QuickBooks American Express Not Syncing Error


Last Update: April 28th, 2025     Author: Adams Williams

Reviewed By: SMBAccountants Editorial Team

QuickBooks American Express not syncing error has been an old problem for the users who are troubled with it. If you are one of them who is having trouble dealing with this error, then this article is for you.

There is nothing to worry, since we will be sharing all the practical and effective solutions to deal with this issue from the core. Not to mention, we will also share additional important points about this error, like its causes, symptoms, important points to remember and its effective troubleshooting steps.

Why QuickBooks American Express not sync issue occur?

The QuickBooks bank feeds not working problem highlights the issue between your bank and the American Express to work in sync, which, as a result fails to yield real-time results.

Banks generally allow manual updates and daily downloads.

American Express, however, has limitations in downloading transactions. Hence, to recover the synchronization between the two bodies, integrating physical updates is a must.

What is Amex?

Amex means American Express Credit Cards. This card is very beneficial for those users who want to make their payments anywhere in the nation. American Express Card is generated by a publicly traded financial services organization. They are also termed Prepaid Cards, Charge Cards, Credit Cards, etc.

Furthermore, it has many advantages and perks like cashback, reward points, travel perks, etc. Co-branded cards have related advantages.

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How to Connect Amex to QuickBooks?

Let us now understand how to link Amex to QuickBooks. It is possible to download the current transactions by connecting your QuickBooks accounting software with American Express Open Business Card.

Bank Feeds or Online Banking is a priceless and time-saving feature added in QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks will download the transactions automatically and classify the credit card transactions for the users. All you need to do is enhance the automated functions of QuickBooks.

Step 1: Prepare an American Express Account in QuickBooks

You must create your American Express Business Account on your particular Chart of Accounts with the steps below:

  • Go to the Bookkeeping section and select the Chart of Accounts option.
  • Now press New to prepare an account.
  • Select the option that says Credit Card from the particular account type drop-down.
  • Now you need to name your account.
  • Press Save and Close after you are done.

Step 2: Allow American Express Business Account Connect with QuickBooks

Here are the steps shared below to begin connecting QuickBooks with your specific bank account:

  • Navigate to the Bookkeeping tab and select Transactions.
  • Now you need to select Bank Transactions.
  • Press Connect available on the landing page if you are able to link QuickBooks Desktop with Amex for the very first time. But, in case you have linked your QuickBooks with your bank account before, you must press the Add Account option.
  • Search for and press the American Express Business Card.
  • Press Continue.
  • Sign in with your American Express user ID and password appearing in the pop-up wizard. If extra security steps are important, you will be able to witness them on the on-screen guidelines.
  • Press the account you want to link to QuickBooks.
  • Select the account type from the drop-down menu for every account. 
  • Select the Date Range to download.
  • Press Connect.

Once your American Express card links with QuickBooks, you will not require to add the transactions in QuickBooks Online manually. Just go to Bookkeeping and select Transactions to review, add, and match them.

Note: You can use your American Express business login if you have numerous QuickBooks American Express cards. The same procedures can be used to link your corporate and personal American Express accounts separately.

You can run into issues logging in to American Express while setting up this connection. To fix the issue, we must thus comprehend the underlying causes and troubleshooting techniques.

Read this: How to Set Up American Express in QuickBooks

Why does the QuickBooks American Express Not Syncing Error occur?

If you are wondering why the American Express Card is not functioning, here are some important factors that can give rise to the error:

  • The account is linked with another QuickBooks Online company for Online Banking already. You can only link American Express accounts to a single company at a time.
  • There may be a half-finished connection on the QuickBooks side. When this occurs, you are likely to experience a sudden pausing of the link. The browser is likely to stop suddenly.
  • The Financial Institution’s Directory may not have added bank details.
  • This error often occurs due to the pending alerts on your online bank account. Hence, you must acknowledge them right away.
  • The issue with the server may trigger the QuickBooks American Express not syncing error. 
  • Internet Connection problems may also trigger this error.
  • In case your QuickBooks software is not updated, it can trigger the syncing error.
  • The American Express connection is not updated.

