Connect your business bank and credit card accounts to QuickBooks Online so transactions can download for review. This course focuses on setting up the connection. Categorizing transactions is covered in Course 4, and reconciliation is covered in Course 5.
Have access to your business online banking and your QuickBooks company before you begin. Complete bank sign in and security verification yourself. Do not share passwords or verification codes with your instructor.
Watch the videos
Video 1
Watch Video 1 on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
Video 2
Watch Video 2 on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
1. Review the accounts you will connect
- Sign in to the correct QuickBooks Online company.
- Review the bank and credit card accounts you set up in Course 2.
- Identify which real business checking, savings, and credit card accounts belong with each QuickBooks account.
- Check whether any of these accounts are already connected before starting a new connection.
- If transactions have already been entered, review the dates before choosing your download starting date.
Creating an account in the Chart of accounts and connecting it to a bank feed are separate steps. Avoid creating a duplicate account when the correct account already exists.
2. Open Bank transactions
- Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Bank transactions. Menu labels may differ in your version.
- Select Connect account for an initial connection.
- If another account is already connected, select Link account.
3. Find your bank
- Enter your bank’s name in the search bar.
- Select the correct institution and online banking service for your business account.
- Select Continue.
If your bank is not listed, do not select an unrelated institution. Intuit’s instructions describe a Request a provider option where available. Manual uploads may be needed if a direct feed is unavailable.
4. Sign in securely
- Follow the prompts to sign in to your bank using your online banking credentials.
- Complete any additional security checks required by your bank.
- Review the bank’s authorization screens and follow the prompts to continue.
Make this connection in your real company, not a sample company. Intuit’s guidance says clients must complete their own bank connection rather than having their accountant connect on their behalf.
5. Select the accounts to connect
- Select the specific business accounts you want to connect, such as checking, savings, or a business credit card.
- If prompted to choose a matching QuickBooks account, select the correct existing account from your Chart of accounts.
- Check that each real bank account is matched to its intended QuickBooks account before proceeding.
If you use a parent account with subaccounts, confirm how the bank sends transactions first. Intuit advises connecting the parent only when transactions download to the parent, or connecting the individual subaccounts when transactions download separately. Do not connect both the parent and its subaccounts.
6. Choose your download starting date
- Review the available date range options.
- Choose the date from which you need transactions downloaded.
- If the account already contains transactions, check for overlap. Intuit recommends a starting date immediately after the most recent transaction already recorded.
- Confirm the starting date with your bookkeeper if you are unsure, especially when moving existing books or entering opening balances.
The available transaction history depends on your bank. Do not assume every bank can download the same period. An opening balance and earlier transactions must be coordinated so amounts are not counted twice.
7. Finish connecting
- Review the selected bank accounts and download dates.
- Select Connect.
- Once the connection is complete, select Done.
- Allow the initial download to finish.
- Repeat the connection process for other business institutions as needed.
8. Check the downloaded activity
- Return to Bank transactions.
- Select each connected account and confirm that it represents the correct bank or credit card account.
- Review the downloaded transaction dates and check for missing periods or overlap with previously entered activity.
- Leave transactions for review until you are ready to work through matching and categorization in Course 4.
A successful bank connection does not mean the transactions have been correctly categorized or the account reconciled. Those are separate bookkeeping steps.
If you cannot connect
- Confirm that you can sign in directly to your bank’s website.
- Check that you selected the correct institution and completed any bank security prompts.
- Follow the current Intuit instructions for your institution, especially if it uses a special connection process.
- If a direct feed is unavailable or you need older transactions, review Intuit’s manual upload instructions before importing anything.
Do not repeatedly import the same date range to fix a connection issue. Check existing downloaded and recorded transactions first to avoid duplicates.
You are ready for Course 4: Categorize Your Transactions.
References
Intuit: Connect bank and credit card accounts
Intuit: Bank and credit card subaccount setup
Intuit: Manually upload transactions
Presented independently by J.R. Harris Bookkeeping. QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. This is not an official Intuit course and is not endorsed by Intuit. Screens and connection options may vary by bank and QuickBooks version.