QuickBooks: Manually Entering Electronic Withdrawals & Transaction Numbers

While QuickBooks assigns transaction numbers to ledger entries automatically, you can change them.

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Before the widespread use of credit cards and the Internet, keeping track of deposits and payments from a business bank account was relatively simple, as most transactions appeared in an easy-to-read-and-understand format on your monthly statement. With modern electronic payment systems, however, cash moves to and from your business accounts quickly and often requires constant monitoring. If you use QuickBooks to keep track of your business finances, the program has no built-in method for entering tracking electronic withdrawals. Nevertheless, you can enter electronic debits or credits manually using the familiar Write Checks screen.

Step 1

Launch QuickBooks, and then click "Banking" on the menu bar. Click "Write Checks" on the drop-down menu.

Step 2

Click the "Bank Account" drop-down list. Select the account from which a bank or vendor made the electronic withdrawal.

Step 3

Enter the name of the organization to which you made the electronic payment in the "Pay to the Order of" field.

Step 4

Click the "Date" icon, and select the date of the transaction on the pop-up calendar.

Step 5

Enter the amount of the electronic payment or withdrawal in the field to the right of the "$" symbol.

Step 6

Type a description of the withdrawal transaction in the "Memo" field if needed. For instance, if the withdrawal was for merchant card processing or check reorder charges, enter "Credit card discount" or "Check printing fees" to help you distinguish the debit in the ledger.

Step 7

Click the check box next to the "Print Later" label to remove the check mark.

Step 8

Highlight the pre-filled check number in the "No:" field, and then press the "Backspace" key to erase the entry.

Step 9

Replace the number erased from the "No:" field with an acronym that lets you know the withdrawal was an electronic debit and not a check. For instance, if you made an ATM withdrawal, enter "ATM." If your merchant account bank deducted fees for credit card processing, enter "EFT" for "Electronic Funds Transfer" or "EW" for "Electronic Withdrawal."

Step 10

Click the "Save" button in the Write Checks window to save the transaction in the general ledger for the bank account you selected in the Bank Account list.

Tip

If you want to enter something more informative than "ATM," "EFT" or the like, you can append a reference number for the transaction to the acronym. For instance, if your statement shows a reference ID number of "123456789" for a withdrawal made by your merchant account bank, you might enter "EFT-123456789" in the "NO:" field to make finding it in the General Ledger screen easier and faster.