In QuickBooks Online, click Banking in the left menu, then click Link Account. Search for your bank by name and follow the prompts to log in with your online banking credentials. Select which accounts you want to connect and QuickBooks will start pulling transactions automatically.

For credit cards, the process is the same. Search for the card issuer, log in, and select the account. Most major banks and credit card companies work with QuickBooks, though some smaller credit unions or local banks may have limited support or require manual file uploads instead.

Once connected, transactions flow into a review queue. They don’t go directly into your books. You need to review each transaction, assign it to the correct category or account, and then approve it. QuickBooks learns from your categorizations over time and starts suggesting matches, but you should still review suggestions rather than blindly accepting them.

Connect all the accounts you use for business. Checking accounts, business credit cards, PayPal, and any loan accounts with regular payments. The more complete your bank connections, the easier monthly reconciliation becomes because you’re not manually entering transactions you forgot about.

Watch for duplicates if you also enter transactions manually. If you write a check and record it in QuickBooks, then the cleared check also comes through the bank feed, you’ll have the same expense twice. Match incoming transactions to existing entries instead of adding them as new.

Bank feeds don’t replace reconciliation. The feed shows what the bank processed, but reconciling confirms your QuickBooks balance matches your actual bank balance. Skipping reconciliation because the transactions imported automatically is a common mistake that lets errors accumulate unnoticed.

If your bank connection keeps disconnecting or transactions stop importing, the issue is usually on the bank’s end or related to security updates requiring you to re-authenticate. Check for alerts in the Banking screen and reconnect when prompted. Some banks require reconnection every 90 days as a security measure.

QuickBooks setup and training covers bank connections along with chart of accounts configuration, categorization rules, and reconciliation workflows. Getting the foundation right matters because mistakes in how transactions get categorized affect your financial reports and tax preparation.

If you’re not sure which accounts to connect or how to handle transactions that span multiple categories, working with an Andover, MA bookkeeper during initial setup saves time fixing errors later. Bank feeds are powerful when configured correctly but create extra work when they’re pulling transactions into the wrong places.