If you are like me, your first introduction to downloaded transactions in a QuickBooks data file was quite the nightmare! I had a business client come to me, in March of course, announcing that “everything was going to be so easy for me this time” because they had switched from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online(QBO) and downloaded everything. Having seen this in the past, I was doubtful this was going to “easy”. It wasn’t!
The client had downloaded transactions from both business as well as personal accounts because some business transactions had been paid for personally. There were tons of transfers between accounts as well as credit card payments. The client had pointed some of the transactions, most of them incorrectly, left others un-pointed, and no bank recs had been performed during the year. 14 hours later, I had finally gotten the mess straightened out! This is what happens if you let clients use the downloading transactions feature in QuickBooks without any training.
The download feature in QB is like the Light Saber of QB features: If you know how to use it you can save the Universe, but in the hands of the wrong person untold peril awaits! Think of your client as Darth Vader, and you are Luke Skywalker but you need the training! That’s where someone like me comes in. I guess I’m Yoda! Although I hope my skin looks better!
Downloading transactions can be done in both QuickBooks DeskTop and QBO. Both can be done free of charge, although DeskTop files may require a manual download from the banks website in order to avoid a charge. (QBO files are always free without a manual download.)
The process of downloading into QuickBooks DeskTop and QBO is essentially the same and works like this:
- Start by Linking a QuickBooks bank or credit card account to your bank through a wizard you access from within QuickBooks
- The first download, which sits in a holding tank (within the Bank Feeds window QuickBooks) and not actually added into your accounts yet, will likely contain transactions that you have already entered manually. You may remove these transactions from the download from the Banks feeds window.
- Next, point the remaining transactions to the appropriate accounts (and class and customer:job if needed) and ADD them to your QuickBooks file through in the Bank Feeds window
- Download future transactions periodically (we do it weekly)
- In DeskTop: By pushing the Download button (or manually from your banks website)
- In QBO: This occurs every day automatically. No need to do anything
- Go to the new downloaded transactions sitting in the holding tank I spoke of earlier and point and ADD them.
- SUPER CHARGE THINGS WITH RULES: Adding “Rules” in the Bank Feeds window will allow QuickBooks to prefill downloaded transactions with correct account, class and customer:job choices based on those rules. (E.G. “Any download from Office Depot point to Office Supplies”) Don’t worry if a future check to Office Depot needs to go to the “Equipment” account occasionally, as you can change the suggested assignment before ADDing the transaction to your books.
Rules are honestly the most important part of the entire downloading transactions feature! It can cut the time you spend on a client’s books by as much as two-thirds!
Remember my client who messed up the download big time. By contrast, that same week, I worked on an attorney client of mine who had done nothing all year long in QuickBooks. Unlike the first client who downloaded and pointed themselves, I was the one who performed the download. I had rules already set up from the prior year. This guy loves his frequent flier points so he charges EVERYTHING on his credit cards! Even though he had twice the number of transactions than my other client, it took me less than 3 hours to download, point every transaction AND do the bank recs, which literally took minutes. Think how quick a bank rec would be if most of the transactions entered came directly from the banks website. All the dates and amounts will already match the bank perfectly.
Now some stuff on the revenue side will still need to be entered manually, which the client does, but on the whole, we spend very little time entering transactions in our firm. And we still charge the same fees! Downloading transactions has literally changed the entire way our firm works. We do twice the work in half the time and the clients get more detailed, accurate and timely reporting. Everybody wins!
I’m doing a webinar on downloading transactions on October 24th going over all the details about downloading transactions in both QB DeskTop as well as in QBO. Whether you’ve been downloading already and just have questions, or you are a download newbee, I hope to see you at this very important webinar! Click here to find out more and to sign up to attend! Until then, may the force be with you! AND -- Use code IA30 FOR $30 OFF this webinar!