How to Match Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Online & Desktop?

As you connect your credit card and bank accounts, QuickBooks download the latest transactions automatically. Later, it tries to match the data with bank transactions. However, if you cannot match the transactions then you will have to create the new transactions and match them manually. To understand the whole concept, learn with us how to match bank transactions in QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, and QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.

What Does Match Mean in QuickBooks Online?

Match refers to bank transactions that QuickBooks uses to match against the transactions you have entered in your accounting software. If you have already set up the banking rules for transactions then QuickBooks automatically uses these rules to categorize the transactions.

In case you have not set any transaction rules, QuickBooks recommends categories for each transaction (that has been downloaded) based on the previously granted transactions or prompts you to create the new categories. If your bank transaction is started outside of the 90 day period then you will have to match the transactions manually. To know more about the matching transactions in QuickBooks online procedure, continue reading the following details.

How to Match Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Online?

For matching bank transactions in QuickBooks Online, one has to download the latest bank transactions so that you can review them. Later, you can verify if the transactions are successfully matched. You can make changes if required. Users can also split the transactions between multiple accounts or exclude the duplicate transaction to keep the account accurate. To know the entire procedure, learn here how to match bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Step 1: Download the Credit Card and Latest Bank Transactions

QuickBooks usually download the latest transactions every night. For most banks, it chooses the time around 10 PM PT. Whereas, for some banks, it may take longer. However, users can manually update their accounts to receive the latest transactions at any time. To do so, you can read and perform the following steps:

• Click on the “Banking” menu.
• Then, switch to the “Banking” option.
• Hit the “Update” button.

By performing these steps, you can update all the credit cards and bank accounts. In case you find any prompt for additional authentication, you can continue following the on-screen prompts to complete the update.

Step 2: Review the Downloaded Transactions

Once you update the credit card and bank accounts, you can review the details and categorize them. All you have to do is to match, add, and see the multiple matches. Check out the following details to do the same:

• Select the “Banking” menu.
• Then, click on the account tile you wish to review.
• After this, click on the “For Review” tab to initiate the review.

As QuickBooks sends the downloaded transactions to the For Review tab, you can review them one after one. For each transaction, you will have the option to add a new transaction, match the transactions with the existing one, or view several matches. Check out the following details to understand better.

Match the Transaction with the Existing One

As stated earlier, QuickBooks matches the downloaded transactions with the transaction you have entered. This will link them together so you find no duplicates. To make sure that the transaction match is correct, you should follow these steps:

• First of all, locate the downloaded transaction. For this, you can go to the “Action” column and click on the “Match” option.
• At this point, you can note the “Payee”, “Date”, “Description”, and the amount you have received or spent.
• Now, click on the downloaded transactions to expand the view.
• Here, you can start reviewing the “Matching records found” in your QuickBooks account. This is the matching transaction you have entered already in QuickBooks.
• Then, click on the link located next to the match to view more details.
• Be sure that this is your correct match. You can also review the “Payment method”, “Deposit to”, and “Bank Account”(Change Direct Deposit Bank Account in QuickBooks) fields on the form for your existing QuickBooks transactions.
• If you find the correct match then you can close your open transactions.
• Then, hit the “Match” button.

After doing so, QuickBooks will know that the downloaded transaction is the same as the one you have entered before. It automatically connects both the transactions and no duplicate will bother you.

Add the New Transaction

In case you could not find the existing matching transaction, you can add the new transaction to use the information from your credit card or bank account. Keep reading the following steps to add the brand new transaction entry:

• Go to the “Action” column.
• Click on the “Add” button to locate the downloaded transaction.
• Now, you can choose the transaction and click on it to expand the view.
• After that, you can review the “Category”. This is basically the account that QuickBooks uses to categorize your transaction into. If required, you can change the category and put the details into a different account.
• Here, you can change the customer or supplier. If you have already added this transaction into QuickBooks then click on the “Find match” button. Then, review the matches and choose the one you find.
• Thereafter, you can press the “Add” button.

