Automatic and Manual Transaction Updates
Automatic and manual bank updates in QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online connects to your bank or credit card company to download the latest transactions. You can update your accounts manually or let QuickBooks update them automatically.
Automatic updates
Most banks support automatic updates. QuickBooks checks for new transactions daily, though the exact timing depends on your financial institution.
- Timing: Updates typically occur once a day, often starting in the early evening Pacific time. However, the frequency and time are ultimately determined by your bank’s schedule.
- Availability: You cannot turn automatic updates on or off, nor can you choose exactly which transactions are downloaded. QuickBooks downloads everything the bank sends.
- Bank availability: If your bank does not send new data (for example, if they only update every few days), QuickBooks will not have new transactions to display until the bank provides them.
- Retry logic: If the initial connection attempt fails, QuickBooks will try to update the account again several times throughout the day.
Manual updates
You can update your accounts immediately at any time. This is useful if you know a transaction just posted or if an automatic update hasn’t occurred yet.
To update manually:
- Go to the Transactions or Banking menu.
- Select the Banking or Transactions tab.
- Locate the specific bank account.
- Select the Update button (usually a circular arrow icon) in the upper right corner of the bank feed.
Note: If your bank requires Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or a security question, you may need to sign in to your bank’s website manually before QuickBooks can complete the update.