Hence, you need to resolve this problem to fix the QuickBooks American Express Not Syncing error.

Now that you know the reasons for the occurrence of the syncing error, let us learn about the symptoms too.

What are the Symptoms of the QuickBooks American Express Not Syncing Error?

While functioning on downloading transactions and updating the bank feeds, you may witness the following output.

  • The error message may be witnessed on the window.
  • The bank feeds or desktop feeds fail to update.
  • QuickBooks may crash and respond very slowly.
  • Several error codes plus descriptions may accompany the QuickBooks bank feeds not working 2023.
  • You are likely to witness OLSU errors in QuickBooks.
  • You fail to download your bank transactions manually or automatically.
  • The internet browser in use may also work very slowly.
  • Synchronization issues between American Express and QuickBooks may arise.

Now that you know about the signs that indicate the presence of the QuickBooks error, let us learn about the points to consider prior to syncing AMEX with QuickBooks.

What are the Important Points to Consider Before Syncing AMEX with QuickBooks?

Here is the list of the important points to consider prior to syncing the American Express account in QuickBooks:

  • Have the primary account holder safeguard authorization for the bank feeds setup procedure. 
  • After you have the credentials of the primary account holder, make sure that the QuickBooks Desktop is updated to its current release.
  • You also need to take a backup of the company file in order to prevent data loss.

Now that you are done with the prerequisites, you need to move ahead with the troubleshooting solutions to fix the syncing error in QuickBooks.

How to Fix QuickBooks American Express Not Syncing Error?

Here is a list of some of the most highly recommended solutions you can use to fix the QuickBooks bank feeds not working error.

Before doing it, you need to update your QuickBooks Desktop and take a backup of your files with the steps given below:

  • Navigate to the Help menu in your QuickBooks app and choose Update QuickBooks Desktop.
  • Select Get Updates and if you witness any Update Now, press it.
  • Now go to the File menu for local backup. Now Create a Local Backup.
  • Execute the instructions and complete the backup procedure.

Now you need to implement the troubleshooting methods for the QuickBooks not updating bank transaction 2024 error.

Solution 1: Disconnect and then Reconnect the Amex Account in QuickBooks

To resolve this syncing error in QuickBooks, you can first disconnect the bank account. Here is the list of the steps included in this process:

  • Go to the Banking tab and from the left side of the menu, select the Banking option.
  • Click the Edit option on the account you want to change.
  • Select the Edit account info option.
  • Choose Disconnect this Account on the save checkbox in the particular Account screen.
  • Choose Save and Close.

You can also disconnect the Intuit account via Amex Online Banking in order to revive the connection:

  • Start by disconnecting the old Intuit connection for every American Express business card.
  • Log in to your American Express account at the official American Express website.
  • Now pin your account to a Business Card rather than a Personal/Corporate card.
  • Press Account Services on the top navigation.
  • Select the option, Security and Privacy on the left navigation.
  • Press the Manage Partner Permissions option.
  • Choose Intuit to expand the specific section.
  • Click the Disconnect button.
  • If you have several American Express Business cards, you need to repeat the steps for every card.

Now you can connect the American Express account card and check if the QuickBooks not syncing error resolves or not.

  • Go to the Bookkeeping tab. 
  • Now select Transactions and then press Bank Transactions.
  • Press the Connect on the Landing page if you are linking QuickBooks Desktop with Amex for the first time. But if you have done it before, you need to press the Add Account option.
  • Now look for the American Express Business Car and press it. 
  • Choose Continue.
  • Add your American Express user ID along with the password in the pop-up screen. In case the extra security steps are important, you will be able to view them on the screen as instructions.
  • Select the account you want to link to QuickBooks.
  • Press the account type from the available drop-down of each account. It will be account prepared in the Chart of Account.
  • Choose Connect.