QuickBooks will now use these details to create and enter the new transaction into the account. Please note that QuickBooks may categorize the transaction into temporary accounts such as Uncategorized Expense or Uncategorized Income accounts. We suggest you categorize the transactions directly into your expense or income account.

Open and Review the Multiple Matches

When QuickBooks finds more than one match, you are supposed to choose the right one. Hence, it is important to review the multiple matches. For that, you can do the following:

• Click on the “Action” column.
• Then, select the “View” button to locate the downloaded transaction.
• Click on the “View” option.
• Here, you can review the “Matching records funds”. These are basically the matching transactions you have entered in your QuickBooks account.
• Then, click on the link located next to the match to view more details.
• Be sure that this is your correct match. You can also review the “Payment method”, “Deposit to”, and “Bank Account” fields on the form for your existing QuickBooks transactions.
• If you find the correct match then you can close your open transactions.
• Then, click on the “Match” button.

This is how you can check the transactions in QuickBooks. All you have to do is match the transactions with the existing ones. If you are unable to find it then create the new one and then review it to make sure that there are no duplicate transactions.

Step 3: Review Added or Matched Transactions

When you are done adding or matching the downloaded transactions, they will be automatically recorded into QuickBooks. The last step is to review the entries to be sure that everything is fine with your QuickBooks transactions. Here are the steps for the same:

• Navigate to the “Banking” menu.
• Then, choose the account tile you wish to review.
• Switch to the “In QuickBooks” tab.
• Click on the link in the “Matched” or “Added” column and review the details.

If you wish to move your transaction to another account then you can undo the match and apply the required changes. Make sure you apply these changes before the monthly reconciliation.

Step 4: Split Transaction Between Multiple Accounts

Transactions like large business travel expenses can be split between multiple accounts. This helps you to track better. Check out the following steps to know properly:

• Select the “For Review” tab.
• Then, choose the downloaded transaction to open it and expand the view.
• Go to the “Action” column. If it shows the “Match” status, you can modify the “Find match” to “Categorize”.
• Click on the “Split” button located next to the “Add” option.
• When the “Split transaction” window opens, you can click on the “Categories” you wish to split your transactions into.
• Then, add the amount for each split.
• After this, click on the “Customer” option for each split.
• Once done, click on the “Apply and Accept” button.

This way you can find the downloaded transaction and split it for your particular customer. Make sure you enter the details properly.

Step 5: Exclude Duplicate or Personal Transactions

To keep the accounts accurate, users can also remove duplicate or personal transactions. You can check out the following details to exclude the transactions:

• Click on the “For Review” tab.
• Then, place the checkmark for each transaction you wish to exclude.
• Click on the “Exclude” button.

When the transactions are excluded, they shift to the Excluded tab. Now onwards, it will not be downloaded or added to the QuickBooks. Now you complete the procedure of matching transactions in QuickBooks Online.

How to Match Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise?

The procedure of matching transactions in QuickBooks online is pretty similar to QuickBooks Desktop. All you are required to find is the downloaded transactions and match the details. In case the transactions don’t match, you can find out the reason why it is happening and then apply the required changes. You can even match the transactions manually. To know the entire procedure with detailed steps, you can go through the following information.

Step 1: Get the Downloaded Transactions

To get started, you will have to find the downloaded transactions(Find Deleted Transactions in QuickBooks). This can be done through the Bank Feeds Centre. You can perform the following steps to download the electronic statement in QuickBooks:

• Click on the “Banking” menu.
• Then, choose the “Bank Feeds” option.
• Click on the “Bank Feeds Centre” option.
• Here, you can use the “Financial Institution” drop-down menu to launch the ”Match Transactions” window. Be sure the correct account is displaying the following:
• Click on the “Review Statement”.
• Download and see the e-statement.
• Move to the “Match Transaction” window and make sure that you have placed the checkmark for “Show QuickBooks Transactions”.
• Once QuickBooks is done matching the transaction, you will view the results. Then, click the “OK” button to end the process.

