Record Transactions
Long before online banking, individuals and businesses alike would write a paper check and record the transaction in a paper register. This was necessary so that you had a true vision of your bank balance as well as what it would be if all of your outstanding checks were to clear.
QuickBooks allows you to create new checks and deposits before they clear the bank, which for most, is a more efficient method of managing finances and can provide more accurate accounting.
How to Manually Record Transactions in QBO
Like many areas of QBO, there is more than one way to accomplish any task. You can record payments directly from the bank register in QBO, but most will use the +New Button described below:
In the upper left hand column of your screen, after you've logged in to QuickBooks, you will see a +New Button. When you click this, a dialogue box opens, allowing you to select which "New" thing you wish to create.
This window will allow you to choose to create a new expense or deposit before it clears your bank. Let's start with what you will see when you select "Expenditure" from the 2nd column:
- Payee - This is who you paid and is especially important for any of your Paid Services vendors who will require 1099s at the end of the year. Who did you write the check to or what company did you pay?
- Payment Account - Which account did this come out of? Normally this will default to your checking account, but for regions managing multiple accounts, you might need to use the drop down to select the correct payment account.
- Payment Date - This should be the date that you wrote the check or submitted the payment - not necessarily when it cleared.
- Payment Method - How did you submit payment? Did you write a check or use your bank's Bill Pay Service? For most transactions this option will be blank or check. It is not a required field.
- Ref No. - If you wrote a check, the check number used should be listed here. If you used your bank's bill pay, they should have provided a confirmation of the transaction. This number will come in handy should there ever be a dispute about payment made.
- Tags - Not all regions need to use Tags and this field is not required unless otherwise directed by your directors. QuickBooks has a helpful article about Tags in you'd like more information.
- Category - This will be based on the approved categories from National - also known as your Chart of Accounts. You can also add additional lines if you need to split the transaction between accounts (i.e. you paid for Uniforms for Coaches, Players and Referees all in the same check.)
- Description - This is a note about what that part of the transaction was for
- Amount - This is for the dollar amount. If you are splitting the transaction, the total of all lines should be the total of the check written or payment made.
- Memo - This is for your Memos and notes about the whole transaction
- Attachments - Here is where you will attach your supporting documents - receipts, invoices, etc. as back-up for the payments made.
- Save and New or Save and Close - If you have multiple checks to enter, the "Save and New" option will open a new check window for you to repeat the above. When you have completed entering your checks and payments, you can "Save and Close". If you don't see the right button option, click the down arrow next to the button and you'll be able to switch.
The data entry for a deposit is similar, but with slightly different fields:
Why should you Manually enter Transactions?
- When you write the check or create the payment, you likely have the invoice or receipt handy, making attaching proper documentation a simpler process.
- You don't need to go back in time to figure out what the check you wrote 3 months ago was for that just now cleared the bank
- You have a more accurate view of your bank balance and available funds if you have checks outstanding.
- When your bank transactions are downloaded, these will Match with your previously entered transactions, making confirming and categorizing much quicker.
Additional Resources
Back to QuickBooks User Guide Home | Learn how to Match Transactions | Reconciling your Bank and Divvy Account
