Employee Expense Reimbursements may be imported into QuickBooks Online using Transaction Pro (TPro) Importer as either a Bill import type to be reimbursed at a later date or as an Expense or Check import type, if the reimbursement has already occurred.

 

This article discusses importing as a Bill import type. For information regarding importing as a Check import type, please see the article Import Employee Expense Reimbursement Already Paid.

 

TPro Importer does not require a specific file layout to import into QuickBooks Online. However, if you wish to view or use the TPro sample file for importing a Bill, the Sample File worksheet may be downloaded HERE. The sample file will be used for this article.

 

To begin the import, log into Transaction Pro and select to IMPORT.

 

 

CHOOSE IMPORT TYPE: Select BILLS as the import type by clicking on the box, which advances to the next window.

 

 

UPLOAD FILES: On this window, either DRAG AND DROP into the gray box the file to import or click in the gray box to BROWSE AND ATTACH the import file. Importer can import any flat file format into QuickBooks Online such as .csv, .txt, and Excel.

 

BEFORE ATTACHING FILE

 

AFTER ATTACHING FILE

 

 

NOTE: If any changes are made to the import file after it has been attached to Importer, the file will need to be re-attached for Importer to recognize the changes.

 

Click SELECT FILE AND SHEET in the lower right-hand corner to proceed to the next window.

 

SELECT FILE AND SHEET: If the workbook has multiple worksheets (tabs) and/or if multiple files have been attached, a list of the all available options to import will be seen. Only one worksheet in one workbook may be imported at a time. Therefore, select the workbook and worksheet combination that contains the data that to import by clicking the SELECT SHEET button next to the correct one.

 

 

MATCH COLUMNS: On this window, Importer will be told what columns in the import file contains what data for available QuickBooks Online fields.

 

Any field that has a blue asterisk (*) is a required field that must either be included in the import file or have a default value assigned to the field.

 

Each field has two options for mapping. Data can be entered in either column but never both.

 

• The first column is to map the info that is in the import file. The import file column headers will be available on the dropdown menu for each field under the IMPORT COLUMN column.

• Any data that is not in the import file, needs to be included in the import, and has the same value for all imported transactions can be entered as a default value under the DEFAULT VALUE column.

 

For the mapping shown below, the following sample data file is being used:

 

 

The suggested fields to map at minimum to import the expense reimbursement information are:

 

• REFNUMBER: This is a required field. It is the number (can be alphanumeric) that is assigned to the imported Bill in QuickBooks Online. It is also the field that allows Importer to know where a transaction begins and ends, which allows Importer to group detail lines together that belong on the same transaction. The Reference Number can be up to 21 characters. With TPro for QuickBooks Online, there is no truncate option. Therefore, it will need to be decided which data to use for the Reference Number that is unique for each transaction. If the data is selected is more than 21 characters, an additional column may need to be added or the Expense ID shortened to 21 characters.

• VENDOR: This is a required field and will be the Employee that is to be reimbursed. The Employee ID can be entered into the Vendor Account Number field and used to cross-reference the Vendor (Employee) Name. See this article for more information about the cross-reference option. 

• TXNDATE: This is the Date that will be assigned to the Bill. This is not a required field; however, if no Date is provided in the import file or as a static value, then the Date will default to the Date that the import is performed.

• DUEDATE: This field is not required. If nothing is imported for this field, QuickBooks Online will use the default Term assigned the Vendor to calculate the Bill’s Due Date.

• EXPENSEACCOUNT: This field is required. This is the Expense Account in QuickBooks Online. It must match QuickBooks Online exactly (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, spacing, etc).

  • The import data should include either the Account Name or Account Number but not both.

  • If posting to a sub-account and using Account Numbers, the import should include only the sub-account to which to post.

  • If posting to a sub-account and using Account Names, the import must include the entire path with each level separate by a colon with no space before or after the colon.

  • EXAMPLE: Main Account:Sub Account:Sub Account 2

• EXPENSEDESC: This field is not required. Any comment or memo explaining the reason for the expense.

• EXPENSEAMOUNT: This field is required. This is the dollar amount for the expense detail line that is to be reimbursed. QuickBooks Online will automatically add all detail lines together for the total of the Bill. If nothing is imported, the expense will import as zero.

