QuickBooks 2012: The Missing Manual

Chapter 22. Online Banking Services

In the 20th century, you had to wait until your bank statement arrived (by snail mail) to find out what your account balances were and which transactions had cleared. But with online banking, you can view those balances and transactions anytime, and even download them into your company file. By synchronizing your real bank accounts with the bank accounts in QuickBooks, you’ll always know how much cash you have on hand. Before repaying your aunt the start-up money she lent you, you can hop online and check your balance—and avoid an embarrassing family blowout caused by giving her a check that bounces.

Besides managing your cash flow, online banking services are much more convenient than the old methods. You have a lot of transactions in your account register already (from receiving payments against invoices or making payments to your vendors) and you can easily match these transactions to the ones you download from the bank so you know how much money you really have in your account—and whether someone is helping themselves to your money without permission. Or you can transfer money between your money market account and your checking account when you find yourself awake at two in the morning.

If you use online billing, you can pay bills without having to write checks, lick stamps, or walk to the mailbox. After you submit payment transactions online, the billing service either transfers funds from your bank account to the vendors or generates and mails ...