QuickBooks Document Upload: Attaching Source Files

QuickBooks document upload puts a client's source file next to the record it supports. In QuickBooks Online you attach a statement, invoice or contract to a transaction such as a bill or expense, to a customer or vendor profile, or to the Attachments list on its own. Supported types include PDF, JPEG, PNG, DOC, XLSX and CSV.

Where can QuickBooks document attachments live?

QuickBooks document attachments can live on a transaction, on a customer or vendor profile, or in the Attachments list without any link. Intuit's help article Add or delete attachments in QuickBooks lists each place and the path to reach it, and names one place files cannot go.

On a transaction

The article lists the transactions that take attachments: bills, checks, credit card transactions, credit memos, delayed charges, estimates, expenses, invoices, received payments, refund receipts, sales receipts and vendor credits. To attach a file, open the transaction, select Attachments, choose the document, select Open and then Save and close. A vendor invoice belongs on the bill it supports, and a signed contract on the invoice it governs.

On a customer or vendor profile

A profile is the place for a file that supports a relationship rather than one entry, such as a W-9 or a standing agreement. For a vendor the path is All apps, then Expenses & Bills, then Vendors, then the Vendor Details tab and Attachments. For a customer it is All apps, then Customer Hub, then Customers & leads, then the Customer Details tab and Attachments.

In the Attachments list

The Attachments list sits under Settings, then Attachments. A file uploaded there is not linked to anything. From the list you can download it, rename it, add a note, or create an invoice or expense with the file already attached. That makes the list a holding area for files waiting to be booked.

Where files cannot go

The same article says attachments "can't be attached directly to list items, such as Accounts or Employee Names." A bank statement that supports a whole account has no account-level home, so it usually rides on a transaction or sits in the Attachments list.

Receipts follow their own route through the Receipts page. The post on how to upload receipts to QuickBooks Online covers the browser, mobile and forwarding options.

Which file types and sizes do QuickBooks attachments allow?

QuickBooks attachments allow PDF, JPEG, PNG, DOC, XLSX, CSV, TIFF, GIF and XML files, according to Intuit's Add or delete attachments in QuickBooks article. File names cannot include special characters. That article does not publish a size limit for attachments, so check the upload message in the client's company before relying on a large file.

Files that clients often send fall outside that list: HEIC photos from newer iPhones, Apple Pages and Numbers files, and zip archives are not named. Convert the first two to PDF and unzip the third before uploading, so each file is one of the listed types.

The only size range Intuit publishes in these articles is for receipts sent by email. Intuit's article Email receipts and bills says the attachment must be between 46KB and 20 MB, and that range applies to forwarded receipts and bills, not to every attachment.

A few habits avoid failed uploads. Save scans as PDF rather than as a series of photos. Split a 200-page statement bundle into one file per month. Strip characters such as #, & and % from file names before upload, since the article says special characters are not allowed.

Naming uploaded QuickBooks documents so they can be found

A naming scheme for QuickBooks documents is a fixed pattern for every file name, so a reviewer can tell what a file is without opening it. A file called scan_0007.pdf tells nobody anything. A useful pattern is client, document type, issuer, period and a short qualifier, separated by hyphens, with no special characters.

The pattern used in the examples below is Client-DocType-Issuer-Period-Detail.pdf, with the period written as year then month so files sort in order. All five names are examples for a fictional client, Harbor Lane Studio.

Three rules keep the scheme working. Use the same short client name every time. Put the last four digits of an account, never the full number, in the detail field. Rename the file before it goes into QuickBooks, since the Attachments list rename only fixes the copy in QuickBooks, not the one in the firm's folder.

When QuickBooks attachments are not the firm's document archive

QuickBooks attachments support entries in one client's books; they are not a firm's document archive. The archive is the firm's own copy of everything a client sent, kept by client and year, including files that never become a transaction. Keep the master copy in the firm's system and attach a copy in QuickBooks.

Several reasons point the same way. Attachments only cover files tied to the books, so tax forms, engagement letters and prior-year returns have no natural home there. The company file belongs to the client, so the firm's record of what it received should not depend on access to it. Intuit's article Export your QuickBooks Online data says attachments export as a zip file, which is a way out, not a filing system.

The firm's archive is also where duplicates should be caught, before a second copy of the same invoice is attached to a second bill. Schema CPA keeps each client's documents in one file sorted by type, issuer and period, flags repeats, and exports the extracted figures to Excel or CSV; the document types it reads are listed on the homepage. It does not connect to QuickBooks, so attaching copies stays a QuickBooks step.

Firms with Xero clients face the same split between archive and attachment. See Xero document upload for the Xero files inbox, Xero receipt capture for receipts there, and the organizing client files category for folder structures that hold the master copy.