Match Online Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online (QBO) is a great asset to a company and when used properly can be very efficient and help ensure the accuracy of a company’s financial records. QBO provides the advantage of real-time accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection. Small business owners can monitor their financial data, generate reports, and manage transactions on the go.

One very useful feature of QBO is matching, where the software automatically links downloaded transactions from your bank and credit card accounts to transactions you’ve already entered in QuickBooks. This prevents duplicates and ensures your accounts match your bank statements.

For this feature to work, you must first connect your bank and credit card accounts so QBO can automatically download transactions. Also, the feature can only work if a transaction (invoice, bill, paycheck, payment) has been entered in QBO. If there is no transaction, there is nothing for QBO to match. NOTE: Only transactions officially posted on the bank site will be downloaded, not pending transactions.

1. Go to Transactions, then select Bank transactions
2. Find a downloaded record. If you're in:
   • Business view: look for “matches found” in the Assign to column.
   • Accountant view: look for “matches found” in the Category or match column.
3. Select the downloaded record to expand the view. Note the date, Description (or Bank detail), and amount spent or received.
4. Review the Suggested matches for any possible matching transactions already entered in QuickBooks.
5. Select the link next to each match to get more details. Suggested matches will be the same amount as and from a similar date range as the downloaded transaction. Make sure that the match is correct.
   Note: If the suggested matches are not correct, select Find other matches to look for other transactions.
6. Select a match if it's correct, then select Match to match it.

If you are not able to find a match when you know there should be, below could be some reasons why.

• The amounts or dates don’t match.
• The transaction is older than 6 months.
• The bank account on the payment isn't the same as the bank where the match is located.
• The payment has been reconciled.
• The record is already matched to another transaction. 
• The transaction type is different in QBO than at the bank. QBO wants to match a check with a check and an expense with an ACH or debit/credit card swipe.
• The transaction downloaded from bank is 1 payment/deposit, but it matches 2 or more transactions entered in QBO.

This article was written by September Hall. September is an Accounting Specialist II with Baldwin CPAs. For more information on the support Baldwin CPAs can provide you, contact september.hall@baldwincpas.com.