QuickBooks error OL-393 appears in QuickBooks Desktop when a bank feed download fails. Intuit groups it with other OL codes whose cause sits at the bank, in your connection, in the company file or in an unsupported version. Check the bank's website and a test company first, then deactivate and reactivate online services, using Web Connect files meanwhile.
Where error OL-393 sits among QuickBooks Desktop OL codes
OL-393 is one of a family of codes QuickBooks Desktop shows when a bank feed download fails. Intuit's article on fixing OL and OLSU bank feed errors in QuickBooks Desktop lists it beside OL-301, OL-332, OL-334 and OL-392, and gives one set of causes and steps for the whole group.
Intuit's support notes for its financial institution partners add a narrower reading. They say online bill payments usually prompt OL-393, for example when payees are out of sync, and that a closed account included in the download request can cause it too. For everything else, the help article's list of places the fault can live is the guide:
- The bank. An alert on your online banking account you haven't acknowledged, a change in how the bank connects to QuickBooks (from Direct Connect to Web Connect, or the reverse), an online account the bank has made inactive, or bank details in QuickBooks that are out of date.
- Your connection. An internet problem, or a firewall that blocks QuickBooks from reaching the bank.
- Your company file. A problem with the bank account record inside the file.
- The file the bank sends. A download QuickBooks can't use.
- Your QuickBooks version. A release Intuit no longer supports.
A bank feed download in Desktop is a live link. Direct Connect, as Intuit's guide to downloading bank feed transactions in Desktop puts it, "links your bank automatically," while Web Connect has you download a file from the bank's site and open it yourself. OL-393 belongs to the live link. That is why the file route still works for many people while the code is showing.
Other banking codes describe a narrower problem. QuickBooks error 103, for example, means the bank turned down the saved sign-in details, which is a password fix rather than a connection reset.
Five OL-393 checks before you change any account
Intuit asks for five checks before any step that changes an account. Each one rules out a cause quickly, and the first protects you if a later step goes wrong. Do them in order, and stop at the one that turns up a problem.
- Back up the company file. Several later steps change account records. A backup lets you undo them.
- Match any pending downloads. Transactions already downloaded and waiting in the Bank Feeds Center should be added or matched first, so a reset doesn't leave them stranded.
- Sign in to your bank's website. Look for alerts, new terms to accept, identity checks or notices about QuickBooks. A bank that has paused your access shows it there, not in QuickBooks.
- Check the firewall. Security software that blocks QuickBooks from going online produces download failures that look like bank faults.
- Try Classic Mode. Intuit suggests testing whether the download works in Classic Mode, the older bank feeds view, which you reach through Banking, Bank Feeds, Change Bank Feeds Mode.
The bank's website is the check people skip most often, and it is often the answer. An unread secure message or a one-time agreement can block every download until you accept it.
Write down what you see
Keep a short log as you go: the date, the step, the result and the exact error wording. If you end up calling the bank or Intuit, this log answers their first questions.
Does a test company file show OL-393 too?
A test company file is a new, empty company you create only to try the download. It separates two kinds of fault. If the same bank account fails with OL-393 in a brand-new file, the problem sits at the bank. If the test company downloads cleanly, the problem sits in your own company file.
This is the first fix step in Intuit's article. Create the test company, set up bank feeds for the affected account and download. When the error appears there too, contact the bank and share your Bank Feeds logs, the record QuickBooks keeps of each connection attempt. Intuit has a separate article on collecting those log files.
The second step checks the bank from a different side. Download transactions from the bank's website as a .qbo file and import that. If QuickBooks can't open the bank's file either, Intuit says to contact the bank.
