Can I import bills into QuickBooks Online?

Yes. Go to Settings, Import data, Bills and upload a CSV, Excel or Google Sheets file. Intuit's article names Essentials, Plus and Advanced, but its US import FAQ says bill import is restricted to QuickBooks Online Advanced and higher in the US; other US plans should upload bill PDFs or photos on the Bills page instead.

What columns are required to import bills into QuickBooks Online?

Seven: Bill no., Supplier, Bill Date, Due Date, Account, Line Amount and Line Tax Code. Line Tax Code is only needed when tax is turned on in your company. You map your own headings to these fields during the import.

How do I import a bill with several lines?

Use one row per line and repeat the same Bill no., Supplier and Bill Date on every row of that bill.

Why does QuickBooks say the account doesn't match when I import bills?

The account in your file isn't in the chart of accounts, or is spelled differently (an extra space, or a sub-account written another way). Accounts must exist before the import; copy the names from the chart of accounts.

How many bills can I import at once?

Intuit recommends no more than 100 bills per import. Split bigger batches into several files.

Can I import credit notes or negative bills?

No. Discounts and credit notes aren't supported and the bill total must be 0 or more. Enter supplier credits by hand.

How do I turn receipts or PDF invoices into a bill import file?

Extract supplier, date, number and amount into the template, either by hand or with a receipt-to-CSV tool. Utilly reads PDF and photo receipts and builds a QuickBooks Online bills file you can check before downloading; batches of up to 3 are free.

How to Import Bills into QuickBooks Online from CSV or Excel (2026 Template)

You have a stack of supplier bills or receipts and don't want to type each one into QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks can import bills from a CSV or Excel file. This guide covers which plans have it, the seven columns it insists on, a template that imports cleanly, and the errors that stop most first attempts.

On this page

Who can import bills
The required columns
A template that imports cleanly
Import the file, step by step
Errors and how to fix them
Getting the data out of PDFs and photos
After the import
FAQ

Who can import bills

Intuit's bill import article names QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus and Advanced. In the US, though, Intuit's import FAQ says "Importing Bills is restricted to QuickBooks Online Advanced and higher subscription tiers in the US region. Other tiers should use the Upload multiple bills in the Bills page."

Your QuickBooks	What to use
US, Advanced	Settings ⚙ → Import data → Bills (CSV, Excel or Google Sheets)
US, Simple Start, Essentials or Plus	Expenses → Bills → upload the bill PDFs or photos, then review each draft. Or enter bills by hand from a clean list.
UK, Canada, Australia and other regions (Essentials, Plus, Advanced)	Settings ⚙ → Import data → Bills

Not sure whether you need a bill at all? A bill is for something you'll pay later (accounts payable). A receipt you already paid by card or cash is usually an expense, and that payment will also show up in your bank feed. Importing paid receipts as bills and then matching them to the card payments works, but it is extra steps. Many bookkeepers import only true payables as bills and match card receipts straight to bank feed transactions.

The required columns

Intuit lists seven mandatory columns. You map your own headings to QuickBooks fields during the import, so the names don't have to match exactly, but these are the safest headings:

Column	What goes in it	Watch out for
Bill no.	The supplier's invoice number	Repeat it on every line of a multi-line bill. Turn on custom transaction numbers (Account and settings → Sales → Custom transaction numbers) to keep your numbers.
Supplier	Supplier name	Must exist, or tick Add new suppliers that don't already exist on the upload screen. Spell it exactly like the existing supplier or you get a second one.
Bill Date	Invoice date	One date format for the whole file. You pick that format on the mapping screen.
Due Date	Payment due date	Use the bill date if the bill has no terms.
Account	Expense account for the line	Must already exist in your chart of accounts. Required even if you only import bill totals.
Line Amount	Amount of the line	Plain numbers, no currency symbol. The bill total must be 0 or more: credit notes and discounts aren't supported.
Line Tax Code	Tax code for the line	Only when tax is turned on in your company. If it isn't, the sample file has no tax columns and you can leave tax out.

Optional columns that help: Memo, Line Description, Line Tax Amount and Currency (multicurrency is supported). The Product/Service section isn't imported, so you can't import inventory items this way.

