"Here Bank Statement.... here bank statement..." I'm so excited, we now (or soon will) have fetching in QBO for bank statements.
Last year Intuit announced QuickBooks Online bank statement fetching and view features would be added. This past Monday, Heather Satterley called to tell me "it’s LIVE!" This exciting news quickly had me asking how does it work? As of now not everyone has this new feature yet. Like most new features Intuit is rolling the feature out in their standard migration pattern and that means it may take some time before you get the feature incorporated into your own QBO subscription.
But thankfully Heather shared her images with me, because I don't even have the new feature yet. This means that I can share what I have learned based upon the information I have garnered from Heather's shared experience. So, let me fill you in on what I have learned.
Statement Fetching and View Features
The statement fetching and view features are designed to give you a place to store statements and make it easier to work through the monthly reconciliation process. Banks that are participating in fetching eliminate the need to collect the monthly statement. Why this matters to accountants and bookkeepers? We don’t have to fiddle with login usernames, passwords and security codes. Automation is wonderful! I am stoked by QBO bank statement fetching. But what if your bank is not participating yet, then you upload the statement and use it to reconcile your account monthly and audit proof the books.
More than bank accounts. The impact for viewing statements in QBO is going to make reconciling not only the bank account but also other balance sheet accounts such as Accounts Receivable or even deposit or trust accounts. Many businesses require reconciliation of other thank bank accounts. Being able to attach a statement or report created either inside QBO or another resolution means easy look ability if questions arise.
Fetching Statements. As of now only the big banks are participating in the fetching feature. Many Canada users’ banks were first to participate in fetching and after great success US big banks are signing up too!
View Statements. While viewing the reconciliation module the new view statements features is visible. You can see in the image (below) the account details are moved slightly left to make room for the statement to be visible.
Changes made in the Reconcile window within QBO in order to provide space for the new 'View statements' button that is part of the 'fetching' feature.
Liz_Bank-fetch_01
Reconcile. Using the view statement feature beginning balances can be verified, ending balances are visible and statement dates are visible to make it easy to start the reconciliation process.
Attach Statements to Reconciliation. If you bank is not participating, you can add a statement manually. From the reconcile page choose the bank account and select start reconciliation. When the reconciliation is finished you will see a message option (shown below) to attach the bank statement.
You can attach the bank statement to your reconciliation as part of the new process, simply click the 'Attach statement' button once you are finished.
Liz_Bank-fetch_02
History by Account. What if you want to later view the statement? By going to the reconciliation module and choosing history by account you will see the reconciliations with attached statements. These attachments can be printed, downloaded, or viewed later if needed.
Produce a history by account which reflects each reconcile period, statement ending date, reconcile date, ending balance, and also contains a link to the saved statements that were attached.
Liz_Bank-fetch_03
Bank statement view and fetch in QuickBooks Online will improve the reconciliation process drastically. Just like many new features, Intuit is rolling this feature out in waves. Canada was the first test for this feature and now US users will soon have it too!
This is one instance where QuickBooks users in Canada have been ahead of us here in the USA in terms of feature release, they have been using this functionality since last fall (right around October 2019). So you can learn even more about how the feature works on an every day basis if you follow this link to an article for the Canadian release of QBO bank statement fetching.
The next time you see or talk to some of our 'Canadian buds' be sure to thank them for helping us out with such a nifty feature.