• EXPENSEBILLABLESTATUS: This field is not required. This indicates if the expense that is being reimbursed should be billed to a customer.

• EXPENSEBILLABLEENTITY: This field is not required. This specifies the Customer or Customer andJob for which the expense was incurred. If the previous field is marked as Y for being reimbursable, this is the Customer or Customer and Job to which the expense will be billed.

• EXPENSECLASS:  This field is not required. If using Classes in QuickBooks Online, then the Class will need to be mapped to this field for the transaction.

 

Any other fields may imported, if needed.

 

 

 

Once the mapping has been completed, click SAVE MAPPING OPTIONS on the left-hand side of the window. The map may be saved as any name. An infinite number of different maps for each import type may be saved and accessed by selecting the drop-down button for CHOOSE SAVED OPTIONS.

 

 

 

Click PREVIEW AND IMPORT to proceed to the next window.

 

PREVIEW AND IMPORT: This window provides a preview of the data, showing what data is importing into which QuickBooks Online field.

 

If a data should not be imported, it can be deselected by clicking the box in the first column for the row.

 

To select any OPTIONS, click on the last button above the import preview.

 

 

The OPTIONS that should be considered are:

 

• ENABLE ACCOUNT NUMBERS ON TRANSACTIONS: If importing Account Numbers and not Account Names, this option must be selected.

• CROSS REFERENCE VENDOR NAME WITH ACCOUNT NUMBER ON PURCHASE TRANSACTIONS: If using the cross-reference option to look up the Employee ID to find the Vendor Name for the import, this option must be selected. Read more about the cross-reference option HERE.

• DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY ADD ACCOUNTS FROM YOUR IMPORT DATA THAT ARE NOT IN QUICKBOOKS: This option will stop Importer from creating a new General Ledger Account if it encounters an Account that does not currently exist in QuickBooks Online. Instead, that record will fail to import, allowing you to manually set up the Account in QuickBooks Online.

• DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY ADD VENDORS FROM YOUR IMPORT DATA THAT ARE NOT IN QUICKBOOKS ONLINE: This option will stop Importer from creating a new Vendor account if it encounters a Vendor that does not currently exist in QuickBooks Online. Instead, that record will fail to import, allowing you to manually set up the Vendor in QuickBooks Online. Note: If using the Vendor cross-reference option, the Vendor has to already exist in QuickBooks Online before the import; and therefore, this option does not have to be selected. It can be selected, though, for extra assurance that a new Vendor will not be set up during import.

 

Be sure to click the SAVE button at the bottom of the OPTIONS window to save the options that were selected.

 

 

Return to the TRANSACTION TO IMPORT by clicking on the tab along the top of the window.

 

Click IMPORT in the lower right-hand corner to begin the import into QuickBooks Online.

 

A confirmation window will appear to confirm that you are ready to import. Click YES to import or NO to return to Importer to make changes.

 

If the data imports without any issues, the data will move to the IMPORTED TRANSACTIONS tab with a message displayed in green along the top saying your import was successful.

 

You may download an import log by clicking on either the EXPORT TO EXCEL tab or SEND TO EMAIL tab.

 

 

If Importer finds any issues with the import data while validating with the QuickBooks Online data, a message will appear along the top of the TRANSACTION TO IMPORT tab in red, explaining what issue has been found. Be sure to click on one of the highlighted cells (highlighted either red or yellow) to receive the specific error message.

 

It could be possible that some data will import, and other data will not. If this is the case, all data that imported successfully will be moved to the IMPORTED TRANSACTIONS tab, and only the data that failed to import will be found on the TRANSACTION TO IMPORT tab.

 

Changes can be made directly to the import data on the TRANSACTION TO IMPORT tab, correcting any data as necessary.

 

Once the data has been corrected that did not import, click IMPORT again to import only the data on the TRANSACTIONS TO IMPORT tab. The data on the IMPORTED TRANSACTIONS tab will not re-import.

 

Verify in QuickBooks Online that the Employee Expense Reimbursements imported correctly. The most recent transactions entered or imported into QuickBooks Online may be quickly located by clicking on the magnifying glass in the upper right-hand corner of the QuickBooks Online window.