Credit Card Account

Manage your credit card accounts in QuickBooks Online

Learn how to set up credit card accounts for multiple users, fix banking connection issues, correct transaction types, and handle missing payments.

Set up multiple credit cards for one account

If you have several employees or users sharing a single corporate credit card account, the best practice is to create a parent account for reconciliation and sub-accounts for each individual card.

1. Go to the Settings (gear icon) and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Create a new Credit Card account to act as the parent (main) account. You will use this account to reconcile the total balance.
3. Create separate Credit Card accounts for each individual user.
4. In the account details for each individual card, check the box Is subaccount and select the parent account you created.
5. Connect (enable online banking) only for the individual sub-accounts. Do not connect the parent account.

Your Chart of Accounts will look like this:

• Parent Credit Card (Reconcile)
  • John’s Card (3758)
  • Peggy’s Card (3759)
  • Jarrett’s Card (3760)

Fix credit card account connection issues

If your credit card account will not activate or the account name does not appear in the dropdown menu during setup, or if you need to update the account number:

To fix activation or dropdown issues:

1. If the account is currently a subaccount, edit it and remove the subaccount status temporarily.
2. Go to Chart of Accounts and locate the credit card account.
3. Edit the account and disable online banking.
4. Set up the account fresh with the new account number.

To update a credit card number:

1. Go to Chart of Accounts and find the credit card account.
2. Select Edit.
3. If online banking is active, go to the Online Services or Bank Feed settings and disconnect or update the info there.
4. Update the account number in the account details.
5. Save your changes and follow the prompts to reconnect online banking with the new credentials.

Correct credit card payment entries

If you paid a vendor bill using a check but intended to charge it to the credit card, or if you are paying off a credit card balance without making new purchases, ensure the transactions are recorded correctly.

Fix a check that should have been a credit card charge:

1. If a bill was created and paid by check, you must delete the bill payment first, then delete the original bill.
2. Go to the Expenses or Checks menu and open the original check.
3. Change the Account (or category) used on the check to the actual Credit Card account.
4. Save the transaction. This moves the expense from the bank to the credit card register.

Record payments on a credit card you don’t use for purchases: If you are only paying down principal, interest, and fees (and not using the card for new spending), do not use the usual “Credit Card Credit” feature for a single lump sum. Instead, record the payment from your bank account and split the details:

1. Go to the + New menu and select Journal Entry (or use an Expense/Check).
2. Record the debit to your Bank account (the money leaving).
3. On the next line, credit the Liability account for the principal amount paid.
4. Add additional lines to debit (expense) the specific Interest and Fee accounts.
5. Ensure the entry balances to zero.

Find missing credit card payments

Sometimes bank feeds download credit card payments as “Credits” or “Transfers” rather than checks. If your charges appear but your payments are missing:

1. Select the Search (magnifying glass) icon and choose Advanced Search.
2. Filter by Transaction Type (All) and enter the Amount of the missing payment.
3. Locate the transaction in the results.
4. Open the transaction and verify the Account field is set to your specific Credit Card account. If it was posted to the wrong account, edit it to correct the mapping.

Reconcile previously deleted or changed transactions

If transactions that were already reconciled suddenly appear as unreconciled (cleared status is lost), it is usually due to one of the following reasons:

• Undo Last Reconciliation was used.
• The transactions were manually unchecked (uncleared) in the register.
• The reconciled transactions were modified or deleted and re-entered.
• A transfer occurred between a reconciled bank account and its subaccount.
• A company file backup was restored that overwrote the current data.

To resolve this, review the register for the affected dates. You may need to re-enter the missing transactions or manually mark them as cleared if you are certain they match the bank statement, then perform a mini-reconciliation for that specific period.