I just started simple start and was hoping to download all of last years bank transactions to sort them into categories but it only shows december last year and this year

Thank you for posting your concern here in the QuickBooks Community, Hefeedmills. Let me go ahead and help you upload your transactions to QuickBooks Online(QBO).

If you recently connected your bank to QBO, the downloaded transactions depend on your bank. Some banks only allowed 90 days from the date.

To upload last year's data to QBO, we'll need to request a CSV file from your bank. Or we can download the data from your bank's website.

Once you have your CSV file from your bank, we can upload it to your QBO account.

Here's how to upload it: 

1. Go to Gear Icon.
2. Under Tools, click Import Data.
3. Drop or drag your CSV file. 
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.
5. Select Done. 

Let me share this article for you to check on how to download your transactions from your bank: Manually upload transactions into QuickBooks Online.

Let me share these articles to assist you in managing your transactions in QuickBooks Online:

• Manually upload transactions into QuickBooks Online
• Categorize online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online
• Set up bank rules to categorize online banking transactions in QuickBooks Online

If you still have concerns in regards to your bank transactions. You can always reply on the thread or create a new post. Have a great day, and take care!

@thefeedmillstaug 

You can use MT Online or one of the converter tools (e.g csv2qbo @ $60 one time license) as a workaround.

https://www.moneythumb.com/?ref=110