The table below sets out the test results and what each one points to. The outcomes are examples of what you might see:
| Test | Result (example) | What it points to | Next move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test company download | OL-393 again | The bank's side | Call the bank with Bank Feeds logs |
| Test company download | Works | Your company file | Reset online services in your file |
| Import a .qbo from the bank's site | File won't open | The bank's file | Ask the bank to check its Web Connect setup |
| Import a .qbo from the bank's site | Imports fine | The live link only | Use files while you fix the link |
Deactivating and reactivating online services after OL-393
Deactivating online services cuts the bank feed link for an account without deleting any transactions. Reactivating sets the link up again from scratch. Intuit's article includes three versions of this step, from the narrowest to the broadest, and they should be tried in that order.
Inactive accounts first
Look for inactive accounts in your chart of accounts that still show a lightning bolt, the sign of an active online link. An old account that still holds a link can interfere with the account you use now. Deactivate online services on those, then set up bank feeds again for the live account. Intuit adds a tip for that setup: hold the Ctrl key as you select each button, except when typing, to refresh the bank connection.
A replacement account
If the error stays, Intuit's next step builds a fresh account record. Copy the account name and add an asterisk to the old account's name. Deactivate its online services. Create a new account with the original name, then remove the asterisk from the old one and merge the two. The merged account keeps its history under a clean record.
Every online account
The broadest step is to deactivate and reactivate online banking for every account in the file that uses it. If OL-393 still appears after that, send the bank your Bank Feeds logs. Ask the bank to escalate the case through Intuit's OFX page, and write down the case number they give you.
A connection reset is the wrong tool when the bank simply wants something from you. In QuickBooks Online, that request has its own code, and QuickBooks error 185 and the bank's extra security step shows how to answer it.
Can Web Connect files cover the gap while OL-393 lasts?
Web Connect files usually can cover the gap. A Web Connect file is a .qbo file you download from your bank's website and import into QuickBooks Desktop. It doesn't use the live link that OL-393 interrupts, so the books can stay current while the bank or Intuit works on the connection.
Intuit's Desktop download guide is firm on two points. Web Connect only works with .qbo files, so a QFX or QIF file from the bank won't do. And you can't download the same transactions into one company file more than once. Keep both in mind when you choose dates.
Here is an example. Say the last good download was on September 12 and OL-393 began on September 13. Today is October 3.
- Download a .qbo file from the bank's website covering September 13 to October 3.
- Import it into the same Desktop account the feed used, and match or add the lines in the Bank Feeds Center.
- Note the last date covered, here October 3.
- When the live link works again, check what the first download brings in. QuickBooks recognises lines it already has, but compare a few by date and amount to be sure.
The risk with the stopgap is overlap. Two files that share a day, or a file that covers dates the feed already brought in, ask QuickBooks to sort out which lines are new. Keeping the dates end to end makes that easy.
Some bank-side causes behind OL-393 are a change of connection type, and a bank that has moved to Web Connect only won't come back to the live link at all. If the bank confirms that, files are the fix, not the stopgap.
When the OL-393 account refuses to edit or merge
The replacement-account step depends on QuickBooks letting you rename and merge account records. If it refuses, Intuit says the company file may be damaged and you should contact QuickBooks support. That is the point to stop trying fixes on your own.
Stop at that point. Repeated attempts to merge or rename a damaged account can make the record harder to repair. Restore the backup from the first check if you made changes you want to undo, and bring your log to support.
Two other situations call for a pause instead of more steps:
- An unsupported QuickBooks version. Intuit lists unsupported versions as a cause of OL errors. No account reset fixes a release the bank servers no longer accept. Check your version against Intuit's support list before spending an afternoon on the steps above.
- A bank that has dropped QuickBooks downloads. If the bank no longer supports a live link, the error will keep coming back. Ask the bank what it supports now.
Repeated download failures sometimes start a wider conversation about the software itself. If your practice is weighing a move off Desktop, the guide to switching from Sage to QuickBooks Online walks through what a change of accounting software involves, from the conversion date to the history you bring over.
If your bank offers only PDF statements for the weeks OL-393 blocked, SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn a PDF statement into a QBO file Desktop can open. Accounts aren't open yet, and the get started page adds you to the list.