The QuickBooks Desktop Web Connect date range is set by your bank when you download the file, not by Desktop. The file holds every line the bank sends for those dates. Overlapping ranges rarely double up, because each line carries a unique ID that Desktop remembers and skips the second time it appears.
Who sets the Web Connect date range, the bank or Desktop?
The bank sets the Web Connect date range. You choose the dates on the bank's download page before you save the .qbo file, and Desktop simply reads whatever the file contains. There is no date filter on the import screen in QuickBooks Desktop.
Intuit's guide to downloading bank feed transactions in QuickBooks Desktop says that some banks let you set a date range for downloads. Where there is no date option, it says the file may cover 30, 60, 90 days or more, depending on the bank. So two banks can give very different files for the same click.
What that means in practice
If the bank's page has a from and to date, use it, and write down the range you chose. If it does not, open the review list after the import and look at the first and last dates. That tells you what the bank actually sent. Do not assume the file covers a full calendar month just because you downloaded it at month end.
Card files work the same way
A credit card Web Connect file follows the same rule: the card issuer decides what the dates cover. Card files have their own quirks, such as pending charges, which are covered in downloading credit card transactions into QuickBooks Desktop.
Why do overlapping Web Connect date ranges not double up?
Overlapping Web Connect files do not double up because every line in the file has its own ID. Desktop stores that ID when a line is added or matched. When a later file contains a line with an ID Desktop already has, it skips that line instead of offering it again.
Intuit's article on the "nothing imported" Web Connect error states that every account and transaction inside a Web Connect file has a unique identifier, and that QuickBooks will not import transactions with the same ID more than once. If every line in the file is a repeat, Desktop reports that nothing was imported.
Worked example: three files for one account
This example uses made-up dates for a checking account.
| File | Date range chosen at the bank | Lines in file | What Desktop does |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | March 1 to March 31 | 64 | Brings in all 64 for review |
| B | March 20 to April 30 | 81 | Skips the 22 lines from March 20 to 31; brings in 59 |
| C | April 1 to April 30 | 59 | Skips all 59; reports nothing imported |
File B overlapped file A by twelve days and caused no harm. File C was a repeat of lines already seen, so Desktop refused it. That refusal is the protection working, not a fault.
Deleted lines stay remembered
The same protection has a side effect. The Intuit bank feeds guide says that once you delete downloaded transactions, you cannot download them again. If you delete a line by mistake, a fresh file will still skip it, and you will need to type it in or restore a backup.
Web Connect date range overlaps that do create duplicates
Overlaps create duplicates when the IDs in the two files differ for the same real transaction. Desktop compares IDs, not dates and amounts, so any change in ID makes an old line look new. The usual causes are files that were not made by the bank, and files from a different account number.
Files built from exports or PDFs
A file made from a spreadsheet, a PDF statement or a payment service export gets its IDs from whatever tool built it. Some tools give the same line the same ID every time; others create new ones on each run. Rebuilding March and importing it again can then bring March in twice. Payment service files raise the same question, as importing PayPal into QuickBooks Desktop and importing Stripe payouts into QuickBooks Desktop both explain for their own exports.
Files from a changed account ID
The Intuit "nothing imported" article describes editing the account ID in a file so that lines can be imported again, and warns to use that step with caution to avoid duplicates. A bank that changes your account number, or merges with another bank, can have the same effect by accident. Watch the first file after any such change.
Mixing a bank file with another route
If you entered the same payouts another way, such as from a sales report, the bank file's IDs mean nothing to those entries. Stripe is the common case, and importing Stripe transactions into QuickBooks Online shows the same double counting from the Online side.
Choosing the Web Connect date range for the next download
The safest Web Connect date range for the next file starts a few days before the last line you already have and ends today. The small overlap catches lines the bank posted late, and Desktop's ID check drops the repeats. A gap is worse than an overlap, because missing lines produce no warning.
A simple log
Keep one line per import in a note or spreadsheet: the account, the dates you chose and the number of lines Desktop brought in. When a balance disagrees with the bank, the log shows at once whether a period was skipped.
When to use exact dates instead
Use exact, non-overlapping dates when the file did not come from the bank, because its IDs may not protect you. One calendar month per file, with no overlap, keeps those imports easy to check. If you are working from PDF statements, SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn each one into a QBO file; the homepage explains the plan.