Tracking Credit Cards by Download

Downloading transactions:
a) You can set up your credit card account in QuickBooks for online banking, which will allow you to download transactions from the credit card company. To do this, go to the Banking menu in QuickBooks, then the Online Banking option, and select "Set up account for online services." (The exact wording of this menu choice may be a little different depending which verison of QuickBooks you're using.)
b) Continue through the online banking setup wizard -- selecting the credit card account in QuickBooks and the credit card company (e.g. American Express). Depending on the credit card company, sometimes you may need to contact them first to activate online banking in QuickBooks or to obtain a new password for downloading transactions -- the setup wizard should tell you if you need to.
c) After you've set up the account, you can download your credit card transactions into QuickBooks by going to the Online Banking Center (icon on the icon bar or via the Online Banking menu under the Banking menu). If you've already manually entered any charges, they will automatically match the downloaded transactions. You'll also be given the opportunity to add any transactions downloaded that were not yet entered in QuickBooks and assign the appropriate accounts. (You can still always manually enter credit card charges as well.)
d) Downloaded transactions are flagged for reconciliation with a lightning bolt in your register. When you go to reconcile your credit card account (if enabled for online banking) using the Reconcile feature in QuickBooks, click on the "Matched" button to show the downloaded transactions that were already flagged for reconciliation.