To manually add bank transactions to QuickBooks Desktop, open the bank account register, type the date, number, payee, amount and account on the blank line at the bottom, and save it. The same entry can also be made in the Write Checks, Make Deposits or Transfer Funds windows. Enter each item once, so a later download matches it.
Using the Desktop check register for a manual entry
Yes, you can type straight into the register. The bank register is a running list of every transaction in one account, and its last row is always blank, ready for a new line. It suits a few missing items, because you see the balance change as you type.
A five-step register entry
These steps record a check that cleared the bank but is missing from the books. The payee, number and amount are examples.
- Open the Banking menu, choose Use Register and pick the bank account.
- Click the date field on the blank bottom line and type the date the check was written.
- Type the check number, then the payee. Example: 1042, "Example Paper Supply".
- Enter the amount in the Payment column. Money coming in goes in the Deposit column.
- Choose the expense account in the Account field, such as Office Supplies, and click Record.
The balance column updates at once. If the number is wrong, click the line and fix it, since the register stays editable until you reconcile.
Fill in the fields a later match relies on
A manual entry is only useful if it can be recognised later. Put the real check number in, use the bank's date and copy the amount to the cent. A line with a guessed date and a rounded amount is the kind that sits unmatched for months.
Write Checks, Make Deposits or Transfer Funds in Desktop?
Choose the window by what happened at the bank. A check you wrote belongs in Write Checks, money paid into the account belongs in Make Deposits, and money moved between two of your own accounts belongs in Transfer Funds. All three post to the same register, so the register view will show every one.
| What the bank shows | Desktop window | Banking menu item | Key field to fill |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check cleared, no record in books | Write Checks | Write Checks | Check number and expense account |
| Cash or check paid in | Make Deposits | Make Deposits | Received From and account |
| Money moved between your accounts | Transfer Funds | Transfer Funds | Transfer From and To |
The window matters because each one sets the account behind the line for you. A transfer entered as a check to an expense account, for example, books a cost that never happened and leaves the receiving account short. When a deposit is a customer payment, record it against the customer's invoice with Receive Payments rather than coding it straight to income, but that is the sales side and not a bank-entry question.
If the same item could fit two windows, ask what the money is. Your own money moving is a transfer. Someone else's money arriving is a deposit. Money leaving to someone else is a check or an expense.
Will a manual Desktop entry match a later download?
Often it will, provided the entry looks like what the bank sends. When a download arrives, QuickBooks compares each downloaded line with what is already in the register, using details such as the amount, the date and the check number, and offers a match where one is close. Treat that as a helper to confirm, not a guarantee.
The Intuit guide to downloading bank feed transactions in QuickBooks Desktop is clear on one related rule: you cannot download transactions into the same company file more than once, and deleting a downloaded line means you can't download it again. So the safe habit is to match, not delete.
How to avoid a double
- Enter the manual item with the real amount and a date within a few days of the bank's.
- When the download comes in, open the Bank Feeds Center and look for a suggested match.
- Accept the match instead of adding the line as new.
- If you see the same item twice in the register, delete your manual copy, not the downloaded one.
Why the date can mislead
A check written on the 28th may clear on the 3rd of the next month. Enter it with the date you want in the books, and expect the bank's date to differ. The match depends more on the check number and amount than on the exact day.
When typing Desktop bank transactions is a poor use of time
Typing makes sense for a handful of items, perhaps up to a dozen. Beyond that, the risk of a typo in an amount grows with every line, and each typo is a reconciliation difference you must hunt down. Import instead whenever the lines already exist in a file.
Three signs suggest you should import:
- You are typing from a bank statement that has dozens of lines.
- You need the same payees and accounts month after month.
- The statement is a PDF you can turn into a QBO file in minutes.
The CSV route is described in the guide on bringing many transactions in from a file, and the general Web Connect steps are in importing bank transactions into QuickBooks Desktop. Users of the Enterprise edition have another option for pasting many lines at once, covered in QuickBooks Enterprise import transactions.
SimpleBankConvert turns a PDF statement into a file ready to import, so a whole month does not need retyping. It is in early access, so check the homepage for where things stand.
If you use QuickBooks Online instead, the equivalent job is covered in how to manually add a transaction in QuickBooks Online, where the screens differ from the Desktop register.