A template that imports cleanly

One row per bill line. A bill with two lines has two rows with the same Bill no., Supplier and Bill Date:

Bill No.,Supplier,Bill Date,Due Date,Memo,Account,Line Description,Line Amount,Line Tax Code,Line Tax Amount,Currency
INV-20417,Pecan Street Web Hosting,10/01/2026,10/31/2026,October hosting,Software & Subscriptions,Business hosting plan,89.00,,,USD
INV-20417,Pecan Street Web Hosting,10/01/2026,10/31/2026,October hosting,Software & Subscriptions,SSL certificate,5.56,,,USD
4471,Bluebonnet Office Supply,10/03/2026,10/03/2026,Toner and paper,Office Supplies,Office supplies,86.43,,,USD

Rules that keep it clean:

Unique bill numbers per supplier. Receipts often have no number. Make one up that won't clash, such as RCPT-20261003-1.
Numbers without symbols or thousands separators (1234.56, not $1,234.56).
No more than 100 bills per file. That's Intuit's recommendation; split bigger batches.
Save as CSV UTF-8 if supplier names have accents.

Import the file, step by step

Add any missing accounts first (Settings → Chart of accounts). Suppliers can be created during the import.
Go to Settings ⚙ → Import data → Bills. Download Intuit's example file if you want to compare.
Select Browse, choose your CSV or Excel file, and tick Add new suppliers that don't already exist in QuickBooks if you need it. Select Next.
Choose the date format your file uses (for the template above, MM/DD/YYYY). If tax is set up, choose whether amounts are exclusive or inclusive of tax.
Map each column to its QuickBooks field. Mandatory fields have an asterisk.
On the last mapping page, match your tax codes to QuickBooks tax codes. Mapping problems are highlighted so you can go back.
Check the summary and select Start import. QuickBooks shows how many bills were imported.

Errors and how to fix them

What you see	Cause	Fix
Account doesn't match / account not found	The account name in the file isn't in your chart of accounts, or differs by a space or a parent account prefix	Copy account names from the chart of accounts. For sub-accounts, use the name exactly as it shows in the account list.
Supplier not found	The supplier doesn't exist and the add-new box wasn't ticked	Tick the box, or add the supplier first.
Dates wrong or rejected	Mixed date formats, or the wrong format picked on the mapping screen	Use one format for the whole file and pick that same one.
Bill total less than 0	A refund or credit note in the file	Leave it out and enter a supplier credit by hand.
Bills merged into one	Two rows share a Bill no., Supplier and Bill Date	Make bill numbers unique.
Tax code missing	Tax is on in your company but the file has no tax code	Add a Line Tax Code column, or map everything to one code on the tax step.
No Import data → Bills option (US)	Your plan isn't Advanced	Use Expenses → Bills → upload, or enter bills from a clean list.

Getting the data out of PDFs and photos

The slow part is rarely the import. It's typing supplier, date, number and amount from a pile of PDFs and phone photos into a spreadsheet. You can:

Type it. Fine for five bills, painful for fifty.
Use a subscription capture app (Dext, Hubdoc, AutoEntry) if you process receipts every week for many clients.
Extract a batch once with a receipt-to-CSV tool, check the numbers, then import.

For a side-by-side look at these options and a checklist for checking OCR totals, tax and dates, see receipt OCR without a subscription.

Receipts and invoices to a QuickBooks bills file

Utilly reads PDF and photo receipts and invoices (vendor, date, number, subtotal, tax, total) and builds a QuickBooks Online bill import file in the column layout above, plus CSV, Excel and Xero bills. You check and fix every field before downloading, and files are processed in memory. Batches of up to 3 receipts are free with no sign-up.

Turn receipts into a QuickBooks bills file

After the import

Spot-check totals: run the Unpaid Bills or Bill Payment List report for the import date and compare the count and total with your file.
Match payments: when the payment comes through the bank feed, match it to the open bill instead of adding it, or the expense counts twice.
Reconcile: at month end, reconcile the account. If it won't tie out, see how to find a bank reconciliation discrepancy.

Using Xero instead? See the Xero bill import template explained.

FAQ

Related guides

Related tools

Bank reconciliation checker: compare a bank statement to your books and list missing, duplicate and mismatched transactions.
Receipt to CSV: turn PDF or photo receipts and invoices into CSV, Excel, or QuickBooks and Xero bill imports.

How to import bills into QuickBooks Online from a CSV or Excel file