Business owner, professional or liberal, using efficient and reliable invoicing and accounting software is essential for your activity. Today there are multitude of offers of varying quality, with prices and features that can vary a lot.

In the previous article, we provided more detail about costs and benefits of subscription pricing plans for QuickBooks.

Now we learn how to set up a bank account and connect it to Bank Feeds in QuickBooks. One of the features of QuickBooks is the ability to upload bank transactions to your bank's site, and you can use Bank Feeds to connect your bank and credit card accounts to online banking. With this feature, you can upload all of your banking transactions to QuickBooks. This lets you download bank transactions so you do not have to record them manually.

You can set up bank and credit card accounts for online banking in single-user and multi-user mode. Many banks offer this feature for their small business and dealer account holders. They allow downloads for both QuickBooks Software. The difficulty in using any bank especially for these downloads comes with the many mergers that seem to happen almost every year.

You can connect up to 40 accounts.

In QuickBooks Desktop, you can use Bank Feeds to connect your bank and credit card accounts to online banking. This lets you download bank transactions so you don't have to record them manually.

What you need to get started

The two primary requirements are:

• Access to the internet.
• A banking account at a financial institution that offers services for QuickBooks.

To find out if your financial institution supports online services for QuickBooks, go to the Banking menu, select Bank Feeds and then select Participating Financial Institutions.

There are over 1400 financial institutions (FI) that offer online banking services in QuickBooks at the moment. If your bank or credit card company doesn't offer online banking import or download services for QuickBooks.
Your financial institution controls what and how information is received by QuickBooks. Before you set up online banking, it is highly recommended that you coordinate with your bank so you�ll know what connection method they support, what the fees are (if any), and what information you need to set up and use the feature. Note: You can't add online services to a QuickBooks account until you have received all the information required by your FI.

General instructions for QuickBooks Online

There are two methods to set up a new bank account in QuickBooks Online.

METHOD 1: Direct feed connection

This is generally used for a bank account that you know has a bank feed available and is set up for bank feed access.

Go to the Banking tab in QuickBooks Online and click the 'Add Account' button

When the 'Direct Feed' page opens, simply type in the name of your bank and follow the prompts

METHOD 2: Manually add a bank account

This option is great if there is no bank feed available or if you want to connect the bank feed later.

Go to the Accounting tab in QuickBooks Online, and when the Chart of Accounts loads, click on 'New'

In the following window, you will enter the account particulars.

'Account Type' - please select 'Bank'

'Detail Type' - we've selected 'Checking', since we are adding a Bank of America checking account to QuickBooks Online

'Name' - provide your custom name for this bank account. You can also add in a description in the description field.

'Currency' - this is where you nominate the currency of the bank account. In our example, it is United States Dollar.

'Balance' - this is the opening balance section

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When you've finished entering the account particulars, click 'Save and Close'

The new bank account will now be displayed in your Chart of Accounts.

If you would like to connect a direct bank feed to the new account, click on the drop down arrow beside 'View Register' and then select 'Connect Bank'.

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General instructions for QuickBooks desktop

There are two ways to set up an account: Direct Connect and Web Connect. The way you connect depends on what's available at your bank.

Direct Connect

Download your transactions with Direct Connect. Allows QuickBooks to send information to your FI and download data directly from it. This method requires the use of a bank-provided PIN or password. After you set up the account, you can securely download electronic statements to your Bank Feeds. You can also use other types of online services (online vendor payment, online transfer between accounts, and others) supported by your FI.

Before you start, find out from your bank if there's a fee or if the service is free.

1. From Banking, go to Bank Feeds.
2. Select Set up Bank Feeds for an account.
3. In the Enter your Bank�s name field, enter and select your bank.

If you're enrolling for the first time, select the Enrollment site link. You may need to apply for Direct Connect. If your bank needs to approve your application, contact them. Ask them whether you need special sign-in credentials.

If you're already enrolled:

1. Select Continue.
2. Enter your Online Banking ID and Password.
3. Select Connect to connect your QuickBooks to your bank�s server.
4. Select the bank account you want to connect
5. Select Finish after the connection finishes.

When you download transactions from your bank for the first time, QuickBooks automatically sets up the account for Bank Feeds. After you set up your account, you can download transactions from your bank.

Web Connect

Import Web Connect (.qbo) files. Only allows receiving of data through a downloaded file via a web browser. If you set up using Web Connect, you won't be able to send payments to your vendors or transfer funds to another account from within the program. Web connect (.QBO) files are online banking transactions from your bank�s website. The (.QBO) files can be downloaded and saved on your computer. Then, you can import the transactions so they become available in your Bank Feeds. If your bank offers Web Connect:

1. From the Banking menu, select Bank Feeds, then Import Web Connect Files.
2. Select the QBO file you saved, then select Open.
3. When prompted to Select Bank Account, select:

• Use an existing QuickBooks account if the account you're importing transactions into is already set up in QuickBooks.
• Create a new QuickBooks account if the account you're importing transactions into isn't in QuickBooks yet.

1. Select Continue. You'll see a dialogue box telling you that the data has been successfully read into QuickBooks. Select OK.
2. Go to the Bank Feeds Center to review your transactions.