QuickBooks error 103 means your bank turned away the username or password that QuickBooks has stored for the connection. Sign in on the bank's own website first, reset the password there if it fails, then type the working details into QuickBooks with Fix now and select Update. The feed then downloads again.
What does QuickBooks error 103 mean?
Error 103 is a sign-in failure. QuickBooks Online tried to collect transactions using the credentials saved for your bank, and the bank said no. Intuit's guide to fixing bank error 103 puts it simply: the username or password for the bank account is usually incorrect.
That sounds obvious, but the cause is often less direct than a typo. A password changed at the bank last week, a browser that filled in an old password when the connection was made, or a colleague who set up the feed with their own login can all produce the same code. Nothing in your books is damaged. Transactions simply stop arriving until the bank accepts a fresh sign-in.
Error 103 is one of several numbered bank errors, and the codes are not interchangeable. If your account shows a different number, such as the one covered in what QuickBooks error 185 means and how to clear it, follow the steps for that code instead.
Testing the bank sign-in before you touch error 103
The first test for error 103 happens outside QuickBooks. In a new browser window, sign in at your bank's website with the username and password you believe are correct. If the bank lets you in, the credentials are good and the problem is how they were saved. If it refuses you, reset the password at the bank before going further.
A few habits make this test honest:
- Type the password yourself. If the browser fills it in, use the show icon to read what it actually entered. Intuit's guide suggests this, because an autofilled password may be an old one.
- Use the same login QuickBooks uses. Many businesses have more than one person with online banking. Intuit's guide says to ask the person who first set up the connection to reconnect it, and the error message has a Send a request option that emails them a link.
- Read any notice the bank shows. A new terms page or an identity check can sit between you and your accounts. Clear it on the bank's site first.
Write the working username and password down somewhere safe before you move on. You will type them into QuickBooks by hand in the next step.
Updating the saved sign-in to clear error 103
To clear error 103 on an existing connection, give QuickBooks the credentials that just worked at the bank. The update takes a minute and does not disconnect the account, so your transaction history and matching rules stay as they are.
The steps below follow Intuit's guide for QuickBooks Online. Menu names shift from time to time, so look for the closest match if a label differs.
- Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Bank transactions.
- Select the bank account that shows error 103.
- Select fix now on the error message. Your bank's sign-in page opens in a new window.
- Clear any username and password the browser has filled in.
- Type the credentials you tested at the bank's website.
- Select Update, then wait for the download to finish.
If you were setting up a brand-new connection when the error appeared, there is no saved login to fix. Connect the account again and pick the same bank you just signed in to. In QuickBooks Solopreneur, Intuit's guide says to use Manage connections and choose Edit sign-in info for the account instead.
Why does error 103 come back with the right password?
Error 103 can return even after you type a password that works at the bank. When it does, the cause is usually one of four things that have nothing to do with the password itself. Work through them in order, because each one takes only a moment to check.
Use this checklist, drawn from Intuit's guide:
- The wrong bank in the list. QuickBooks lists many banks with similar names, including regional branches and separate business sites. Picking the wrong entry sends a correct password to the wrong place.
- Third-party access is switched off. Some banks make you grant permission before an outside service can read your account. Look in the bank's security or connected apps settings, or ask the bank.
- An odd security question. If the bank shows a question you never set, Intuit's guide treats that as another sign that the sign-in details are wrong. Recheck them in a private window.
- Browser leftovers. Signing in to QuickBooks from a private or incognito window rules out stored cookies and old autofill entries.
A connection that still fails after all four is a job for QuickBooks support. Note what you tried, so the call starts from the right place.
When error 103 is a bank outage, not your login
Error 103 is not always about you. When a bank's website is down for maintenance, sign-ins from outside services can fail, and QuickBooks reports the failure the only way it can. Retrying every few minutes changes nothing and can trip extra security checks at the bank.
Intuit's article on getting a bank error when you download transactions says to sign in at the bank and look for an outage or maintenance notice. It adds that outages usually clear within 24 to 48 hours. If you see such a notice, leave the connection alone and select Update on the Bank transactions page once the bank says service is back.
Some sign-in failures look similar in QuickBooks Desktop but carry a different message. The "unable to verify the financial institution information" message is the Desktop error to read about if you use Web Connect files rather than a live feed.
Keeping the books current while error 103 blocks the feed
You do not have to stop bookkeeping while error 103 is unresolved. Intuit's error 103 guide names manual upload as the last resort: download a file of transactions from your bank's website and upload it to the same account in QuickBooks Online. Once the feed works again, check for lines that arrive twice.
Duplicates are the risk to plan for. When a repaired feed restarts, it may pull transactions you already uploaded by hand. Before you reconnect, note the date of the last line you uploaded. Afterwards, exclude any downloaded lines on or before that date instead of adding them again.
Some banks only hand out PDF statements. Intuit's manual upload guide for QuickBooks Online now accepts a PDF or image statement as well as a CSV or QBO file, and a CSV is easier to check row by row before it goes in. SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn a PDF statement into a CSV or QBO file for that upload. Accounts are not open yet, and you can ask to be told when they are.
If bank connections keep breaking and you are weighing a move to different software anyway, moving your books from Quicken to Xero covers what to export first and how bank history comes across.