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How to import a bank statement into QuickBooks Online, step by step

This is the full path from a bank statement PDF to transactions in QuickBooks Online. The QuickBooks steps follow Intuit's own help article, which we link at the end. Menus change, so if a screen looks different, use Intuit's article as the reference.

Step 1: Get the statement into a supported file

QuickBooks Online accepts CSV, TXT, QBO and OFX files, plus QFX. If your bank offers a CSV download, use that. Some QuickBooks Online accounts also offer direct statement-PDF or image uploads. Check the options in your account. If you prefer a local conversion to CSV, convert the text-based PDF first. Drop it onto Statement Converter, check the rows and the balance check, and choose either the QuickBooks CSV (3 columns) or the QuickBooks CSV (credit / debit) export.

Step 2: Check the file against QuickBooks' limits

• Intuit says an upload file should be 350 KB or smaller, and each upload can hold up to 1,000 lines. For a long statement, split the file by month.
• A CSV needs either 3 columns (Date, Description, Amount) or 4 columns (Date, Description, Credit, Debit).
• In the 4-column layout, Intuit's sample shows a payment in the Credit column and a deposit in the Debit column. Statement Converter follows that sample.
• Headings should read exactly Credit and Debit, without the word amount.

Step 3: Upload the file

1. In QuickBooks Online, go to Bank transactions.
2. Open the Link account menu and choose Upload from file. If your account is not connected to online banking, choose Upload from file or upload transactions manually.
3. Select your file and choose Continue.
4. In the QuickBooks account menu, pick the account to receive the transactions. For a credit card file, pick the credit card account, not a bank account. If the account does not exist yet, use Add New.
5. Choose Continue.

Step 4: Map the columns and the date format

QuickBooks shows your file's columns and asks which one is the date, description and amount, or credit and debit. It also asks for the date format. Pick the format that matches the file. Statement Converter writes QuickBooks CSV dates as MM/DD/YYYY.

Step 5: Select the transactions to import

QuickBooks lists the rows it read. Select the ones you want and continue. Check a few rows against the statement before you confirm: amounts, signs and dates.

Step 6: Categorise and reconcile

The imported rows show up for review. Match or categorise them, then reconcile the account to the statement's ending balance. If the reconciliation does not match, go back to the running-balance check and compare the totals.

The mistakes that cause trouble

• Importing a card statement into a bank account, which reverses the sign logic.
• Choosing the wrong date format, so 03/04 becomes the wrong month.
• Importing the same period twice.
• Days of the week left in the date column, such as 20/11/2018 TUE. Intuit says to remove them.

Source: Intuit, Manually upload transactions into QuickBooks Online, quickbooks.intuit.com, and Intuit, Format CSV files in Excel to get bank transactions into QuickBooks. Statement Converter is not affiliated with Intuit.

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More guides

• Convert a bank statement PDF to a QuickBooks CSV
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• Convert a bank statement to OFX or QIF
• Convert a bank statement CSV to QBO
• Why won't my bank statement PDF convert? Seven causes and fixes
• How to import a bank statement into QuickBooks Online, step by step
• Convert a bank statement PDF to CSV without uploading it
• Five checks before importing a statement

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