To import petty cash transactions into QuickBooks Online, create a bank-type account named Petty Cash, turn your cash log into a CSV with date, description and amount columns, and upload it to that account. Record each top-up from the bank as a transfer into Petty Cash, so the cash box balance matches the account.
Setting up a petty cash account in QuickBooks Online
Petty cash needs its own account in QuickBooks Online, set up as a bank-type account. That is what lets you upload a file to it, record transfers into it and compare its balance with the money in the box. Name it Petty Cash, or name each box if you keep more than one.
You can create it ahead of time in the chart of accounts, or during the upload. Intuit's manual upload help page shows an Add New option on the screen where you choose the account, which creates a bank account there and then.
Give the account an opening balance equal to the cash in the box on your start date. Count it, write the count in the log, and use that figure. Starting from a guess means the account will never agree with the box.
Turning a petty cash log into an upload CSV
A petty cash log becomes an upload file once each row has a date, a short description and a signed amount. Cash paid out is negative, and cash put back in is positive. The QuickBooks Online upload reads this three-column layout, and a log kept in any spreadsheet can be saved as CSV.
Here is a made-up log for two weeks and the file it becomes. The values are examples.
| Log entry (example) | Date | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postage for client package | 06/02/2026 | Post office postage | -14.60 |
| Coffee and milk for office | 06/03/2026 | Grocery store office kitchen | -9.85 |
| Parking for site visit | 06/05/2026 | City parking meter | -6.00 |
| Change returned by staff | 06/05/2026 | Change returned from parking | 1.00 |
| Cleaning cloths | 06/09/2026 | Hardware store cleaning | -12.40 |
| Top-up from checking | 06/10/2026 | Top-up from checking | 50.00 |
Tidy the file before you upload it. Use one date format all the way down. Remove currency symbols. Keep descriptions short and consistent, so a bank rule can sort repeat items such as postage. If your log has more columns, such as who spent the money or a receipt number, put the useful part into the description and delete the rest.
The top-up row needs care, because the same money will also appear on your bank statement. The next section covers how to keep it from being counted twice.
If your log lives in Apple Numbers or Google Sheets, the export step differs slightly. Importing a Numbers spreadsheet and importing Google Sheets as a CSV each cover their own download menu and the formats that trip the upload.
How should each petty cash top-up from the bank be recorded?
A petty cash top-up is a transfer from your bank account to the Petty Cash account. It is not an expense. The expenses are the individual items paid from the box, which the log already records. Booking the top-up as an expense would count the same spending twice.
Intuit's help page on transferring funds between accounts covers the options. A top-up by ATM withdrawal can be recorded as a transfer from checking to Petty Cash. A top-up by check can be recorded as a check, with Petty Cash as the category.
Record the top-up once, from the bank side, when the checking line arrives. Then, in the Petty Cash account, match the top-up row from your log to that transfer rather than adding it as new. If you prefer, leave top-up rows out of the CSV entirely and let the transfer from checking supply them.
A petty cash count that disagrees with the log
When the cash in the box does not match the Petty Cash balance in QuickBooks Online, a row is missing from the log or was entered with the wrong amount. Find the gap before you upload the next batch, because each new upload builds on the balance you already have.
Work through it in this order:
- Count the box again, ideally with a second person.
- Add up the log for the period and compare it with the account balance in QuickBooks.
- Look for spending with no receipt, change that was never put back, and top-ups recorded on one side only.
If a small difference remains after a careful search, ask your bookkeeper how they want it recorded. Many businesses post it to a cash over and short account rather than leave the books out of step with the box.
Is an upload worth it for a short petty cash log?
An upload is worth it once a period's log runs past a handful of lines. For two or three items, typing each one is quicker than building a file. For twenty, a CSV saves time and gives you a file you can total and keep.
To type a single item, use the expense form with Petty Cash as the payment account. Adding a transaction by hand walks through the form. If you are moving to QuickBooks Online from another program and bringing petty cash history with you, switching from FreshBooks to QuickBooks Online covers what to carry over.
The top-ups come from your bank statement, and that statement is often a PDF. SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn it into an upload file, so the checking side of each top-up arrives ready to record as a transfer.