What you see
At the mapping step QuickBooks Online makes you pick one of Gross, Fee or Net, and whichever you pick, the balance in QuickBooks stops matching PayPal.
Why it happens
PayPal's help page lets you download activity from History with the Download icon, choosing a date range and a file type. Its file types include CSV and a QuickBooks format, which PayPal's developer documentation describes as IIF for US accounts only, a format for QuickBooks Desktop. It does not offer a .qbo Web Connect file.
PayPal's developer documentation lists the CSV columns, including Gross, Fee and Net, and says CSV reports are limited to 50,000 records; larger reports are split.
QuickBooks Online needs 3 columns (Date, Description, Amount) or 4 (Date, Description, Credit, Debit), per Intuit's upload page.
How to fix it
- In PayPal go to History, click the Download icon, choose the dates and CSV, and download.
- Drop the file into the converter above. It is recognised as a PayPal activity download.
- Keep "Separate line for each fee" so fees can go to a fees account, or choose net amounts only.
- Download and upload it into a bank account in QuickBooks named PayPal.
What this does not fix
- One currency per file: the most common currency in the export is kept and the notes list rows in other currencies that were left out.
- Holds and their releases are left out; if only one side of a hold falls inside your dates, the file total differs from PayPal's balance, and the notes say so.
- PayPal allows a custom range of up to 12 months per download, per its help page, so a longer history needs several files.
Before and after
Before: the PayPal activity CSV as downloaded
"Date","Time","TimeZone","Name","Type","Status","Currency","Gross","Fee","Net","From Email Address","To Email Address","Transaction ID","Shipping A... "03/30/2025","18:22:05","PDT","","General Withdrawal","Completed","USD","-1,000.00","0.00","-1,000.00","seller@example.com","","9WD00000TEST0010","... "03/28/2025","09:01:12","PDT","Sample Hosting Co","PreApproved Payment Bill User Payment","Completed","EUR","-20.00","0.00","-20.00","","","9WD0000... "03/28/2025","09:01:12","PDT","","General Currency Conversion","Completed","USD","-21.84","0.00","-21.84","","","9WD00000TEST0008","","","","","","... "03/28/2025","09:01:12","PDT","","General Currency Conversion","Completed","EUR","20.00","0.00","20.00","","","9WD00000TEST0007","","","","","","",... "03/20/2025","14:10:00","PDT","Casey Buyerperson","Payment Refund","Completed","USD","-50.00","1.20","-48.80","","casey@example.com","9WD00000TEST0... "03/18/2025","11:00:00","PDT","Sample Hardware Store","Account Hold for Open Authorization","Pending","USD","-1.58","0.00","-1.58","","","9WD00000T... "03/18/2025","11:05:00","PDT","Sample Hardware Store","Reversal of General Account Hold","Completed","USD","1.58","0.00","1.58","","","9WD00000TEST... "03/12/2025","8:15:30","PDT","Casey Buyerperson","Shopping Cart Item","Completed","USD","50.00","0.00","50.00","","","9WD00000TEST0003","","","Prin...
After: what QuickBooks Online receives
| Date | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 03/02/2025 | Riley Clientname - MONTHLY - 1 for the first 2 Months, then 6.99 / Month | 1250.00 |
| 03/02/2025 | Fee: Riley Clientname - MONTHLY - 1 for the first 2 Months, then 6.99 / Month | -46.73 |
| 03/12/2025 | Casey Buyerperson - Print, 8x10 "Sunset" | 50.00 |
| 03/12/2025 | Fee: Casey Buyerperson - Print, 8x10 "Sunset" | -2.24 |
| 03/20/2025 | Casey Buyerperson - Payment Refund | -50.00 |
| 03/20/2025 | Fee: Casey Buyerperson - Payment Refund | 1.20 |
Synthetic sample data that follows the real export layout, not a real account. The "after" output was produced from it by the same converter this page runs.
Import the fixed file into QuickBooks Online
- Go to Transactions > Bank transactions > Link account (or Update) > Upload from file.
- Choose this CSV and the account to put it in.
- Map the columns: Date to Date, Description to Description, Amount to Amount (one column).
- Pick the date format MM/dd/yyyy (or the one you chose here) and confirm that the first row is a header.
- Review the transactions under For review.
Questions
- Does PayPal export a QuickBooks file itself?
- PayPal's download offers a QuickBooks format, which its developer documentation describes as IIF for US accounts. IIF is a QuickBooks Desktop format; QuickBooks Online uploads CSV or .qbo files, which the converter produces.
- How are PayPal fees handled?
- By default each payment is the gross amount plus a separate fee line, so the fee can be coded to a fees account and the running balance still matches PayPal. Choose "Net amount only" for one line per payment.
- Should I download "Balance affecting" or "All transactions"?
- Pick balance affecting if you are offered the choice. Either way the converter leaves out holds, their releases and memo rows, because they do not change your PayPal balance.
Converters for this file
- Convert a PayPal activity CSV to QuickBooks Online
- PayPal CSV to QBO for QuickBooks
- PayPal CSV converter
- Import a PayPal activity CSV into Xero
- PayPal CSV to QFX for Quicken
Related import problems
- QuickBooks Online says your bank file is too large
- QuickBooks Online will not accept your bank CSV
- QuickBooks Online reads the dates in your CSV wrong
- Your Venmo statement CSV will not import into QuickBooks
- QuickBooks Online says the file contains invalid transaction amount information
Sources
The rules on this page come from these help pages, checked 2026-11-05. Software changes; if your screen says something different, the help page is the authority.