Welcome to the Fit Small Business QuickBooks Online training course. In this lesson, we’re going to cover how to enter bank transactions in QuickBooks Online manually. This tutorial is for small business owners whose financial institutions don’t integrate with QuickBooks Online.
You can follow along on your own QuickBooks Online account. If you don’t have one already, click here to sign up for a free 30-day trial and follow along below. To complete this lesson, you can either watch the video below, read through the step-by-step instructions, or do both. Let’s begin.
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When Entering Bank Transactions into QuickBooks Manually Is Required
The most efficient method of entering bank transactions into QuickBooks Online is to connect your bank account to QuickBooks or import your bank transactions from an Excel CSV file. However, if you are unable to do this because your financial institution is a smaller bank that does not offer either of these options, you will need to manually enter your banking transactions into QuickBooks.
How to Enter Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Online Manually
There are six steps you need to follow to manually enter QuickBooks Online banking transactions. First, open the chart of accounts. Second, create the bank account. Third, review the chart of accounts list for accuracy. Fourth, navigate to the check register. Fifth, open the check register. In the sixth and final step, enter the details of each transaction. If your bank account has already been created in QuickBooks, you can skip steps one, two, and three.
The six steps to manually entering bank transactions into QuickBooks are:
1. Display the Chart of Accounts List
To navigate to the Chart of Accounts list, click on the gear icon to the left of your company name and select Chart of Accounts below the “Your Company” column.
In the column labeled “Your Company,” select Chart of Accounts, as indicated below:
Display the Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks Online
2. Create a Bank Account
With the chart of accounts list displayed on your screen, you will click on the “New” button located in the upper right corner of the screen and complete all of the fields to create the bank account.
Click on the “New” button in the upper right corner and complete the fields as indicated below:
Create a Bank Account in QuickBooks Online
A brief description of the fields that should be completed to add a new bank account is below:
- Category type: All checking, money market, and savings accounts that you connect to QuickBooks will fall into the “Bank” category.
- Detail type: This field allows you to select the type of bank account you want to set up (e.g., checking, money market, savings, etc.).
- Name: This is how the name of the account will appear on reports such as your financial statements and your chart of accounts list. TIP: I recommend that you include the last four digits of the account number in this field. Adding this information will help you to distinguish accounts when you are ready to write checks and reconcile bank accounts.
- Description: If you have additional information you would like to capture about this account, you can put that information in this field. Otherwise, just put the same info that you included in the Name field here.
- Balance: This is one of the most important fields in the setup. Be sure that you have a copy of your bank statement handy. In order for you to successfully reconcile your bank accounts, you need to indicate the ending balance on your bank statement in this field. TIP: The bank statement that you use will be determined by the date that you start using QuickBooks. For example, if you start using QuickBooks as of Jan. 1, then you want to use the ending balance on your December bank statements when you set up your bank account in QuickBooks.
- As of: In this field, you will include the same date as the bank statement that you used for the balance field. For example, if you used the December bank statement, you will enter Dec. 31, XXXX in this field.
- Save and close: Once you have verified all of the information is accurate, click the save and close button.
3. Review Updated Chart of Accounts
Once you have added the new bank account, it will appear in the chart of accounts list. Be sure to review the account to ensure that it was set up correctly.
Review Updated Chart of Accounts in QuickBooks Online
The new account will appear on the chart of accounts list, as indicated below:
4. Navigate to QuickBooks Check Register
Now that you have created the bank account, it’s time to head over to the check register to start entering bank transactions. To view the check register, you will display the chart of accounts list and scroll down to the bank account. Click on the “View Register” link to display the QuickBooks check register.
Navigate to QuickBooks Check Register
From the Chart of accounts list, click on the “View Register” link in the far right column as indicated below:
5. Review the QuickBooks Check Register
The QuickBooks check register is where all bank transactions will appear whether they are manually entered or imported into QuickBooks. There are several fields of information that must be completed such as transaction date, payee, and amount.
The check register should display on your screen as indicated below:
Review the QuickBooks Check Register
Below you will find a brief description of what information appears in each field:
- Bank register: This field allows you to quickly see what bank account register you are in. You can easily switch to a different bank account by clicking the drop down arrow and selecting a different bank account.
