Streamlining your accounting processes can save time and help ensure accuracy. QuickBooks Desktop makes importing bank transactions a simple, efficient process by guiding you through the step-by-step process of importing data from your financial institutions. Learn how to import bank transactions into QuickBooks Desktop with this detailed guide.
Use the ProperConvert app to convert your file to a format compatible with Quickbooks.
The most common task when using Quickbooks is to enter transactions. Often banks provide transactions through online banking. Instead of entering transactions by hand from the printed paper statement, check first which format your online banking provides.
Before you can begin importing your bank transactions, you'll need to set up your banking accounts in QuickBooks. To do this, open the Banking menu and select Bank Feeds Center. Select Add Account to set up your banking connection. Select the type of account—either Checking or Credit Card—and then enter your financial institution's information. Once all required fields are completed, click Next to continue with the setup process.
Once your banking account has been connected, you can download a Web Connect file for each account. This file will have all of your bank transactions from the current or recent period—typically from the last several months up to the present day. To download a Web Connect file, open the Banking menu, select Bank Feeds Center, choose Downloaded Transactions and follow the prompts to retrieve the file for each account.
If your bank does not provide QBO Web Connect compatible files, use the ProperConvert app to convert your trnasaction files into a compatible format.
Once you have downloaded the Web Connect files, QuickBooks will walk you through the steps to import your transactions. Select Banking > Bank Feeds Center > EasyStep Interview and if necessary, select your bank or financial institution from the list. You will then be able to upload your file by clicking Browse and selecting Import. Then, click Next and select the type of transactions that are included in the file (e.g., check registers, deposits, credit cards). Finally, review each column to make sure that it has been set up correctly before saving the data in QuickBooks Desktop.
QuickBooks Desktop includes a wizard to help you categorize and process your imported transactions. When mapping your accounts, you can set up rules to automatically assign categories to similar transactions. This helps ensure that all of your account reports are accurate and up-to-date. To choose which categories you want to map to each column, simply select the dropdown menu and select an appropriate option from the list or enter in a custom description if necessary.
After the initial import, you may want to adjust or delete any incorrectly imported transactions. QuickBooksDesktop can generate reports that can be used to review the accuracy of your imports. To modify a transaction, open it in the register and make adjustments as necessary. If a transaction is incorrect, you can also delete it from the bank register to avoid any mis-categorization errors in your account reports.
For older Quickbooks (older than three years), the IIF format is the only option to import. Use the instructions above to get your data into IIF format
If your QIF file has categories as your expense/income transactions in Quickbooks, use ProperConvert for quick conversion from QIF to IIF.
Copy transactions to clipboard ready to paste in Quickbooks Batch Entry forms (the CSV tab on the right sidebar):