Using Bank Feeds in QuickBooks 2015

Bank feeds, Direct Connect, Express Web Connect... oh what does it all mean?!  If you'd like to make reconciling your bank easier using QuickBooks 2015, consider using Bank Feeds to automatically bring transactions directly from your Financial Institution to QuickBooks.  Bank feeds will allow you to import transactions from your bank or credit card provider into QuickBooks. You will have the flexibility to see which transactions in the bank match transactions already in QuickBooks as well as easily add transactions that aren't already in QuickBooks.

Begin by setting up a connection to your bank

There are several options available as summarized in the Advanced Setup window.  Each financial institution provides different options of bank feed services.  Some do not offer any at all.  If your bank allows the Direct Connect feature, bank fees may apply.  Some banks only allow the Express Web Connect feature where you manually import transactions by downloading a QuickBooks OFX data file (QBO) of bank activity and importing it into QuickBooks.

Choosing a Bank Feeds Connection Method

How does Web Connect differ from Direct Connect?

Web Connect

When you use Web Connect, you will log on to your bank's website and download transactions for a specific time period.  Follow your bank's instructions to create a Web Connect file with a QBO extension.

Here is an example of download options from a Bank of America account

Save the download with a QBO extension to your desktop.  After you double click the download the transactions automatically import into QuickBooks.

If double clicking doesn't work, try these detailed instructions:

1. In QuickBooks, go to the File menu, Utilities, Import, and then Web Connect Files.
2. Select the QBO file you and then click Open.
3. When prompted to Select Bank Account, select Use an existing QuickBooks account if the account you are importing is already set up in QuickBooks, and select the account in the drop down box. If not, select Create a new QuickBooks account and enter a name.
4. Click Continue.
5. Once imported, go to the Online Banking Center to review your transactions.

Aft you import transactions now you will receive confirmation the data was read into QuickBooks

Direct Connect

Direct Connect allows you to securely import transactions into QuickBooks directly from the financial institution's servers without using a Web browser. 

Using Bank Feeds

After you set up an account with one of the above methods, you will see a summary of your bank account information when you go to the Bank Feeds window.

1. Go to the Banking menu, highlight Bank Feeds, then choose Bank Feeds Center.
2. In the Bank Accounts section, click your account.
   
   
   
   If you are set up through Direct Connect you will see a Download Transactions button to download transactions directly from your bank.
   
   Note: If you have multiple accounts with the same bank you can choose to sync individual or all accounts by clicking the sync button in the upper-right hand corner.
   
   If you are set up through Web Connect, you will need to manually import your web connect file if you have not already done so by going to the Bank menu, highlight Bank Feeds, then click on Import Web Connect File.
    
3. From this window select the Transaction List button.
4. A colored bar indicating how many items need your review (orange), changed by rules (red), or auto matched (blue).
   
   Note: You can filter your transactions easily using the status, type, and date range filters.
   
   
    
5. Add or Verify the account from your chart of accounts for each transaction.
    
6. You can also Add/Approve or Ignore transactions in a batch.
   
   
   
   Change the Status Options to see which transactions were automatically matched.
   
   
    
7. Once you are finished, you can close the Bank Feeds window.   Hopefully using these methods of importing transactions from your bank has saved you some time by not having to manually enter data.