Solution 2: Adjust your Account under Company and Personal Preferences

You can try to fix the QuickBooks not syncing with the bank issue by altering the company preferences. Here are the steps included in this procedure:

  • Log in to the Company file as Admin.
  • Now make sure to change to Single-user mode.
  • Go to the Edit menu and choose the Preferences option.
  • Now select Checking.
  • Go to the tab, My Preferences and select the default accounts for all the options.
  • Now select the Company Preferences tab and press the default account for two options:
    • Pay Payroll Liabilities
    • Create Paychecks
  • Press OK.
  • Lastly, try to reset the account for online banking.

In case the American Express problems still exists, it is possible to resolve them with the next troubleshooting steps.

Solution 3: Manually Update the Financial Institution Directory

It is quite likely that your Financial Institutions Directory is old and not updated. In such a case, you need to manually update it:

  • Start by looking for the fidir.txt file on your Windows 7, 8, 9, and 10. For QuickBooks Premier or Pro, the location of the file is:
    • C:\ProgramData\Intuit\QuickBooks XXXX\Components\OLB\branding\filist
  • However, the QuickBooks Enterprise file is present at:
    • C:\ProgramData\Intuit\QuickBooks XXXX\Components\OLB\branding\filist
  • Press the FiDiR text file and click the Rename option.
  • Change the .txt extension to .old. Now press outside the field in order to save the changes. 
  • Select the QuickBooks version to acquire the current file.
  • Choose Desktop on the screen for Save. Now Save.
  • Press right–click on the fidir.txt file on your Desktop and press the Copy option.
  • Now press right-click on the Start menu, select File Explorer and then click This PC.
  • Launch the filist folder in Step 1.
  • Press right-click anywhere in the folder and select the Paste option.
  • Exit the QuickBooks application and then open it again to see if the QuickBooks syncing error has been resolved or not.

Read this: QuickBooks Is Unable to Verify the Financial Institution

Solution 4: Move to Incognito

You may be required to turn on the private browsing or incognito session to fix the QuickBooks Desktop not syncing with the American Express error.

You can change to the Incognito mode or the private browser session in other browsers as follows:

  • Ctrl + Shift + P for Mozilla Firefox
  • Ctrl + Shift + N for Google Chrome
  • Control + Option + P for Safari

Once you open the Incognito browser, sign back into your account and then add the credit card again.

Solution 5: Erase the Cookies and Cache from the Browser

Unwanted files, cookies, and temporary cache in the browser may also trigger this QuickBooks sync error. Eliminate them with the help of the steps given below:

  • Click the Favorite button in Internet Explorer.
  • Now select the History tab. 
  • Press right-click on any website and then click the Delete option. 
  • You can also choose many websites simultaneously.
  • Click the Menu button in Firefox and choose Options.
  • Navigate to the panel on the left side and select Privacy and Security. 
  • Press the Clear Data option in the Cookies section and Site Data.
  • Press the OK button.
  • If you use Chrome, you need to press the three dots on the top-right side and open the menu. Select More Tools and choose the Clear Browsing Data option.
  • Press Time and press Clear Browsing Data.

Solution 6: Restore App Data

Another solution to fix the QuickBooks syncing error is to restore the app data. Here is the list of the steps you need to implement:

  • Launch the QuickBooks Desktop app and choose the Help menu at the top.
  • Select the Restore App Data option.

In case you still keep witnessing the error, you need to perform the actions given below:

  • First, launch QuickBooks on your system and then go to the Banking section.
  • Choose the option, Report Issue.
  • Add your email address, name, and other information, and then press Submit.
  • The issue will be notified to the QuickBooks team directly, who will get in touch with you in the next few days.

Solution 7: Update the American Express Connections

QuickBooks keeps updating connections between the application and American Express for better outcomes. When you link your bank feeds QuickBooks Desktop 2021 to banking, the transactions are downloaded every day automatically by QuickBooks Online.

