Online banking: Using Web Connect

Using Web Connect, you can manually import transactions from your online banking account. First you need to download a transaction file (.qbo) from your financial institution’s website. Then you import that file into QuickBooks. To use Web Connect, you must have the customer ID and password you use to sign in to your online account at your financial institution’s website.

The first time you use Web Connect, you must go through a setup process, but after the first time, you can skip the setup process.

To use Web Connect for the first time:

1. Choose Banking > Online Banking Setup.
2. Select your financial institution from the list and click Next. (Sometimes financial institutions will have multiple listings, one for Direct Connect (DC) and one for Web Connect (WC). If you see this be sure to select the WC option. (No giggling about “water closets” you anglophiles out there.)
3. If you’re asked to select either “Direct connect” or “Web connect,” select “Web connect” and click Next. (If you do not see the screen, go to the next step.)
4. Click Website to go to your financial institution’s website.
5. On your financial institution’s website, find the download area for your account and choose the QuickBooks Web Connect option to download your account statement. Your financial institution may call the option “Download account activity,” “Download account history,” or something similar. Follow the onscreen instructions to download the file, which will have a .qbo file extension. Contact your financial institution for more information.
6. In QuickBooks, choose File > Import > From Web Connect, select the .qbo file you want to import, and then click Open.
7. For each account shown in the Web Connect file, select the QuickBooks account you want to associate with it, and then click Continue. The account pop-up menu shows available QuickBooks banking accounts if the account you are importing transactions from is:
   • a checking, savings, or money market account
   • available QuickBooks credit card accounts (if you are importing transactions from a credit card accounts
   • available QuickBooks Other Current Liability accounts if you are importing transactions from a line of credit account

   The account pop-up menu will not show a QuickBooks account that is already associated with a Web Connect file. If nothing appears in the account pop-up menu, create a bank, credit card, or Other Current Liability account first.

8. When QuickBooks finishes importing transactions, click OK. QuickBooks displays the transactions in the Downloaded Transactions window.
9. (Optional) Click Align Windows to display the Downloaded Transactions window and its corresponding account register. You can also display the windows side-by-side by customizing the Downloaded Transactions window toolbar.
10. Now you can update your register.

Now that you’ve used Web Connect the first time, the next times will be easier. All you have to is:

1. Choose Banking > Downloaded Transactions.
2. Choose an account from the pop-up menu.
3. Click Download to log in to your financial institution’s website and download a Web Connect file.
4. Click Import File to import the Web Connect file into QuickBooks.