You cannot import transactions with classes into QuickBooks Online through the bank upload, because that file carries only a date, a description and an amount. Turn on class tracking first, upload the plain lines, then assign each class while you review them, or let a bank rule fill it in for transactions that repeat.
Do classes survive a bank upload into QuickBooks Online?
Classes do not survive a bank upload. The upload reads three columns (Date, Description, Amount) or four (Date, Description, Credit, Debit), and nothing else. A Class column in your CSV has no field to map to on the matching screen, so the class information never reaches QuickBooks.
Intuit's manual upload help page lists those two layouts as the only ones the upload accepts. The same limit applies to location tags and to categories. The upload brings in the money movement, and everything you know about it gets added afterwards.
That is less of a loss than it sounds. A bank line arrives in a review list before it reaches your books, and that review step is where classes are assigned. Keep your class notes in the spreadsheet you built the file from, and use them as a guide when you review.
Turning on class tracking before the transactions arrive
Class tracking has to be switched on before any class field appears. Do it before you import, so the class field is there when you review the new lines. Classes added to an account's history later mean opening each old transaction one by one.
Intuit's help page on turning on class tracking gives the steps:
- Select Settings, then Account and settings.
- Select Advanced, then the Categories section.
- Turn on Track classes.
- In Assigned classes, choose One to entire transaction or One to each row in transaction.
- Optionally turn on the warning for transactions with no class.
- Select Save.
The choice in step 4 matters for imports. "One to entire transaction" gives each bank line a single class. "One to each row in transaction" lets each split line carry its own class, which you need if one payment covers two parts of the business.
Then build your class list, such as one class per shop, department or service line.
Adding classes to imported lines during review
Imported lines get their classes while you review them. Open each line in the bank account's review list, choose the category, set the class, and add it to your books. Lines already added without a class can be opened from the register and edited.
The table shows four made-up imported lines and how each gets its class. The values are examples.
| Imported line (example) | Category | Class | How the class is set |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXAMPLE PRINT SHOP, -180.00 | Printing | Retail store | During review |
| MONTHLY RENT EXAMPLE PROPERTIES, -2,400.00 | Rent | Split across two classes | Split, one class per row |
| EXAMPLE SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION, -49.00 | Software | Office | Bank rule |
| Deposit EXAMPLE CLIENT, 1,500.00 | Sales | Consulting | During review |
If a line is missing entirely and you need to add it by hand, the expense and deposit forms carry the class field too. Adding a transaction by hand walks through those forms. If a run of days is missing, importing missing bank transactions shows how to bring in just the gap, which you then classify the same way.
Bank rules that fill in classes on repeat transactions
Bank rules can set more than a category on transactions that repeat. Intuit's help page on bank rules says a rule applies settings such as transaction type, category, payee and tags. It adds that further options depend on the company settings you have turned on.
With class tracking on, look for the class among a rule's settings. If you see it, a rule for "EXAMPLE SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION" can set both the Software category and the Office class every month.
Test a rule against waiting lines before trusting it. Intuit's page also describes an auto-post option that adds matching transactions without review. Use it only for lines that never vary, because a wrong class added automatically is easy to miss.
Classes on loan payments and other split lines
One bank line sometimes belongs to more than one class. Shared rent, a utility bill for two locations, or a loan payment for equipment used by two departments are typical cases. Split the line during review and give each row its own class. That needs the "one to each row" setting.
Loan payments add a second layer: part of the payment is interest, which is an expense, and part is principal, which reduces the loan account. Each part can carry a class. Importing loan payments covers the split between interest and principal.
Which QuickBooks Online plans have class tracking?
Class tracking is a feature of QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced, according to Intuit's class tracking page. If you cannot find Track classes in your settings, your plan is the likely reason. Simple Start and Essentials users can still import and categorize lines, but cannot tag them with classes.
Importing bank transactions on Simple Start covers what that plan can and cannot do with an import.
Whatever your plan, the bank lines themselves come from a file. SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn a PDF bank statement into a CSV or QBO file for the upload, ready for you to categorize and classify.