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Redmond Accounting Inc

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What is QBO Banking?

Is your QBO home page’s Bank Accounts section telling you that you have transactions that need your attention?  Do you know how to use QBO’s Banking screen?  What does “match” mean?

banking - home

Financial transactions (such as invoices, sales receipts, checks, bills, bill payments, transfers, and journal entries) are posted to the general ledger as debits and credits.  QBO’s “Banking” screen is different than your financial transactions.  It shows your bank feed…all bank activity that has posted to your bank or credit card accounts.  You COULD ignore the Banking screen…but it’s got some features that enhance your accounting.
banking
Use the bank activity to “add” the financial transaction to QBO faster than normal, because the date and amount are entered for you.  And if you’ve entered a similar transaction, QBO may also suggest the vendor name and account category for you.  (“Transfer” is like “Add”…it’s for recording transfers between Balance Sheet accounts.)
banking - add match transfer
If you’ve already entered the financial transaction, QBO will suggest you “match” the bank feed to a recent financial transaction in the same amount.  Or it will show you several to choose from.  Or you can click to find other matching transactions to match to.  Matching your bank feed to your financial transactions is very helpful at some later date to know that a transaction is valid because you see the matched bank info with the date it cleared your account.  Furthermore, matched transactions are marked as cleared and already “checked off” in the bank reconciliation.  
banking - match
Here are some examples of using each:
  • Adam is in QBO on the Banking screen.  He sees a bank charge that he has not yet recorded.  QBO recognizes the merchant and suggests that Adam add the transaction and auto-completes the date, amount, vendor name and bank fees expense account.  Adam clicks to accept this, and the financial transaction is posted to the general ledger with the associated bank feed matched.
  • Adam uses his bank’s phone app to transfer funds from one account to the other.  He is too busy to jump in QBO and record it.  The next day, Adam is in QBO and sees the transfer on his Banking screen.  Adams selects transfer, specifies the other account to transfer from/to and QBO records the transfer on his books.  The bank feed will automatically match as the financial transaction is recorded.
  • Adam records a check in QBO and sends it to the vendor.  The following week, Adams sees the transfer on his Banking screen.  It is already suggesting he match it to the check transaction he recorded the week before.  When Adam performs his month-end bank reconciliation, that check is already marked as cleared.

Even when we work with accrual-basis businesses who enter all transactions before they are cleared, we still always use the Banking screen as a verification for what has or has not cleared the bank.  It’s a great way to see your bank activity and watch your bank balance inside of QBO.