PayPal CSV to QBO

PayPal reports a gross amount and a fee on the same line; the converter below splits the fee into its own transaction so the net matches your balance, and writes a QuickBooks .qbo file locally.

Drop a CSV or Excel statement here

.csv, .txt, .xlsx and .xls — or choose a file

Your file never leaves your browser.

The PayPal Activity preset is selected for you. Switch the Format dropdown to Auto-detect if you are converting a file from somewhere else.

How to export a CSV from PayPal

  1. Sign in at paypal.com and open Activity, then Download — on business accounts it sits under Reports.
    Screenshot: paypal-export-1
    The PayPal activity page with the download link above the transaction list.
  2. Set the date range, then choose the "Balance affecting" transaction type. That is the report that matches your PayPal balance; "All transactions" includes rows that never moved money.
  3. Pick CSV as the format and request the file. PayPal prepares larger reports in the background and emails a link when it is ready.
    Screenshot: paypal-export-2
    The download dialog: date range, transaction type and file format.
  4. Download the CSV — it arrives with a long generated name, so rename it per period if you keep them.
  5. Drop it into the converter on this page. The PayPal preset is preselected and fee splitting is on.
  6. Check the preview: each sale should appear as a gross amount with a separate negative PayPal fee. Then download the .qbo.

Online banking screens change; if a label has moved, look for a download or export control above the transaction list.

Known quirks of the PayPal export

  • The Balance affecting activity download has a wide header — Date, Time, TimeZone, Name, Type, Status, Currency, Gross, Fee, Net, Balance, Transaction ID and more. The converter reads Date, Name and Gross, and keeps Type as the memo so a refund is still recognisable in the register.
  • Every row with a fee becomes two transactions: the gross amount, and a negative PayPal fee line typed as a fee. That is how the deposit into your bank reconciles — the net PayPal paid you is the gross minus the fee, and expensing the fee separately is what your accountant expects to see.
  • Multi-currency files are not converted in this version. If the Currency column contains anything other than USD, those amounts are imported as the number in the file, with no conversion — check them before you import, or export one currency at a time.
  • PayPal has no official Intuit bank id, so the file borrows the generic 3000 and the converter warns you about it. If QuickBooks refuses the upload, try another id in the account settings — this is the preset most likely to need it.

Import the .qbo file into QuickBooks

  1. Open the upload screen. In QuickBooks Online, go to Transactions, then Bank transactions, and choose Upload from file (on older layouts: Banking, then the arrow next to Update, then File upload).
  2. Pick the .qbo file. Drag the .qbo file the converter produced into the drop area and select Continue.
  3. Choose the QuickBooks account. Select the bank or credit card account the transactions belong to, or add it first. The account type has to match the one used when converting: a card statement belongs to a credit card account.
  4. Let QuickBooks read the file. Web Connect files carry their own column layout, so there is no column-mapping screen — QuickBooks reads the dates, amounts, payees and memos straight from the file.
  5. Review and accept. The transactions land in the For review tab. Categorise or match them there; nothing hits the books until you accept them.

QuickBooks Online accepts up to 1,000 transactions per upload. Larger statements are split automatically into numbered files by the converter. Import errors are covered in the import error guide.

Gross, fee, net: pick two

The single decision that makes a PayPal import right or wrong is how you treat fees. Importing the net amount is tempting — it matches the balance in one line — but it hides revenue and loses a deductible expense. Importing the gross alone leaves your balance wrong by exactly the fees.

The converter takes the third option: gross as one transaction, fee as another, typed as a fee so QuickBooks does not mistake it for a purchase. Your income equals what customers paid, your processing costs are visible, and the balance reconciles because the two lines net to the amount PayPal actually moved.

Refunds and reversals

A refund appears with a negative gross and, depending on the case, a positive or zero fee. The converter keeps whatever the file says rather than assuming a refund returns the fee, because PayPal’s policy on this has changed more than once. If a refunded fee matters to your books, check those rows in the preview and adjust in QuickBooks after import.

The transfer to your bank

Withdrawals from PayPal to a bank account appear in the activity report as their own transactions. Import them, and match them in QuickBooks against the deposit on your bank statement — that match is what proves the two registers agree. Do not delete them thinking they are duplicates; the deposit and the withdrawal are two sides of one transfer.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the converter create two transactions for one PayPal sale?
Because PayPal charged you twice over: a customer paid the gross, PayPal kept a fee, and your balance moved by the net. Splitting the fee out gives you revenue at gross and a deductible processing expense, which is what reconciles against the deposit.
Should PayPal be a bank account in QuickBooks?
PayPal holds a balance, so a bank account is the usual choice. The converter defaults to a checking account type, which is what a Web Connect file for a balance-holding account looks like.
Which PayPal report should I download?
The balance affecting activity report. It contains exactly the rows that moved your balance, which is what a bank-style register wants. Other reports include authorisations and reversals that never settled.
What about transactions in other currencies?
This version does not convert currencies. Export one currency at a time, or review those rows in the preview before downloading, so you are not importing euros as if they were dollars.
Is my PayPal report uploaded?
No. It is parsed in this browser tab, and the .qbo file is generated on your machine.

Related banks

Other formats: QBO to CSV · Bank statement to QBO

Last updated .