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Are you familiar with the different banking modes in QuickBooks? The desktop version of Intuit’s popular accounting software supports several different banking modes. Also known as bank feeds, they determine the layout of the transactions. You can change between the different banking modes to achieve a different layout. What are the different banking modes exactly, and how do they differ from each other?

Classic

The classic banking mode is powered by the account register. When selected, QuickBooks will use the account register to add and match transactions. You can create aliases, which will match the names associated with the transactions. Classic mode is easy and beginner friendly, making it a popular choice among business owners and accountants alike.

Express

There’s also the express banking mode. Unlike the classic banking mode, it doesn’t use the account register to add and match transactions. Instead, the express banking mode uses the transactions list window.

Advanced

Finally, QuickBooks Desktop offers the advanced banking mode. The advanced banking mode uses the transactions list to add and match transactions — just like the express banking mode. The advanced banking mode simply comes with more customization options. You can use it to create rules, for instance. Rather than allowing QuickBooks to automatically add and match transactions based on the transaction list, you can set rules.

How to Change the Banking Mode

There are three different banking modes available in QuickBooks Desktop: classic, express and advanced. Switching between them is a breeze. To get started, log in to QuickBooks via single-user mode. You can only change the banking mode in single-user mode. The multi-user mode doesn’t offer this feature. You can only change the banking mode while logged in to QuickBooks via single-user mode.

While logged in to QuickBooks via single-user mode, click the “Edit” link and choose “Preferences.”  Under “Checking,” choose “Company Preferences.” You should see a list of the three aforementioned banking modes, including advanced, express and classic. You can change the banking mode by clicking the desired mode on this list.

If you’re unable to change the banking mode,  check to see if there’s a new version of QuickBooks available. Old, outdated versions of QuickBooks may not offer this feature. Updating your QuickBooks installation to the latest version should resolve this issue, thus allowing you to change the banking mode.

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