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sthiede1
July 15, 2020
Question

error "your federal employer identification number (ein) is not valid." when setting up bank feeds

  • July 15, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

Not sure when this happened but a few issues appeared simultaneously.  Several bank accounts show the same, incorrect, account balance in the bank feeds area.  When I go in to edit the bank feed settings, I see that the bank user ID now has dashes in it.  It will not let me change the bank user ID.  When I select "deactivate all online services" I get an error that says "your federal employer identification number (ein) is not valid.  Please use format ##-#######"  I select ok, and then the error "Invalid Customer ID.  Customer ID can only contain alpha numeric characters."

 

So somehow my bank accounts are corrupt.  What is the best way to restore them?  Thanks!

    2 replies

    M
    mv32
    July 15, 2020

    Thanks for posting to the Community, @sthiede1.

     

    Let me share insights before setting up Bank Feeds in QuickBooks. Make sure that you have entered a valid EIN under the Company settings.

     

    1. Go to Company, then select My Company.
    2. From Company Information, select Edit ✎
    3. From the menu on the left, choose Company Information
    4. In the Federal Employer Identification No. field, enter the new EIN then select OK.

     

    Also, if you're changing the EIN, make sure to contact us so we can update your EIN in our records. This way, the information is restored in QuickBooks.

     

    Additionally, when setting up Bank Feed, ensure to select the correct account to connect. You can follow the steps given through this article: Set up or edit bank accounts for Bank Feeds in QuickBooks Desktop.

     

    Let me know if you have more questions about Bank Feeds. I'll be around to help. Stay safe and well!

    S
    sthiede1Author
    July 15, 2020

    Thanks for responding.  I did not change the EIN and it is still the same and correct in company settings.  But for some reason when trying to setup bank feeds it gives an error saying it is not valid.  It also won't allow me change the user ID in bank feeds.

    G
    GraceC
    July 15, 2020

     

    I appreciate your time and effort in performing the steps to resolve this issue, @sthiede1.

     

    It's possible that the original file might be damaged. In this case, I recommend running the verify rebuild diagnostic tool. This helps identify data damage and then self repair it.

     

    Let me show you how: 

    1. Close all windows opened within QuickBooks Desktop. Window > Close All. 
    2. Select the File menu and choose Utilities. 
    3. Click Verify Data. 
    4. Resolve any error message and if it says "Your data has lost integrity", continue to Rebuild Data to correct the problem. 
    5. Still from the File menu, click Utilities, then, Rebuild Data. 
    6. Confirm to back up your company file. 
    7. Click NO if you're asked to replace the backup. 
    8. Wait until the backup is finished so the Rebuild Data utility tool starts. 
    9. Click OK if Rebuild has completed.

    You can also use the QuickBooks File Doctor to fix your company file just in case you can still see them.

     

    Keep us posted or please reply to this thread if you still have the same result. We'll look for other options that can get this resolved.

    S
    sthiede1Author
    January 12, 2021

    Finally solved this.  It was an issue with the bank.  Not sure why it caused the EIN error, but once the bank updated their QB stuff and I imported new transactions the problem went away.  If you are having this issue, call your bank and ask if they need to do a QB update. 

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