# Import Checks into QuickBooks Online with Check Numbers

- Author: SimpleBankConvert (https://simplebankconvert.com)
- Published: 2026-10-16
- Category: QuickBooks Online imports
- Canonical: https://simplebankconvert.com/blog/import-checks-into-quickbooks-online

> Import checks into QuickBooks Online from a bank statement so check numbers carry over, cleared checks match the ones you wrote and payees aren't lost.
To import checks into QuickBooks Online, put each cleared check on its own row of the upload file with its date, its amount as a negative number and the check number kept in the description. Then match each imported line to the check you already wrote, so the payee and category come from your entry.

## Where the check number goes in the import file

The check number goes in the Description column, because the bank upload file has no column for it. Intuit's [upload instructions](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/import-transactions/manually-upload-transactions-quickbooks-online/L0rE9OXBz_US_en_US) describe two layouts: Date, Description and Amount, or Date, Description, Credit and Debit. Neither has a check number field.

So the number has to travel inside the description text. A line such as "CHECK 1042" does that. On the review screen you can then read the number, and you can search for it.

### Three check lines from a statement

Banks print checks in a few different ways, often with the number and nothing else. The lines below are examples, not from a real account.

| On the statement | Date | Description in the file | Amount |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CHECK 1042 | 03/04/2026 | CHECK 1042 | -250.00 |
| CHECK #1043 | 03/09/2026 | CHECK 1043 | -1,100.00 |
| CK 1044 | 03/15/2026 | CHECK 1044 | -86.50 |

Three habits make this table work:

- **One format for every check.** The statement may print "CHECK", "CHECK #" and "CK". Pick one wording, so you can search for "CHECK" and find them all.
- **Money out is negative.** In a single Amount column, a check that left the account is a minus amount. If your file has separate Debit and Credit columns, the check goes in the column for money out.
- **The number stays a whole number.** Keep it as plain digits with no decimal point. A check number that passes through a spreadsheet can turn into 1,042 or 1042.0, which breaks any search.

One caution comes from the same Intuit page. It advises removing numbers from the Description column, and a check number is a number. If an upload fails or the description arrives blank, test with a small file: one check line with the number in the description, and the same line without it. If the number is dropped, add it in the memo after the import.

Dates should use one format on every row. Intuit recommends dd/mm/yyyy on the same page. Whatever format you choose, set it the same way on the upload screen.

[Walking through the QuickBooks Online upload screens, step by step](/blog/how-to-import-bank-transactions-into-quickbooks-online#walking-through-the-quickbooks-online-upload-screens-step-by-step) shows the screens themselves, so this post does not repeat them.

## Matching imported checks to checks you already wrote

QuickBooks pairs a cleared check with your own entry by comparing the two. After an upload, the review screen lists each bank line and, where it finds an existing transaction that looks like the same payment, offers it as a match. A close amount and a close date are the main clues.

Matching is why you enter checks when you write them. A check you recorded on the day you wrote it has a payee, a category and a check number. The bank line has only a number and an amount. Matching joins the two, and you end up with one transaction that has all of that detail, marked as cleared.

### A worked match for the three example checks

Suppose these checks were already in the books before the statement came.

| Check written | Payee | Written on | Amount | Outcome on import |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1042 | Example Landscaping | 02/27/2026 | 250.00 | Matches line CHECK 1042 |
| 1043 | Example Property Mgmt | 03/01/2026 | 1,100.00 | Matches line CHECK 1043 |
| 1044 | (not entered) | | | No match, added as new |

Checks 1042 and 1043 pair up, because each has an entry with the same amount a few days earlier. Check 1044 has no entry, so the bank line is new. You add it, and you then need to find out who it went to.

### When a match fails

Matching fails more often than it should, for reasons that are easy to check:

- **The amount is different.** You wrote the check for 86.50 and typed 68.50. Fix the entry, then match.
- **The dates are too far apart.** A check can sit in a drawer for weeks. A line that clears long after you wrote it may not be offered as a match.
- **The entry is in the wrong account.** A check recorded against the savings account will never match a line from checking.
- **The check was entered twice.** Delete the extra before you match.

When the suggestion does not appear, you can still pick the existing check yourself from the review screen. Do that rather than adding the line as new, because adding it creates a second transaction for the same check.

## What if the statement shows no payee for a check?

When a statement shows no payee, the payee has to come from your own records. Banks usually print only the number and the amount for a paper check. The name of the person you paid is not on the statement line, so nothing in the import file can supply it.

Look in these places, in this order:

1. **Your check register or checkbook stub.** This is the fastest source and the one most people have.
2. **The check image.** Your bank's online banking site typically lets you view cleared checks, front and back. The back shows who deposited it.
3. **Open bills you paid.** If you pay bills by check, the amount often matches an invoice from a vendor.
4. **The vendor.** For a large or odd amount, a short email asking whether they received check 1044 settles it.

If you cannot find out, do not guess. Enter the line with a payee such as "Unknown, check 1044" and a category of Uncategorized Expense, then fix it once you know. A guess that sticks skews your vendor reports and may end up on a tax form.

A good habit for the future is to write the payee and category in your register at the moment you write the check. That entry costs thirty seconds and makes the match automatic at the end of the month.

## Voided and bounced checks on a bank statement

A voided check never leaves your account, so it does not appear on the statement. A bounced check is different: it appears as a deposit that comes back, usually as a returned item or a charge. The two need opposite handling, so tell them apart before you import.

### Voided checks

You void a check you wrote and then cancelled, for example one that was lost or misprinted. Because it never cleared, there is no bank line for it. Voiding it in QuickBooks keeps the number in your records at zero, so the sequence has no gap. Nothing needs to be imported.

If a check you voided does show on the statement, it cleared after all. Void status in your books is then wrong, and the amount really did leave. Reverse the void or record a new payment so the books agree with the bank.

### Returned (bounced) checks

A check from a customer that bounces shows two things on your statement: the original deposit and, later, a returned item for the same amount, often with a fee. Import both lines. The returned item reverses the deposit, which puts the customer's invoice back to unpaid in the books if you handle it right. The bank fee is an expense.

A check you wrote that your own bank returns for lack of funds usually shows a fee line, and the check may not clear at all or may clear later. Look at the dates and the fee wording, and do not assume the check cleared.

In each case, keep the description wording the bank gives so you can find the lines again. Never delete a bounced item to make the totals look better, because the statement total will then not agree with the books.

## Do check images come across with the import?

No. An import file holds rows of text: a date, a description and an amount. A picture of the check is not part of a CSV, a QBO file or a PDF statement's transaction table, so the image cannot arrive with the import. You keep seeing the image at your bank.

To keep a copy next to the entry, download the image from your bank's site and attach it to the check transaction in QuickBooks. Most people only do this for large or disputed checks, since the number, the payee and the amount are enough for ordinary work.

Statement PDFs add one more complication. Some banks print thumbnails of cleared checks on extra pages at the back of the statement. Those pages have no transaction table to read, and a converter should skip them. If your converter reports a page it could not read, look at whether it is a check image page before you worry.

If your only source is a PDF statement, [SimpleBankConvert](/) is being built to turn it into a CSV with date, description and amount columns. Accounts are not open yet; the [get started page](/get-started) takes your email for when they are. For a stack of paper or scanned statements, [scanning bank statements into QuickBooks](/blog/scan-bank-statements-into-quickbooks) covers that route.

Stripe and similar processors raise the opposite problem: many small sales, a single deposit. [Importing Stripe transactions without counting sales twice](/blog/import-stripe-transactions-into-quickbooks-online) covers it.