PayPal Activity Download CSV to QuickBooks Online | Complete Guide

Quick Summary (TL;DR)

Need the quick answer?

PayPal Activity Download CSVs cannot be directly imported into QuickBooks Online. You need to:

1. Export Activity Download CSV from PayPal → Reports → Activity Download
2. Convert PayPal's NEGATIVE fees to positive expense amounts
3. Combine Date + Time columns into single date field
4. Create 3-line journal entries (debit PayPal clearing, credit revenue, debit fees)
5. Handle PayPal's formula: Gross + Fee = Net (opposite of Stripe!)
6. Import to QBO via Transactions → Journal Entries → Import

Time required: 5-7 hours manual or 30 seconds automated (TrestleFinance)

Step-by-Step: How to Export Activity Download from PayPal

Before converting anything, you need to export the correct report from PayPal. Here's exactly how:

1. Log into PayPal Business Account at paypal.com
2. Navigate to Reports in the top menu (or left sidebar depending on your PayPal layout)
3. Click "Activity Download" (sometimes under "Reports" → "Activity")
4. Select your date range (typically last month, quarter, or year)
5. File Type: Choose "CSV" (NOT "PDF" or "Tab Delimited")
6. Fields: Select "All Activity" (default - includes all 41 columns)
7. Click "Create Report" - PayPal will email you when it's ready (usually instant for small date ranges)
8. Download the file - it will be named something like Download.CSV

⚠️ Common Mistakes:

Downloading "Monthly Statement" instead of "Activity Download" (different format)
Selecting PDF format (can't be processed)
Downloading "Transaction History" (missing key columns like Balance Impact)

What is PayPal Activity Download?

Activity Download is PayPal's comprehensive transaction report that shows every financial activity in your PayPal account. Think of it as your complete PayPal ledger.

Activity Download includes:

Received payments: Customer payments via PayPal checkout, invoices, or payment links
Refunds: Money returned to customers (fees NOT refunded)
Chargebacks: Customer-disputed payments
PayPal fees: Processing fees (stored as NEGATIVE numbers)
Currency conversions: Cross-currency transaction adjustments
Withdrawals: Transfers to your bank account
Subscription payments: Recurring billing transactions
Holds and reserves: Temporarily held funds

PayPal vs Stripe: Key Differences for Accountants

Aspect	PayPal	Stripe
Fee Sign	Negative (-$3.93)	Positive ($3.93)
Formula	Gross + Fee = Net	Gross - Fee = Net
Date Format	MM/DD/YYYY (separate Time column)	ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ)
Currency Code	Uppercase (USD)	Lowercase (usd)
Column Count	41 columns (lots of extra data)	8-15 columns (minimal)
Transaction Types	50+ types (very granular)	~10 types (simpler)

Bottom line: PayPal CSVs are more complex than Stripe due to negative fees, more columns, and more transaction types. This makes manual conversion significantly harder.

PayPal Activity Download CSV Format Specification

PayPal Activity Download CSVs contain 41 columns of data. Here are the most important columns for QuickBooks import:

Key Columns Breakdown (Verified from PayPal Exports)

Column Name	Description	Example Value
`Date`	Transaction date (MM/DD/YYYY format)	`01/15/2025`
`Time`	Time of transaction	`08:30:00`
`TimeZone`	Time zone (PST, EST, etc.)	`PST`
`Name`	Customer name	`Alice Johnson`
`Type`	Transaction type (payment, refund, etc.)	`Web Accept Payment Received`
`Status`	Transaction status (Completed, Pending, etc.)	`Completed`
`Currency`	3-letter ISO currency code (uppercase)	`USD`
`Gross`	Gross amount (payment amount or refund amount)	`125.00`
`Fee`	PayPal fee (stored as NEGATIVE number)	`-3.93`
`Net`	Net amount deposited (gross + fee)	`121.07`
`Transaction ID`	Unique PayPal transaction ID	`1SYNTH001ABC123`
`Invoice Number`	Your invoice number (if provided)	`INV-2025-001`
`Reference Txn ID`	Original transaction ID (for refunds)	`1SYNTH001ABC123`
`Balance Impact`	Credit (money in) or Debit (money out)	`Credit`

Note: PayPal Activity Download includes 27 additional columns for shipping address, item details, custom fields, etc. These are optional for basic QuickBooks import but may be useful for detailed reconciliation.

Understanding PayPal Fees

Fee Sign Convention (Critical - Different from Stripe!)

⚠️ PayPal vs Stripe Fee Difference:

PayPal stores fees as negative numbers in the CSV to represent a deduction from your balance.

The formula is: Gross + Fee = Net

This is the opposite of Stripe, which stores fees as positive numbers with formula: Gross - Fee = Net

Example from a real PayPal export:

Gross: $125.00 (revenue from customer)

Fee: -$3.93 (PayPal's fee - stored as negative)

Net: $121.07 (what you receive)

Calculation: 125.00 + (-3.93) = 121.07

Refund Fee Behavior (Important!)