- Ending balance: This field reflects what the current balance of the bank account is.
TIP: When you create a check in QuickBooks, the bank account balance is immediately updated, regardless of whether you have printed the check. - Reconcile: Reconciling is the process of making sure the transactions in your bank account have been recorded in QuickBooks. In our reconciling bank accounts tutorial, we show you how to properly reconcile your bank accounts.
- Date: Enter the transaction date such as check date or deposit date in this field.
- Ref no. / type: If you have a reference number such as a check number, it belongs in this field. The transaction type (e.g., check, transfer, deposit) will appear in this field right below the reference number.
- Payee / account: For withdrawals, this field will include the payee and the expense account the purchase was categorized to. For deposits, this field will include the customer the payment was received from along with the income account it was categorized to.
- Memo: Typically this field would include some additional information about the transaction (e.g., August rent).
- Payment: Enter the amount paid in this field.
- Deposit: Enter the deposit amount in this field.
- Balance: This is the running balance that is automatically updated after each transaction has been entered.
6. Enter Bank Transactions into the QuickBooks Check Register
Entering bank transactions in QuickBooks requires you include details of each transaction such as payee, amount, check number, and a memo to provide additional details. You will also need to select the type of transaction. Check, deposit, sales receipt, bill payment, and refund are just a few examples of the transaction types from which you can choose.
Click on the drop down arrow to the right of “Add Check” and select one of the following transaction types from the list as indicated below:
Transaction Types in QuickBooks Check Register
Complete all of the necessary fields and save the transaction as indicated below:
Complete Fields to Record Banking Transaction in QuickBooks Online
How to Modify Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Online
If you need to make a correction to a bank transaction in QuickBooks Online, you can easily do that. First, open the check register and locate the transaction that you need to make changes to. You can click directly on the transaction that you need to edit and make your changes.
Follow the steps below to modify bank transactions in QuickBooks Online:
1. Navigate to the QuickBooks Check Register
Head back over to the chart of accounts, locate the bank account, and click on the View register link to display the bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.
Navigate to the QuickBooks Check Register
From the Chart of accounts list, click on the “View register” link in the far right column as indicated below:
2. Select the Banking Transaction to Edit
Locate the transaction you need to edit, click on it, and make the necessary changes. Be sure to save your changes before exiting out of the screen.
Click on the transaction that needs to be edited and make your changes as indicated below:
Select the Banking Transaction to Edit in QuickBooks Online
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About How to Enter Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Online
We have compiled the most frequently asked questions about how to enter bank transactions in QuickBooks Online. If you don’t see your question, visit the Fit Small Business Forum and post your question. One of our expert industry professionals will promptly respond to your question.
The most frequently asked questions about how to enter bank transactions in QuickBooks Online are:
How do I enter bank charges in QuickBooks Online?
To enter bank charges such as monthly service charges or returned check fee in QuickBooks Online, open the check register. Click on the Add button and select Expense as the transaction type. Select the Date of the transaction, enter the Payee (your bank) and the Amount. Be sure to save the transaction.
How do I enter bank statements in QuickBooks?
There are three options to enter bank statements in QuickBooks. First, you can connect your bank account to QuickBooks so transactions will automatically download. Second, you can import transactions from an Excel CSV file. Third, you can manually enter bank transactions. For step-by-step instructions, check out our article on how to import banking transactions.
How do I enter a withdrawal in QuickBooks?
To enter a withdrawal in QuickBooks, open the check register. Select add and then select either “Check” if you paid by check or “Expense” if you paid in cash. Enter the transaction date and amount, then select the account it should be categorized to (e.g., office supplies). Connect your bank account so all your banking transactions will automatically import into QuickBooks.
Wrap Up
That wraps up the section on How to Enter Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Online Manually. The next lesson in our QuickBooks Online Training Course will be how to manage downloaded banking transactions. In this lesson, we will walk you through what to do after you have imported your banking transactions into QuickBooks. Click the button below to proceed to the next tutorial.
To access this lesson or any of the others in the series, click here.
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