Import journal entries into QuickBooks desktop

Overview of importing journals into QuickBooks Desktop

Journal entries are a way of posting directly to general ledger accounts in QuickBooks desktop.  If you have a spreadsheet or text file containing journal entries then with Zed Axis you can take the data, convert it and then import them in batch directly into QuickBooks desktop.

Preparing your data

Before you start importing there are a few items to check in your data first.

  • There is a Reference Number for the journal, Axis requires that to group rows together on the same journal, and that the rows of the journal balance (check to see that amounts are rounding to the same decimal places).
  • You will need to have a column for Debits and a column for Credit and all numbers need to be positive
  • If you have a Debit or Credit amount then the opposing Debit or Credit cell must be empty ie have no value not even 0.00
  • You will need to have a column that contains the Account Name or Account Number that the journal line will be posted too, and the name or number of the journal must match an Account in QuickBooks
Journal Entry layout

Steps to import journals

Follow these steps:
  1. Log into your QuickBooks company file as Administrator and open Zed Axis
  2. Select your text file or spreadsheet which contains the journal entries that you want to import into QuickBooks desktop.
  3. Set up the a Mapping of the columns in your journal entry import file to the corresponding fields in QuickBooks
  4. Click import and your journals will be directly added to your QuickBooks company file.

Demonstration of how to import journal entries




More help?

For more information about importing journal entries into QuickBooks, search the Knowledge Base, watch the movies in the Learning Centre, or raise a ticket with Zed Support. Help with troubleshooting imports

Download a sample journal entry text file sample journal map 

Where the fields appear in QuickBooks
Import journal entries into QuickBooks

 

Details of fields

The following are the fields that you can import into QuickBooks:

QuickBooks fieldFormatDescription
Txn DatedateDate of the journal
Ref Numberstr 11MANDATORY FIELD Reference number for the journal entry, more on how to group rows on a journal
Is Adjustmenttrue or falseWhether journal is adjusting a previous entered journal
Is Home Currency Adjustmenttrue or falseIs using home or foreign currency 
Is Amounts in Home Currencytrue of falseIs using home or foreign currency 
Currency Ref str 64Name of the currency used (match QuickBooks) (not for QuickBooks AU)
Exchange Rate floatExchange rate to be used (not AU)
Debit amtMANDATORY FIELD Debit Amount should be positive (AU not including tax)
Credit amtMANDATORY FIELD Credit Amount should be positive (AU not including tax)
Account Full Name str 159MANDATORY FIELD The General Ledger Account as appears in QuickBooks, should be full name. You can also use as an alternative the Account Number.
Memo str 4095Description of the journal line
Entity Ref str 209Name of the customer if Billable Status = Billable
Class str 159Class used to track the journal entries
Item Sales Tax Ref str 31Sales Tax code used on the transaction (QuickBooks CA, UK and AU only)
Billable Status enumThe billing status of this line, Accepted values are Billable, NotBillable or HasBeenBilled if Billable then must include Entity Ref


How to troubleshoot import errors


Error: Failed to set journal line billable status: Billable QuickBooks error message: Target is not reimbursable
This error occurs when you have mapped the Billable Status to Billable but you have not mapped the corresponding Customer to the Entity Reference field or the Customer name is not recognized in QuickBooks.   In order for QuickBooks to make the journal line billable then a valid Customer must be provided.

  • The journal must balance for an import to proceed, note that journals that included a tax code (QuickBooks Australia and New Zealand only) which calculate a tax net amounts might not appear to balance prior to import.
  • Out of balance errors - check that you have mapped the Ref Number field and that all rows that are on the same journal have the same Ref Number
  • QuickBooks Australia out of balance- You may receive this error from QuickBooks if after calculating gross amounts (including tax) the journal is out of balance. Please check your net amounts and if possible round your net amount calculations to 5 decimal places (QuickBooks will accept numbers in 8.5 (recent editions 10.5) format or 13 digits long.
  • Multi currency - if importing a multi currency journal all the accounts posted in the journal must have the same default currency.
  • Only one AP or AR account allowed per transaction - When entering a journal entry it is not possible to select more than one Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable account per journal this is a QuickBooks restriction, QuickBooks Support suggest these workarounds
  • A/R Detail line must have a customer - If a line on the journal is posting to  an Account Receivable account then QuickBooks requires you to map the Entity Ref field to a customer name.

By Steve Batten