❌ PayPal Does NOT Refund Fees:

When you refund a payment, PayPal returns the money to the customer but keeps the original processing fee. You lose both the payment amount AND the fee.

Example refund from PayPal export:

Original Payment:

Gross: $125.00

Fee: -$3.93

Net: $121.07

Refund Transaction:

Gross: -$125.00 (returned to customer)

Fee: $0.00 (fee NOT refunded!)

Net: -$125.00

Total cost to you: $3.93 in lost fees

Converting to QuickBooks Online

Option 1: Manual Method (Excel)

Manual conversion requires:

Combine Date and Time: PayPal splits date and time into separate columns. QuickBooks expects a single date field.
Handle negative fees: Convert fee amounts from negative to positive for QuickBooks expense entries
Create journal entry lines: Each transaction becomes multiple lines:
- Line 1: Debit PayPal Clearing Account (Net amount)
- Line 2: Credit Revenue (Gross amount)
- Line 3: Debit PayPal Fees (absolute value of Fee amount)
Handle refunds: Reverse the entry (credit PayPal, debit revenue). Note that fees are NOT refunded.
Filter out non-revenue transactions: PayPal CSVs include withdrawals, currency conversions, and other types that shouldn't be recorded as revenue
Clean up extra columns: Remove 30+ columns that aren't needed for QBO import

This process takes 5+ hours for a typical monthly export with 300+ transactions (PayPal exports tend to be larger than Stripe).

Option 2: Automated Method (TrestleFinance)

TrestleFinance automates the entire conversion in 30 seconds:

Upload your PayPal Activity Download CSV
Preview the converted journal entries (free, no signup required)
Export three files:
- Normalized CSV: Standardized format (converts negative fees to positive)
- QuickBooks Journal CSV: Ready to import via QBO's journal entry import
- Reconciliation XLSX: Proves gross + fee = net with variance tracking

Common Errors and Fixes

Error: "Fees are being added instead of subtracted"

Cause: PayPal fees are negative in the CSV. If you convert them directly without taking absolute value, they get added to revenue instead of subtracted.

Fix: Convert fees to positive (absolute value) before creating journal entries. The journal entry should debit PayPal Fees with a positive amount.

Error: "Date format not recognized"

Cause: PayPal exports dates as 01/15/2025 with time in a separate column. QuickBooks may expect 2025-01-15 format.

Fix: Reformat dates to YYYY-MM-DD or ensure MM/DD/YYYY format is consistent. Remove or ignore the Time and TimeZone columns.

Error: "Refunds showing as revenue"

Cause: Refunds have negative Gross values and Type = "Refund". If not handled correctly, they can appear as positive revenue.

Fix: Filter by Type column. For refunds, reverse the journal entry: credit PayPal clearing, debit revenue. Use absolute values.

Error: "Total doesn't match PayPal balance"

Cause: PayPal CSVs include non-revenue transactions: withdrawals, currency conversions, bank transfers, subscription cancellations, etc.

Fix: Filter to only include revenue transactions. Use the Type column to identify relevant transactions (e.g., "Web Accept Payment Received", "Express Checkout Payment", "Subscription Payment").

Error: "Chargebacks not recorded correctly"

Cause: Chargebacks appear as Type = "Chargeback" with negative gross and $0 fee. They're similar to refunds but represent disputed payments.

Fix: Record chargebacks the same as refunds (reverse journal entry). Consider creating a separate "Chargeback Losses" expense account for visibility.

How TrestleFinance Handles This

TrestleFinance solves all PayPal CSV challenges automatically:

Automatic Processing

✅ Fee conversion: Converts negative fees to positive expense entries
✅ Date formatting: Combines Date + Time fields and converts to QBO-compatible format
✅ Refund detection: Automatically reverses journal entries for refunds (Type = "Refund")
✅ Chargeback handling: Identifies and records chargebacks correctly
✅ Transaction filtering: Excludes withdrawals, conversions, and non-revenue transactions
✅ Validation: Ensures Gross + Fee = Net (flags discrepancies)
✅ Multi-currency: Handles 100+ currencies with proper formatting
✅ Column cleanup: Removes 30+ unnecessary columns, keeps only essential data

Result: Three clean files ready to import:

Normalized CSV - Universal format with positive fees, clean dates
QuickBooks Journal CSV - Import directly via QBO → Transactions → Journal Entries → Import
Reconciliation XLSX - Proves all totals tie out, identifies any discrepancies

Next Steps

1. Export your Activity Download from PayPal → Reports → Activity Download (select CSV format)
2. Upload to TrestleFinance (preview is free, no signup required)
3. Review the preview to ensure fees are converted correctly
4. Verify that refunds show $0 fee (PayPal doesn't refund fees)
5. Export all three files (uses 1 credit)
6. Import the QuickBooks Journal CSV via QBO → Transactions → Journal Entries → Import

Convert PayPal Activity Download CSV to QuickBooks Online