OLSU 1013 QuickBooks Error: Fix It or Import a QBO File
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OLSU-1013 in QuickBooks Desktop means Bank Feeds could not finish setting up or updating the connection to your bank, so nothing downloads. Start with the two checks that fix it most often: sign in to the bank's website and approve QuickBooks under its linked-services or financial-tools settings, then confirm TLS 1.2 is on. If a brand new company file fails the same way, the problem is on the bank's side, and the quickest way to close the month is to import a .qbo Web Connect file instead of waiting for the feed.
Most pages about this error give the same list of ten fixes in no particular order. That wastes an afternoon. OLSU-1013 has a small number of real causes, and a two-minute test tells you which half of the list is even worth trying.
What OLSU-1013 means in QuickBooks Desktop
OL and OLSU codes come from Bank Feeds, the part of QuickBooks Desktop that signs in to your bank and pulls transactions. OLSU codes show up while you set up or reconnect an account. Intuit's help article "Fix OL and OLSU Bank Feeds errors in QuickBooks Desktop" lists the causes behind the whole family: a problem at your bank, alerts on your online bank account you need to acknowledge, a bank that changed its service to Web Connect or Direct Connect, an inactive account in QuickBooks with online banking still on, an outdated Financial Institutions Directory, internet or firewall trouble, damaged accounts in the company file, and a discontinued version of Windows or QuickBooks Desktop.
One cause turns up in recent OLSU-1013 reports again and again: a connection the bank has not yet authorized. That is why the first fix below happens on the bank's website, not in QuickBooks.
The two-minute test: is it your file or your bank?
Before changing any settings, create a sample company file and set up Bank Feeds for the same account there. Then read the result:
| Result in the new company file | What it tells you | Where to spend your time |
|---|---|---|
| Connects and downloads | Your real company file has the problem | Steps 4 and 5 below: inactive accounts, Verify and Rebuild |
| Fails with OLSU-1013 too | The connection between QuickBooks and the bank is the problem | Steps 1 to 3 below, then import files while you wait |
| Fails with a different code | A separate issue is hiding behind this one | Look up that code first; it is usually more specific |
A second quick check: sign in to the bank's website and download a QuickBooks (.qbo) file for last week, then import it through File, Utilities, Import, Web Connect Files. If that import works, your company file and your QuickBooks install are fine, and only the live connection is broken.
How do I fix error OLSU-1013 in QuickBooks Desktop?
Log in as the Admin user in single-user mode and back up the company file. Then work down this list, stopping when the connection goes through.
1. Approve QuickBooks on the bank's website
Some banks hold a new QuickBooks connection as pending until you approve it online, and QuickBooks reports the refusal as OLSU-1013. In a 2025 QuickBooks Community reply about TD Bank, a user found "QuickBooks Windows 2023" listed as "Approval Pending" under Account Services, Manage Linked Services, Financial Tool Access. One click changed it to "Authorized" and QuickBooks connected straight away. The same user warned that the Quicken entry at the top of that screen "has no effect on Quickbooks". Other banks use different names for the screen, so look for linked apps, third-party access or financial software. While you are signed in, clear any notices or terms the bank wants you to accept, since those block downloads too.
2. Turn on TLS 1.2
QuickBooks Desktop uses the Windows internet settings for its bank connections, and banks reject old encryption protocols. Intuit staff in the OLSU-1013 thread point to Internet Options, Advanced: uncheck Use TLS 1.0 and check Use TLS 1.2, apply, and restart the computer. On current Windows builds this is often already set, which makes it a quick check rather than a likely fix.
3. Update QuickBooks and the Financial Institutions Directory
If the bank changed how it connects, QuickBooks needs the current entry for it. Install the latest release for your Desktop year. In a Bank of America thread, Intuit staff also described refreshing the directory by renaming fidir.txt to fidir.old and letting QuickBooks download a current copy. If your Desktop version is past Intuit's support date, online banking stops working altogether and no setting will bring it back.
4. Deactivate online services on inactive and failing accounts
An inactive account that still has online banking switched on is on Intuit's list of causes. Open the Chart of Accounts, show inactive accounts, and on each one edit the account and deactivate all online services on the Bank Feed Settings tab. Then set up the account that fails again from scratch.
5. Verify and Rebuild the company file
If the new company file connected and yours does not, run File, Utilities, Verify Data, and Rebuild Data if Verify finds problems. Damaged accounts in the company file are one of Intuit's listed causes, and this is the step that addresses them.
Can I still import transactions while OLSU-1013 is unresolved?
