This happens when a customer pays an invoice directly into your bank account outside of QuickBooks, so the payment shows up twice: once when you mark the invoice paid, and again when the bank feed downloads that same deposit. The fix is to match the downloaded bank transaction to the invoice payment you already recorded, instead of letting QuickBooks add it as a second, separate entry.
Step 1: Find the downloaded transaction
- Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Bank transactions.
- Select the bank account the deposit came into.
- Open the For review tab and find the deposit that matches your client's payment.
Step 2: Match it instead of adding it
QuickBooks usually suggests a match automatically when the amount and date line up (within 90 days before to 20 days after the transaction date).
- In the Categorize or Match column, look for the suggested match, or select the transaction to expand it.
- Review the details to confirm it's the same payment.
- Select Post to complete the match, rather than Add.
Matching links the bank deposit to the invoice payment you already created, so it counts once instead of twice. If you already selected Add by mistake and ended up with a duplicate, you can undo it: go to the Posted tab, find the transaction, and select Undo. That sends it back to For review so you can match it correctly.
Why this keeps happening
If your client's payment method sends money straight to your bank account rather than through QuickBooks, you'll see this every time you invoice them. You'll still want to create the invoice for your own records, but plan to match, not add, the resulting deposit each time it lands in your bank feed.
Learn more: Match your bank and credit card transactions
Have more questions about keeping your bank transactions clean? Drop a reply below.