After that, you can check the status that QuickBooks has assigned to each of the statements. Thereafter, you can decide what you can do next.

Step 2: Review the Download Transactions

The next step is to match the downloaded transactions with the ones you have already entered in QuickBooks. If the match is correct, you have nothing to do. But, if you don’t find the transaction match then you need to unmatch the transactions.

If you are wondering why QuickBooks not matching bank transactions with electronic statements, you should be aware of its major factors. Here, we are listing the following reasons:

• The transactions have not been added to QuickBooks. Therefore, you need to enter it into QuickBooks.
• There are typo errors in the transaction you have added in QuickBooks or the transaction is added to the incorrect account. If that is the case, you can correct the transaction so that it can match with the e-statement.
• Transactions may not match due to the incorrect payee name in the e-statement.
• Your financial institution must have made some mistake in the transactions due to which you are unable to match it.

These could be the reasons due to which you fail to match the transactions. After making the required changes to the transactions, once you match the transactions successfully, the statement is removed from the Items Received section in the Bank Feeds Centre.

Step 3: Manually Match the Transactions

In some instances, QuickBooks may not be able to match the bank transactions with the ones you have added to your accounting software. In such cases, all you can do is enter the transaction and match it manually. To perform this method, you can go through the following steps:

• Select the “Banking” menu.
• Then, click on the “Bank Feeds” option.
• Select the “Bank Feeds Centre” option.
• Here, you can select the “Financial Institution” drop-down menu to launch the ”Match Transactions” window. Be sure the correct account is displaying the following:
• Click on the “Review Statement”.
• Download and see the e-statement.
• Move to the “Match Transaction” window and make sure that you have placed the checkmark for “Show QuickBooks Transactions”.
• Choose the transaction from the statement that you wish to match with the transaction from the QuickBooks Transactions.
• Now, choose the transactions from the QuickBooks Transaction to match the amounts.
• Once QuickBooks is done matching the transaction, you can click on the “Match” button.

This is how you can match the electronic statement with the transactions you have entered in QuickBooks Desktop. If you find any kind of errors, make sure you enter every detail correctly.

How to Match Bank Transactions in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac?

As you download the transactions from the bank, some of the transactions may already appear in the register. QuickBooks makes it easy for you to locate the existing or new transactions before adding them to the register. When QuickBooks matches the transactions in the register, it marks it as matched. If it shows unmatched, you will have to make sure the downloaded transactions are added correctly in your register.

To match the transactions correctly, you need to make sure that the amount, date, check number, and payee name match properly with the transactions available in QuickBooks. You can pursue the following steps in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac to match the transactions:

• Click on the “Banking” option.
• Then, choose the “Downloaded Transactions” option.
• In case you have multiple accounts, you can choose the account available on the “QuickBooks Account” page.
• Here, you can choose the unmatched transactions as well as the transactions in your register that you want to match. Please note that the matched transactions have the orange circle located beside them.
• Now, press the “Match” button.
• At this point, you need to add a new transaction. For this, you can click on the “Add One” for adding a single transaction or the “Add Multiple” option for adding multiple transactions.
• You will have options to add the payee renaming rules. You can do this as it makes the matching transaction procedure easier.
• After that, you can add the required details and press the “Record” button.

By following these steps, you can easily add and match the downloaded transactions with the ones entered in the register.

To Conclude

QuickBooks analyze the bank transactions against the data in order to match the transactions. If no transactions are matched, you can match it manually. All you have to do is download the latest bank transactions, match them with the existing ones, and review the details. Here, we have already explained how to match bank transactions in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, and Desktop for Mac.

If you want to know more about QuickBooks such as inventory management or activating the inactive account, read the following guides for help:

• Get Started with QuickBooks Online Inventory Management
• How to Activate an Inactive Account in QuickBooks Online?