank feed center (Example: deposits may appear as negative amounts.) This will also apply to the line of credit transactions. That said, you'll want to make sure your transactions were imported and mapped correctly. Select the corresponding line of credit account (not the bank account) when you upload the file into QBO.

You may open this artilcle to see further details and about the file format in importing banking entries: Format CSV files in Excel to get bank transactions into QuickBooks.

If the issue persists, I reccomend undoing the added transaction so it will show up again in the For Review tab. Then, you'll have to exclude this incorrect entry so you'll be able to manually record the transaction in the QuickBooks system. This is to ensure that your financial entries stay accurate.

Here's how to undo:

1. Go to the Categorized tab on the Banking page.
2. Click the Undo option under the Action column.
3. Choose Continue to confirm the undo.

Once done, you now exclude the entry. You can click this article to view steps on how to perform the process: Exclude a bank transaction you downloaded into QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, I'm also adding this article to further guide you in effectively managing your business using QBO: Help guide for QuickBooks Online. It contains topics about advanced accounting, banking, and payments to name a few.

Lastly, you may refer to this article to see various banking errors and how to fix them: What to do if you get a bank error or can't download transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Let me know if you still have questions or concerns with the bank transaction. I'll be around for you. Take care and have a good one.