I could be wrong, but to me, it seems that QuickBooks Online Bank Feeds are getting better. What do you think?
I am the first to admit that I have never thought much of 'bank feeds' of any form in any version of QuickBooks. I didn't really like them in QuickBooks Desktop, and essentially refused to use them in QuickBooks Online. I resisted teaching them to my QuickBooks Online clients, but if they insisted I would help them set them up and then let them decide if they were right for them. It didn't matter whether it was their primary checking accountant or company credit card, I just found them 'clunky' at best.
But since the new QBO came out this past summer, I've spent more time with Bank Feeds. And since I was introduced to the new Intuit Accountant Suite, I've experimented with them even more.
Now I heard good things, and bad things since last summer's released of the 'new' QuickBooks Online. Some people wrote in to say that they absolutely loved the improved bank feeds, and others thought there were worse than the bank feeds in the prior QBO version. People said, why have we spent years perfecting our rules, only to now have this new AI decide it knows best. And still others said, my automatic categorization works better than ever driven by AI.
From a 'User Interface' standpoint, some people said, "it makes things so easy" and others said "the new Bank Feed UI is terrible, everything has changed."
Again, having not been the person to really be able to do a comprehensive comparison except by using my notes from past 'changes' to Bank Feeds, I didn't think myself to be an expert analyst for the new bank feed functionality. Accordingly, I took the 'new user' approach as though I had never used "a bank feed in my life" and decided to try with a fresh 'almost valueless' bank account with which I could do some bank transfers on the back side tied to some QBO transactions on the front side.
Essentially the same Bank description type data, dates, amounts, accounts, and notes that I placed in my bank transactions using the bank's website came into a QBO bank account in exactly the same way any other 'money-in' or 'money-out' transaction shows up in the new bank feeds.
I honestly like the enhanced look which provides more bank data in a clean display with customizable columns to see only what I must (and hover over what I need more details about).
I find the Pending or Posted tabs to be focused on the entire purpose of Bank Feeds (awaiting your attention, or you've already dealt with it); although in reality, would really prefer that the 'already dealt with it' (Posted) tab be 'gone from the experience.'
Streamlining the process to those 'matched' (but not posted) and those needing to be 'categorized' works for me, and hopefully a new AI 'Banking' Agent will be able to identify any transaction truly needing your attention and those that you might want to clarify (that are anomalous), and then it just handles the rest. How many of you want to bet that we such a tool within the next twelve months?
I mean, if it takes my 'keen since of stupidity' to decide between two transactions to the same vendor, for the same amount on different dates that have different categories because my 'big fingers' punched the wrong key when I hit account number 1128 vs 1129 the second time, but with a history of correct entries, I suspect that AI-Agent detecting anomalous behavior, will quickly resolve that and preclude me from such a "strain on my brain."
I want to mess with the messes, and this new Bank Feeds seems to be clearly headed that way. Clear the clutter, point me to where I am needed the most, and let me handle the issues that no 'AI Brain' can yet resolve. In those cases, make my choices as clear as possible, as streamlined to handle, and as smooth as 'swipe left or swipe right.'
It certainly seems like Bank Feeds are on the right track, making the chore of matching bank data to QuickBooks data smoother than ever. But then again, who am I to judge? That's why Insightful Accountant wants to know what you think. Post your own impressions about the newest enhancements to QuickBooks Online Bank Feeds in the comments below.
