You can import the general ledger in excel format to QuickBooks Desktop and Online. As this accounting software is quite flexible and enables you to quickly import and export data, you can easily get started with any data that you’ve saved in a spreadsheet. The import process doesn’t take much time, but you need to format the data correctly; otherwise, the data won’t be organized by the software.
In this post, you’ll learn how to import general ledger in excel format to QuickBooks.
Import General Ledger Data from Excel into Quickoooks
In Quickbooks, you can import data from spreadsheet files. Types of data that you can import include a chart of accounts, customer, vendor and item information. The software provides you multiple ways to import excel data so that you have complete flexibility when it comes to the import process.
Standard Import of Excel Data in Quickbooks
When you have a properly formatted excel spreadsheet, you can simply choose the file and import it into QuickBooks desktop. However, if the spreadsheet isn’t formatted properly, then it’ll behoove you to simply go with other options, as you’ll have to arrange a lot of data before you begin the import process.
To import general ledger from Excel into QuickBooks Desktop, follow the steps provided below:
- From the file menu, go to Utilities, then click on Import.
- Choose Excel Files.
- Click on Add/Edit Multiple List Entries, when the window appears, select No.
- Now follow the instructions provided by the import wizard:
- Choose the data type that you want to import.
- When the excel sheet opens up in QuickBooks, review the information and close the excel sheet.
- Now click on Add My Data Now to begin the import process of your General Ledger excel data.
Note: You can repeat the steps to import multiple files into QuickBooks. You can even choose different types of data depending on the account that you want to store the data into.
Import Chart of Accounts from Excel into QuickBooks Desktop
Chart of accounts includes the link to each and every account in your company file. This is the main dashboard for searching accounts present in your QuickBooks. Importing the chart of accounts from excel into QuickBooks enables you to import the data in an organized fashion.
To import the Chart of Accounts data into QuickBooks, follow the steps provided below:
- From the Lists menu, go to the Chart of Accounts option.
- Click on the drop-down menu with the name Accounts.
- Choose the option Import from Excel.
- Click on Browse and choose the excel file containing the chart of accounts data that you want to import into QuickBooks.
- Click on the File, and then click on Open.
- Map the accounts correctly: when importing QuickBooks chart of accounts data, you need to properly map the accounts so that all the data can be imported and organized correctly.
- Select the appropriate mapping name.
- Choose the Account that you want to use as the Import type.
- Using the column heading, correctly match the information with the format available in QuickBooks.
- Click on Save.
- Choose import when you’re done mapping your data. Click on Yes, to begin the import process.
QuickBooks Desktop has several options for importing data from different file extensions. The structure of the excel sheet matters a lot, especially when you’re trying to import General ledger or chart of accounts. Further, you need to map the fields correctly if you’re importing QuickBooks charts of accounts data.
Exporting Reports from QuickBooks Desktop to Excel
Many users still want to have data accessible in excel format when working with reports, which are simple analysis of your accounting and financial data.
Here are the types of reports that you can export from QuickBooks to Excel:
- Formulas for various calculations
- Labels of rows and columns along with contents of the rows and columns.
- Header and footer included in the report
- Data present in the report
To export your QuickBooks financial report data to excel, you can follow the steps that are provided below:
- Log into QuickBooks company file, and open the Report that you want to export.
- From the drop-down menu, choose Excel.
- Click on Create New Worksheet or Update Existing Worksheet. If you already have an excel sheet that includes some of the data, you can choose the second option so that you won’t have to deal with two different files.
- You can choose what you want to do with the selected report in the Send Reports to Excel window.
- Click on Advanced option to view all the options available to you.
- Click on Ok after going through and selecting the options that you require.
- When you’ve reviewed your selections, you can click on the Export button to immediately create a spreadsheet that contains the data you selected in the previous steps.
The export process is almost instantaneous because Quickbooks can process the data quickly from an already created report. Most users use the excel sheets to share data with stakeholders and accountants. If you want to, you can export the report as a PDF as well.
Importing General Ledger from Excel into QuickBooks Online
You can bulk import a lot of data in QuickBooks online from the Microsoft Excel file. This facilitates you in easily importing all the required data, especially when it’s related to general ledger.
Data that you can import from excel into QuickBooks online includes, but isn’t limited to:
- Customer and vendor details
- Bank account Transactions
- Details of Products and Services
- Invoices and Bills
- Chart of Accounts
Let’s look at the steps:
- After ensuring that the file format is correct, you can move ahead with the process of importing your excel data into QuickBooks online.
- Go to the Banking menu.
- Click on Transaction.
- Choose Upload Transactions.
- Click on the Drag and Drop option or choose Select Files to browse and select the CSV file that contains the general ledger transactions.
- Click on Continue.
- Click on the drop down menu titled QuickBooks account.
- Click on continue.
- Follow all the instructions provided by the import wizard, then match all the columns to ensure that the data is imported in the correct format.
- Click on Continue.
- Choose all the transactions that you want to import into QuickBooks. Click on Continue.
- Click on Yes.
- Click on Done after the import process is complete.
We recommend that you reconcile the transactions that you imported from your excel sheet so that you can remove inaccuracies as well as duplicate transactions from your books.
The reconcile process requires you to match each transaction that you listed with the ones mentioned in the bank statement for the same date range. If you find any anomaly, you can quickly correct it before you use the data to create reports or before you close the financial period.
Conclusion
In this post, we’ve detailed all the steps for importing General Ledger from Excel sheet to QuickBooks. We’ve also stated how users can still export their reports from QuickBooks to excel so that they can easily share the reports with stakeholders and accountants.
Note: if you still can’t import the general ledger from Excel into QuickBooks, then you can get in touch with our accounting experts via chat or call.
👉 Frequently Asked Questions
What is General Ledger in QuickBooks?
Using a general ledger report in QuickBooks, you can view all the transactions for a given date range. You can include or exclude particular accounts from the report if you don’t wanna see the transactions associated with those accounts. When creating the report, you can choose between cash or accrual basis to further filter transactions by particular accounts. You can create a general ledger report in both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks online.
What is the Difference Between Cash and Accrual Basis?
The primary difference between cash and accrual basis is related to the date on which the sales or purchase is recorded. In cash basis accounting, a transaction is only recognized when money changes hands. On the other hand, accrual basis records transactions that’re billed. So accrual basis doesn’t require the bill or invoice to be paid before recording it as a final transaction.
When creating a general ledger report, you can choose between cash and accrual basis to view transactions differently. This distinction can also help in creating other types of reports.
What is a Balance Sheet and How is it Related to General Ledger?
The balance sheet is a financial statement that lists all the assets, liabilities and shareholder equity for a particular financial period. A variety of calculations depend on the balance sheet because stakeholders primarily view this document to ascertain the current financial health of the business. The entire snapshot of the assets and liabilities of a company along with the amount invested by the shareholders can be ascertained from a balance sheet.