Without any manual entry, the details get registered.

Updating the QuickBooks Desktop bank feeds enhances the speed and accuracy of the bank transactions downloaded. You can also witness some great features. But you will need to update certain things on your end to fix American Express syncing not working.

There is nothing you can do to continue receiving transactions from American Express. When your American Express is prepared to update, you will get a few emails. These alerts will also appear in QB Online. Updates must be made to the principal account owner.

You need to click the notifications and links in the emails. Otherwise, you can also follow the steps below to fix American Express not syncing error:

  • The first step is to sign in to your QuickBooks Online account.
  • Go to the Bookkeeping menu.
  • Select Transactions and press the Banking option.
  • Click the Update Connection link in the banner.
  • Select to Continue and sign in to your American Express account.
  • Execute the steps appearing on the screen.
  • Make sure the account you utilize to monitor the American Express transactions on your chart of accounts is selected in the COA drop-down. It must be the same account used initially.
  • Click the Connect option.

You can get back to your business as the American Express Connection is updated and check if you are still experiencing the sync error.

Solution 8: Manually update your Financial Institution

In case you fail to refresh the connection with your bank account and you are experiencing an Amex system not responding problem, you take the actions below.

Make sure you use the primary account owner when you are syncing the connecting QuickBooks with Amex. Those accountants who can access your bank account via a separate login will fail to connect in your place.

Hence updating your bank manually will lead to refreshing the connection between your financial institution and QuickBooks.

  • Go to the Banking section.
  • Select the blue tile on the top of the particular bank account you want to update.
  • Press the Update button.

Solution 9: Authenticate the website of your Bank

You must review the website of your financial institution and check if the server is accessible. In case the bank server goes down, you may witness the bank feeds are not functioning in QuickBooks Desktop issue.

Here are the steps you need to follow:

  • Start by making sure the URL that QuickBooks uses to link with your financial institution is accurate.
  • Go to Bookkeeping and then click Transactions. 
  • Now select Bank Transactions.
  • Select Link Account. You will not require any account, only you will need the URL.
  • Search for your bank and choose it.
  • Sign in to your credit card or bank website via the copied URL.

In case the sign-in happens minus any disturbances, there is no major problem. Then confirm the details below to make sure why you failed to download bank feeds in QuickBooks Desktop:

  • Confirm your account for notifications, messages, or alerts. Accept the pending ones.
  • Make sure no display problems are present as you go through the website. Or else you may experience obstacles from QuickBooks to download any new transaction.
  • Check the website of your bank for any notice about security requirements.

If everything is fine and perfect, get back to QuickBooks and perform the steps below:

  • Click the Bookkeeping section.
  • Select Transactions.
  • Select Bank Transactions.
  • Press the Refresh button.

After these troubleshooting steps, it is expected that you will not experience the QuickBooks American Express not syncing error anymore.

Final Words

We hope that after our detailed guide on the QuickBooks American Express Not Syncing error, all your queries will be resolved, related to the topic. We have highlighted the reasons, symptoms, and solutions to fix this issue.

Still, if you get stuck anywhere or require professional expertise to deal with this error, you can get in touch with our team of experts. Our talented professionals can assist you in fixing this issue without any hassle. They have years of expertise in handling QuickBooks issues.

Feel free to connect with us at our toll-free number +1800-961-4963 anytime you want and get rid of your QuickBooks issue for good.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q 1: Does QuickBooks acknowledge American Express?

Q 2: How to refresh the Bank Connection in QuickBooks?


Adams Williams

Adams Williams is a seasoned accounting professional with over 4 years of experience in bookkeeping, financial reporting, and business accounting solutions. Specializing in QuickBooks software, Adams combines technical expertise with clear, accessible content writing to help businesses streamline their financial processes. His insightful guides and how-to articles are crafted to assist both beginners and seasoned users in navigating accounting software with confidence.

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