How to upload a bank statement CSV to QuickBooks Online

The layout QuickBooks expects

• Three columns: Date, Description and Amount.
• One Amount column, where money out is negative and money in is positive.
• Dates as DD/MM/YYYY, which QuickBooks recommends for UK files.
• A file of 350 KB or less, with up to 1,000 lines per upload. Split long statements by date range.

Step by step

1. Convert your PDF to a QuickBooks CSV (or an OFX file, which QuickBooks also accepts for manual uploads).
2. In QuickBooks Online, go to the bank transactions area and look for the option to upload transactions from a file.
3. Pick the account, then choose the file.
4. Match Date, Description and Amount, and choose the date format.
5. Review the transactions, select the ones to import, and finish the upload.

If the upload is rejected

The usual causes are a file over the size limit, a date format that does not match the one chosen at the mapping step, and blank or oddly formatted amounts. Try a shorter date range first.