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S
scieslicki
July 8, 2021
Question

New to importing credit card transactions and recording/matching/rules; looking for help

  • July 8, 2021
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

Hello,

 

I'm running QB Desktop Pro 2020. I have an American Express credit card account. For years, we've been entering the AMEX statement total amount as a vendor bill, categorizing the expenses and totaling the QB expense accounts they should go towards manually (outside of QB), and paying the bill with a check.

 

What I'd like to do is to get the AMEX card transactions into QB (I'm familiar with importing a .QBO file), learn how to create rules to categorize the expenses (so I don't have to do the manual totaling), and how to pay/record the payment to AMEX. I'd like to make/record this payment in a way other than writing a check, because the mail is very slow lately. I have paid AMEX through their website, but am stumped on how to record this in QB.

 

Thanks in advance for your help. Forgive me if i got the terminology wrong!

 

Steve 

2 replies

Rustler
Rustler
July 8, 2021

Whether you use the bank bill pay, or the CC web site to pay the bill, you are using a check.  The check is electronic instead of paper though, use EFT (electronic transfer of funds) instead of a check number

    S
    scieslickiAuthor
    July 12, 2021

    Thanks for the tip Rustler! It's beautiful in its simplicity. It'll help with this and elsewhere.

     

    Following up now... I've got my credit card account now set up in my Chart of Accounts, and have brought in my month's worth of transactions by importing a QBO file. I've categorized all the transactions by selecting their appropriate expense accounts and batch approving them. Question, what do I do to pay my credit card company? Is it writing a check to the vendor (AMEX) and posting it to the credit card account?

    MJoy_D
    MJoy_D
    July 13, 2021

    Thank you for getting back to us and providing us with more details of the error you're having, @scieslicki.

     

    To save this renaming rule and avoid this error, you'll also need to add a vendor or customer to associate the bank transaction with. 

     

    Here's how:

    1. In the Edit Rules Details or Add Rules Details window, go to the DO THIS section.
    2. Select Rename for the first line and enter the customer or vendor name.
    3. Click the + button to add another line and select Categorize.
    4. Set the account you'll want to associate the transaction with.
    5. Click Save.

     

    To help you in modifying or adding transactions with renaming rules, refer to the following article: Use renaming rules for Bank Feeds.

     

    Here's everything that you need to know in setting up, downloading, and adding or matching bank feed transactions: Get started with Bank Feeds for QuickBooks Desktop. 

     

    I'm always here if you have any other concerns or follow-up questions with your bank rules. Just let me know by leaving a reply below. Take care and have a great rest of the day!

    S
    scieslickiAuthor
    July 15, 2021

    MaryJoyD - thank you for the information. When you say "Set the account you'll want to associate the transaction with", can you please explain? I currently have my credit card company (American Express) set up as a vendor. Is this what I should be using for all my transactions?

    Maybe this explanation of what I was doing before I started trying to utilize bank feeds might help:

    - I made Amex purchases throughout the month, without entering any transactions into QB

    - The Amex statement arrived in the mail

    - I entered the total statement balance as a vendor bill, and manually totaled up the expenses and assigned those totals to expense accounts on the bill. For example, I made 2 gasoline purchases in the month for $20 and $30. In the Enter Bill screen, I entered the bill total as $50 and assigned it to my Gasoline expense account.

     

    How is using bank feeds different? I'm getting a little confused... 

    Candice C
    Candice C
    July 15, 2021

    Good evening, @scieslicki. 

     

    I'm glad you reached back out to us with your concerns. Let me share some light on this subject. 

     

    Since you're having a bit of trouble understanding our explanations, I suggest contacting our Customer Support Team. They'll be able to take a look at your situation and explain your options as soon as you get talking with them. Here's how: 

     

    1. Go to the Help menu. 
    2. Click the QuickBooks Desktop Help option. 
    3. Press the Contact Us hyperlink. 
    4. Give a brief description of the problem and hit Let's talk. 
    5. Scroll down and choose to Get a callback. 

     

    It's that simple. 

     

    Please inform me on how the call goes. If you still have any other questions, feel free to ask. I'm only a post away if you need me. Have a fantastic day! 

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