Upload Receipts to QuickBooks Online and Match Them

To upload receipts to QuickBooks Online, use the Receipts page in a browser, the mobile app's receipt camera, Google Drive or a forwarding email address. QuickBooks reads each receipt and puts it in a review list. Match it to the bank transaction already in your books, so the receipt attaches to that payment instead of creating a second expense.

Four ways to upload receipts to QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online takes receipts four ways: from your computer, from Google Drive, from a photo taken in the mobile app, and by email. Every route ends in the same review list, so pick whichever suits the moment. A phone photo works at the counter, and a computer upload suits a stack of PDFs.

Intuit's help page on uploading receipts and bills describes each route:

• Computer. Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Receipts. Choose the upload option, pick the file and upload it.
• Google Drive. On the same Receipts page, choose Upload from Google Drive and select the file.
• Mobile app. Open the menu, choose Receipt snap, then Receipt camera. Take the photo, select Use this photo, then Done.
• Email. An administrator sets up a custom forwarding address with Forward from email, then uses Manage forwarding email to choose which users may send receipts. Users must send from the address they sign in with. One email can carry several receipts, as long as each is its own image.

Email suits receipts that arrive by email anyway, such as software subscriptions and online orders. Forward them as they come in and they are waiting in QuickBooks when you sit down to do the books.

Which receipt files does QuickBooks Online accept?

QuickBooks Online accepts receipts as PDF, JPEG, JPG, GIF and PNG files, according to Intuit's receipts page. Each file should hold one receipt. Photos from newer iPhones and iPads may be saved as HEIC, which you need to convert to one of the accepted formats first.

A few habits make each receipt easier for QuickBooks to read:

• One receipt per file. Three receipts photographed together will be read as one, with the wrong total.
• Good light and a flat surface. Intuit notes that extraction can take longer on a dark or blurry image. A clear photo also means fewer fields to correct.
• The whole receipt in frame. The total, date and merchant name are the fields matching depends on. If the bottom is cut off, the total is missing.
• No sensitive numbers. Intuit's page advises removing data such as full card numbers and government identifiers before uploading.

Plan also matters. The same page says the receipt feature is limited on the Free and Lite plans, and that employee expense claims need QuickBooks Online Advanced. On other plans, the upload and matching described here should be available.

Reviewing an uploaded receipt in the Receipts tab

Every uploaded receipt lands in the For review tab on the Receipts page. QuickBooks reads the merchant, date and total from the image and creates a draft transaction. Your job is to check those fields, then either match the receipt to a transaction already in your books or turn it into a new expense.

Reading takes a little time, especially on a poor photo. On mobile, pull down to refresh if a receipt has not appeared yet.

When you open a receipt, check:

1. The total. It should be the amount actually charged, including tax and tip.
2. The date. Use the date on the receipt. It may differ by a day or two from the date the bank posted the charge.
3. The payment account. Choose the bank or card account that paid. Matching looks for transactions in that account.
4. The category. If you will create a new expense from the receipt, pick the account the cost belongs to.

After you match a receipt or create an expense from it, it moves to the Reviewed tab. If you made a mistake, you can undo it and send it back to For review.

Matching a receipt to its bank transaction

Matching links a receipt to a transaction that is already in QuickBooks Online, usually a line from your bank feed or upload. The receipt becomes an attachment to that expense, and no new transaction is created. This is the result you want for almost every receipt paid from an account you import.

Intuit's receipts page gives the steps. When QuickBooks finds a possible match, it shows the number of matches on the receipt. Select See suggested matches, choose the right transaction and select Match. If QuickBooks has already identified the match, you can select Match without opening the full review. If you know the transaction exists but nothing is suggested, select Search manually and find it yourself.

A receipt and its bank line, side by side

Here is a made-up receipt and the bank line it belongs to.

The names do not match exactly and the dates are two days apart, but the amount is identical and the account is right. That is enough for a match. The bank line keeps its posting date, and the receipt sits behind it as proof of what was bought.

Matching on amount, account and a nearby date is also why a clear total on the photo matters more than a clear merchant name. Two purchases at the same shop in one week are told apart by their totals, not their names.

If the bank line was already categorized before the receipt arrived, matching still works. Search for it from the receipt, or open the expense and attach the receipt file there.

Why does a receipt show no suggested match?

A receipt shows no suggested match when QuickBooks cannot find a transaction with the same amount, a nearby date and the right account. Most often the bank line has not been imported yet. Other causes are a total read wrongly from the photo, a different payment account, or a charge that included a tip the receipt did not show.

Work through the likely causes:

• The bank line is not in QuickBooks yet. Import the latest transactions, then come back. A receipt can wait in For review until its line arrives.
• The total was misread. Correct the amount on the receipt and check for suggestions again.
• The tip was added later. Restaurant receipts often show the total before tip. The bank charge will be higher. Search manually and match to the bank line.
• The wrong account. If the receipt says checking but the purchase went on a credit card, change the account.
• The line was imported to the wrong place. If the bank line sits in the wrong account, fix that first. Undoing an upload that went in wrong is covered in backing out a bank upload.

Receipts that turn into duplicate expenses

A duplicate expense appears when a receipt is saved as a new expense and the same purchase also comes in from the bank. The books then show the spending twice. Avoiding it comes down to one habit: match receipts for imported accounts, and create new expenses only for purchases no bank line will ever cover.

Purchases that do need a new expense from the receipt are those paid from accounts you do not import, such as cash from your own pocket that the business will reimburse. Everything paid by a business card or bank account should be matched.

If a duplicate has already happened, keep the expense that is linked to the bank line and delete the one created from the receipt. Then attach the receipt to the remaining expense so the proof is not lost.

A monthly checklist keeps receipts under control:

1. Import the month's bank and card transactions.
2. Upload any receipts still sitting in email or on your phone.
3. Go through For review on the Receipts page and match each receipt.
4. Search manually for any receipt without a suggestion.
5. Create expenses only for out-of-pocket purchases.
6. Check the Reviewed tab for anything created by mistake.

If you track classes, set them on the bank line when you categorize it, and the attached receipt follows. Importing transactions with classes explains where class tags can be added after an import.

Should receipts or bank lines reach QuickBooks first?

Bank lines should reach QuickBooks Online first. Matching needs a transaction to match against, and the bank import supplies it. Receipts can be uploaded at any time, but they match most cleanly once the month's bank and card lines are already in your books.

If your bank has no feed and only gives you PDF statements, the bank side is the slow part. The upload accepts a CSV file, and the CSV column guide shows how to lay one out. If you are starting a new company file, setting up QuickBooks Online from bank statements covers the opening balances and first imports. SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn a PDF statement into that upload file, so the bank lines are in place before the receipts go looking for them.