Yes. OLSU-1013 blocks the online Bank Feeds connection, not the Web Connect file import, which never talks to the bank at all. Get a .qbo file for the period, go to File, Utilities, Import, Web Connect Files, and choose the existing account when QuickBooks asks. The transactions land in Bank Feeds for review, the same as a download, and each carries an ID so a later download of the same period will not duplicate them. The question is only where the .qbo file comes from:
- The bank's QuickBooks download. If the bank offers one and it reaches back far enough, use it.
- A Quicken file from the bank. QuickBooks Desktop will not open .qif or .qfx files as bank transactions. If a Quicken export is all the bank gives you, you can convert the Quicken QIF file to a QBO file first.
- The PDF statements. Every bank keeps statements as PDFs, usually for years, including months the download no longer covers. Convert the PDF bank statement to a QuickBooks Desktop file and import it the same afternoon. For TD Bank accounts, the TD Bank statement to QuickBooks converter reads its layout directly.
For a credit card account the file has to be a credit card file. A converter that writes a card statement as a checking account, or keeps the statement's signs where purchases are positive, posts every charge as a payment. Our card export writes a credit card account with purchases as charges, which is how the Bank of America credit card statement to QuickBooks converter and the other card pages work.
OLSU-1013, OLSU-1011 and OLSU-1024 compared
The three codes get lumped together, but they point to different places, and knowing which one you have saves time.
| Code | Where it usually starts | First thing to try |
|---|---|---|
| OLSU-1013 | Authorizing or updating the connection | Approve QuickBooks on the bank's website, then check TLS 1.2 |
| OLSU-1011 | Bank Feeds setup, often company preferences or a bank-wide change | Set default accounts in Edit, Preferences, Checking; see our OLSU-1011 guide |
| OLSU-1024 | Data from the bank in a format QuickBooks cannot read | Update QuickBooks and the directory; import a clean .qbo for the gap |
If the connection works and the imported file itself is rejected, you are looking at a different family. OL-222 on a QBO import means QuickBooks could not parse something inside the file.
How long does OLSU-1013 take to fix?
If the cause is a pending approval at the bank, it clears in the time it takes to sign in and click Authorize. TLS, update and inactive-account fixes usually take under half an hour together. If the new company file test fails and the bank has nothing pending, the fix depends on the bank and Intuit, and the QuickBooks Community thread on this code runs from 2020 into 2025 with users still reporting it. Plan to import files for the current month rather than wait.
What waiting costs a bookkeeping practice
An active business account often runs 80 to 150 transactions a month. Keying that by hand takes around an hour with checking, and the month cannot close until it is done. When one bank's connection fails, it fails for every client at that bank, so a practice with ten TD or regional-bank clients loses days, not an hour.
| Option | Time for one 100-line statement | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Wait for the feed | None now, unknown later | Month-end slips and the backlog grows |
| Key it by hand | About an hour, often more | Typos, transposed amounts, missed fees |
| Bank's own .qbo download | Minutes | Only the range the bank allows |
| Convert the PDF statement to .qbo | Minutes, plus a balance check | Review rows against the closing balance |
The Starter plan here is $49 a month for 50 documents, one statement per document. For a firm with a dozen clients whose feeds are down, that is one month's fee against several days of data entry. If the feed is down right now, the bank feed not working page walks through closing the month from statements.
Frequently asked questions
Is OLSU-1013 a QuickBooks Online error?
No, it is a QuickBooks Desktop Bank Feeds code. QuickBooks Online shows its own connection messages. The Online equivalent of the workaround is Transactions, Bank transactions, Link account, Upload from file, which accepts a .qbo file as well.
Does OLSU-1013 mean my bank password is wrong?
Usually not. A wrong password gives a sign-in failure you can correct at the prompt. OLSU-1013 points to authorization, encryption settings, an outdated directory or version, or a problem at the bank. Sign in on the bank's website anyway, because a pending approval or an unread notice there is the most common single cause.
Will creating a new company file fix OLSU-1013?
No, it is a test, not a fix. If the new file connects, you know the problem is inside your real file and can work on inactive accounts and Verify and Rebuild. If it fails, stop changing your file and deal with the bank connection or import .qbo files.
Can I import a PDF bank statement directly into QuickBooks Desktop?
No. QuickBooks Desktop has no PDF statement import in any edition. The statement has to become a .qbo Web Connect file, or an IIF file on Desktop versions that no longer support Web Connect, before Desktop will read the transactions. The "unable to verify the Financial Institution information" message is what you see when a converted file lacks the bank ID Desktop checks.
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