How to Retrieve and Identify Reconciled Transactions in QuickBooks Online API

Introduction

When working with accounting automation, one common requirement is to pull transactions in QuickBooks and verify whether they are reconciled, cleared, or uncleared.

At first glance, QuickBooks Online’s TransactionList API seems perfect for this.

However, when I began experimenting, I discovered a limitation that every developer integrating QuickBooks should be aware of.

In this post, I’ll walk you through how to retrieve and identify reconciled transactions in QuickBooks Online, using real API calls and scenarios, so you know exactly what to expect — and where the gaps are.

Step 1: Fetch Transactions using TransactionList API

QuickBooks provides the TransactionList report API:

GET /v3/company/{companyId}/reports/TransactionList

You can pass parameters like:

• start_date / end_date → Filter by transaction date range
• columns → Choose fields like txn_date, txn_type, doc_num, account_name, etc.
• cleared → Possible values are Reconciled, Cleared, UnCleared

That means:

• You can fetch only Reconciled transactions, or only UnCleared ones,
• However, you cannot retrieve all transactions with their status in a single call.

This limitation becomes critical when working with reconciliation adjustments in QuickBooks or when analyzing transactions across multiple accounts.

Step 2: Example – Reconciled Transactions in QuickBooks Online

In my sandbox, I created a Bill Payment transaction and reconciled it.

Here’s the API call I used:


GET .../reports/TransactionList?start_date=2025-09-11&end_date=2025-09-11&cleared=Reconciled


The result included the transaction confirming that the API can detect reconciled entries, but only when filtered.

Step 3: Example – Uncleared Transactions in QuickBooks Online

Next, in QuickBooks, I created an Invoice Payment and left it uncleared.

When I ran:

GET
.../reports/TransactionList?start_date=2025-09-11&end_date=2025-09-11&cleared=Uncleared

It showed up correctly in the API response.

Step 4: Handling Mixed Reconciliation Status Transactions

Here’s where it gets tricky. On the same date, I had multiple transactions:

• One reconciled bill payment
• One uncleared payment
• One cleared bill

But when fetching via API, you must query them separately by status.

There’s no way to retrieve a single dataset that contains the cleared status for every transaction.

Key Limitation

This is the main takeaway:

For auditors, accountants, or SaaS developers building reconciliation tools, this creates extra complexity because you must run multiple API calls and merge results manually.

Why This Matters

If you’re building automation to audit or reconcile accounts across hundreds of QuickBooks clients, this limitation can slow things down significantly.

This is especially true when handling:

• High-volume QBO transactions
• Investigating QuickBooks missing transactions
• Managing reconciliation adjustments in QuickBooks across periods

I explored a similar challenge in my previous blog post, “QuickBooks Online Reconciliation API Solutions,” where I discussed how a CPA firm with over 200 clients needed automation for reconciliation, but QuickBooks’ API restrictions forced them to build workarounds.

That experience directly informed my findings in this regard.

Conclusion

• Use the TransactionList API to fetch transactions.
• Apply the cleared filter when you need only one type of status.
• Be aware: QuickBooks does not provide status per transaction in bulk results.
• For large-scale reconciliation projects, you’ll need to run multiple API calls (Reconciled, Cleared, UnCleared) and stitch them together.

Until QuickBooks improves this endpoint, this is the only way to identify reconciled transactions via the API. For firms managing reconciliation at scale, dedicated reconciliation software may offer a more streamlined alternative to building custom solutions.