QuickBooks Desktop: Web Connect import errors
“QuickBooks found an error. We can’t read the file [your bank] sent.”
Intuit lists this with “An error occurred while processing your online banking data.” and “Your data was not imported into QuickBooks.” Intuit’s causes are incomplete bank files, formats QuickBooks can’t read, and changes at the bank. Intuit’s fixes, in order:
- Download the .qbo file again, directly from the bank’s website (not from inside QuickBooks), and import it.
- Switch to Classic Mode: Banking › Bank Feeds › Change Bank Feeds Mode › Classic mode (Register mode), then import again.
- Import the file into a test company (File › New Company). If it works there, the problem is in your company file: disconnect the account from Bank Feeds and connect it again.
For a file you converted, drop it into the QBO file checker first. It points to the broken part (header, sign-on, account, dates, amounts, IDs) and can rebuild a clean copy.
“QuickBooks is unable to verify the Financial Institution information for this download.”
QuickBooks didn’t accept the bank in the file. Every QBO file names a bank with Intuit’s bank ID (INTU.BID), and
QuickBooks checks it. For a converted file, choose your bank in the converter’s bank list, or the widely compatible
option, and download again; the checker shows which bank ID a file has.
Intuit also gives this message as the example of what happens on a QuickBooks Desktop version it no longer supports: online banking stops working there. QuickBooks Desktop 2023 lost support after May 31, 2026.
“To download and import transactions, sign in with your Intuit account”
Intuit requires you to be signed in to your Intuit account inside QuickBooks Desktop to import .qbo files. Sign in and import again. If you are already signed in, Intuit suggests switching Bank Feeds modes.
OL-222
A QuickBooks team member describes OL-222 as QuickBooks being unable to read the imported file, usually because of problems with the file’s format or damaged data. Download or convert the file again, check it with the QBO file checker, and follow the steps for “We can’t read the file” above.
In QuickBooks Desktop for Mac a user reported the message “Please contact your financial institution. (OL-222)”; a QuickBooks team member advised contacting QuickBooks Customer Care to update the financial institution list.
OL-221, OL-249, OL-301, OL-393 and other OL or OLSU codes
Intuit covers these codes in one article: OLSU-1011, OLSU-1013, OLSU-1014, OLSU-1016, OL-202, OL-203, OL-205, OL-206, OL-209, OL-221, OL-231, OL-232, OL-249, OL-301, OL-332, OL-334, OL-392 and OL-393. The causes it lists include a problem at the bank, alerts waiting on the bank’s website, a bank that changed between Web Connect and Direct Connect, an inactive account still set up for online banking, an out-of-date list of banks, internet problems, a damaged account in the company file, a file QuickBooks can’t read, and an unsupported version.
Intuit’s steps: back up and match any pending transactions, clear alerts on the bank’s website, and try Classic Mode. Then:
- Try the import in a test company file.
- Download a .qbo file from the bank and import it (QuickBooks imports only .qbo files).
- For an inactive account that still shows the online banking symbol, choose Edit Account › Bank Feed Settings › Deactivate All Online Services.
- Create a copy of the account and merge it into the original.
- Turn online banking off and on for the account.
If nothing works, Intuit suggests giving the bank your Bank Feeds log and asking it to raise the case with Intuit.
“Error: Nothing imported. Account up to date.”
QuickBooks for Mac shows this when every transaction in the file was imported before. Every transaction in a Web Connect file has its own ID, and QuickBooks ignores the IDs it has already added or matched. If you need the transactions again (for example after deleting them), Intuit’s options are to restore a backup made before the import, or to enter the few transactions by hand.
QuickBooks says it has no online account to handle the file
A QuickBooks team member explains that this appears when the target account is inactive. Choose Lists › Chart of Accounts, tick Include inactive, choose Edit Account for the account and clear Account is inactive, then import again.
An ”&” or other special character in a name
In OFX files, an ampersand must be written as &, and some programs reject a file that breaks this rule. The
checker finds unescaped characters, and a rebuilt file escapes them.
QuickBooks Online: upload errors
These messages appear when you upload a file under Bank transactions › Link account › Upload from file.
| Message | Intuit’s explanation and fix |
|---|---|
| “The uploaded file contains invalid transaction amount information.” | An amount has 12 or more digits. Remove the transaction, upload the file, and enter that transaction by hand. |
| “The uploaded file is of a different type than these accounts.” | The file is for another account type than the one you chose. Click Cancel and pick the right account, or OK to continue. |
| “Errors with Sub/Parent account download”, “(Parent Account Error)” or “(Sub-account Error)” | The related parent or subaccount is connected to online banking. Disconnect it for a moment, upload, then connect it again. |
| “An Online Banking update is currently in progress” | QuickBooks is running its daily bank download. Wait until it finishes. |
| “We were unable to upload the file. Please start over and re-select the file you want to upload.” | The upload timed out. Wait a few minutes and try again, and check that you aren’t uploading into a subaccount. |
| “QuickBooks Online couldn’t upload your file. Please click Save again, or try again later.” | A temporary problem at Intuit. Try again in a few minutes. |
| “Some info may be missing from your file.” | Usually the file’s layout (as Intuit’s moderators explain): too many columns, blank lines, commas in amounts, zeros, special characters, or a file over 350 KB. |
| Dates show as 01/01/1970 | QuickBooks couldn’t read the date format. Exclude those transactions, fix the format and upload again. |
For CSV uploads, the QuickBooks Online CSV formatter writes the layout QuickBooks expects and avoids most of these problems. Bank errors 102, 103, 105 and 106 are different: Intuit lists them as problems connecting to the bank, not with a file you upload.