If you’ve been using QuickBooks Online to track your business finances, there may come a time when you need to delete or unlink a bank account. Maybe you’re switching banks or closing an old account, or maybe you’re just reorganizing your accounting. Whatever the case, disconnecting an account you no longer need to track is fairly easy to do in QuickBooks Online. In this blog post, we will guide you step by step undoing your bank account link from Quickbooks Online, that too easily and safely.
Read: How to Fix QuickBooks Banking Error 9999?
Why You Need to Unlink Bank Account from QuickBooks Online:
- Changing financial institutions: If you’ve moved on to a new bank or credit card provider, you will no longer require real-time data from the old account in QuickBooks Online.
- Remove an account: If an account for a bank is no longer active, you need to remove it to keep your QuickBooks Online records clean.
- Reducing confusion: If your bookkeeping system contains many unused accounts, it may compromise accuracy or create confusion. Your accuracy can be preserved if you unlink them.
Keep In Mind Before Unlink Bank Account from QuickBooks
- Reconcile the account: Make sure you’ve reconciled all the transactions and confirmed your balance. Otherwise, you can forget you have outstanding transactions or payments.
- Export important info: If you have everything you need to do, you can export or save any statements, transaction details, or reports.
- Check to see that account activity has closed out: Verify that there aren’t any outstanding transactions. Desyncing a bank account while transactions are pending can affect your records.
- Permissions Check: Ensure you have the appropriate user permissions in QuickBooks Online (Admin or Accountant-level) to delete or manage bank connections.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Unlink a Bank Account in QuickBooks Online:
Follow these generic steps on how to disconnect your bank account in QBO. The interface might be a little different depending on updates and the region, but the overall method is the same.
- Log in to QuickBooks Online:
- Log in to QuickBooks Online using your Administrator Or Accountant user credentials.
- Navigate to the Banking (or Transactions) Tab:
- In the left-hand navigation panel, click Banking (or Transactions depending on your version).
- Choose the Bank Account that You Wish to Disconnect:
- Cards or tabs representing all linked accounts will appear in the top bar. Select the account you would like to unlink to bring it into focus.
- Open the Account Details:
- Find the small pencil icon (or Edit option) next to the account name.
- Click Edit account info or something similar.
- Option to Disconnect the Account on Save:
- In the pop-up or edit dialog, find the checkbox Disconnect this account on save or Disconnect this account.
- Check or toggle that option.
- Save Your Changes:
- Then click Save and Close or Done to confirm changes.
- Now, QuickBooks Online will no longer pull in new transactions for this bank account.
- Check That the Account Is Disconnected:
- Go back to the Banking or Transactions tab and check that the account is no longer listed as “connected.”
- You can still find the account in your Chart of Accounts, but it will not trigger new transactions.
Post-Unlinking Tasks:
- Tidy up categorization: Review all transactions that have not yet been categorized or reconciled from before you broke off the account.
- Archive or inactivate old accounts: If the bank account is closed or no longer in use, you might also want to log it as “inactive” in your Chart of Accounts. This keeps your list of accounts nice and tidy.
- Link new accounts as needed: Whether you switched banks or took out a new credit card, be sure to add and link that new account so transaction tracking can continue uninterrupted.
- Run a report: After you’ve disconnected the service, you can run updated financial statements or reconciliation reports to confirm everything is reconciled.
Common Troubleshooting Tips:
- Pending Transactions: Check the account for any pending transactions or open reconciliations first if QuickBooks Online won’t let you unwind the account.
- User permissions: Your user group needs to have ‘Admin’ or ‘Accountant’ access. If not, please reach out to the admin to get access.
- Browser Cache Cleanup: An occasional browser flaw may prevent QuickBooks from saving the changes. Emptying the cache or trying an incognito window may do the trick.
- Seek Help from QuickBooks Support: If you’re experiencing error messages or unusual behavior, feel free to contact QuickBooks Online Support for more direct assistance.
Conclusion:
In QuickBooks Online, unlinking a bank account is usually straightforward, but it requires a little bit of care. If you reconcile your account, download the key transaction data, and make sure there is no pending activity, you will prevent mistakes and keep your books clean. By following the above-outlined steps to transition out of old/ inactive bank accounts, it will make for a seamless transition without any mixup and to sustain your business’s financial integrity.
If you have any questions or are finding yourself facing challenges, consider working with a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor or reach out to the help center for QuickBooks Online. Having an accurate and timely accounting system is crucial for making sure you have the information to make the right financial decisions and to help you optimize your accounting workflow!
