How to Import Bank Transactions into QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Desktop imports bank transactions from QBO (Web Connect) files with File > Utilities > Import > Web Connect Files, and from IIF files with File > Utilities > Import > IIF Files. On a Mac, QBO files import with File > Import > From Web Connect. If your bank gives you CSV, Excel, PDF, QIF, OFX or QFX instead, convert the file to QBO or IIF with ProperConvert first.

Formats QuickBooks Desktop accepts

• QBO (Web Connect) imports under Bank Feeds. Transactions go to the Bank Feeds Center first, where you match them to vendors and accounts and then add them to the register. QuickBooks imports QBO files only in versions up to three years old.
• IIF imports directly into the register. It works with every QuickBooks Desktop version, including versions older than three years. QuickBooks Online does not import IIF.

A QBO file is an offline version of a Web Connect download: it carries the date, amount, payee, an optional memo and check number, and a unique transaction ID. It has no category or expense account, because the bank does not know your accounting setup. You assign those in QuickBooks after the import. See QBO format and IIF format.

Which file to use from your bank

Check which formats your online banking offers:

• QBO: the easiest option, because QuickBooks imports it directly. If your bank provides QBO files but QuickBooks refuses them (for example, the bank is not on the Web Connect list), convert the file with ProperConvert to make it importable.
• OFX: QBO is OFX with extra fields for QuickBooks. Convert OFX to QBO and import the result.
• QFX: QFX is OFX with extra fields for Quicken. A QFX file may import after you rename the .qfx extension to .qbo. If it does not, convert QFX to QBO.
• QIF: a Quicken format that many apps and banks export. Convert QIF to QBO, or to IIF if the QIF file has categories that match your expense and income accounts.
• CSV or Excel: easy to edit in a spreadsheet, and a good way to enter transactions line by line. Convert CSV to QBO.
• PDF statement: often the only option for transactions older than about 90 days. Convert PDF to QBO.

If your QuickBooks is older than three years, convert to IIF instead of QBO.

Back up the company file first

Back up your QuickBooks company file before you import any file (QBO, IIF or QBJ). If something imports the wrong way, you can restore the backup and start again.

On Windows:

1. Click File > Back Up Company > Create Local Backup.
2. Select Local backup and click Next.
3. Select Save it now and click Next.
4. Confirm the file name (keep the .qbb extension) and click Save. QuickBooks saves the backup to the Documents folder.

On a Mac, click File > Back Up, then Start Backup. QuickBooks creates a .dmg backup file. Click Show in Finder to see it; double-click it to restore.

Check the QBO file before import

A QBO file is a text file. Open it in Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac) to check it before you import:

• INTU.BID: the bank ID QuickBooks uses to accept the file. It must be a bank QuickBooks allows; for example, 3000 is Wells Fargo. If a QBO file that used to import stops working, the INTU.BID may no longer be allowed. See INTU.BID.
• Bank ID and Account ID: digits only. Use the same account ID for every file of the same account, and a different one for each account. The real account number is the easiest choice. See QBO files for multiple accounts.
• Account type: checking or credit card. A credit card file cannot import into a checking account, and a checking file cannot import into a credit card account. ProperConvert can change the account type.
• Currency: USD for QuickBooks US, even for non-USD accounts. The Canadian edition takes USD or CAD; the UK edition needs GBP.
• Signs: expenses must be negative and deposits positive, for bank accounts and credit cards alike. Some card companies export charges as positive amounts; reverse them when you convert, or the charges import as payments.

Import a QBO file into QuickBooks Desktop for Windows

1. Disconnect the account from online services. Click Lists > Chart of Accounts. If the account you import into shows a yellow lightning bolt icon, it is connected to online banking. Right-click it, choose Edit Account, click Bank Feed Settings, then Deactivate All Online Services. Click Save & Close and OK, and check that the icon is gone. Only the target account needs this.
2. Import the file. Click File > Utilities > Import > Web Connect Files, select the QBO file, and click Open.
3. Pick the account. QuickBooks shows the bank label (from the INTU.BID), the account type and the account number from the file. The bank label does not matter: a file labeled Wells Fargo can go into a Capital One account. Select Use an existing QuickBooks account, choose the account, and click Continue. QuickBooks lists only accounts of the matching type. Choose Create a new QuickBooks account only if you really need a new account, because QuickBooks cannot move transactions between accounts later.
4. Click OK when QuickBooks says the Web Connect data has been read.

After the import, the account shows the online icon again. QuickBooks has linked it to this account ID, account type and INTU.BID, so the next file with the same values imports into the same account without asking. To import a file with a different account ID into this account, deactivate online services again first.

Add the transactions to the register

1. Click Banking > Bank Feeds > Bank Feeds Center and select the account.
2. Click Transaction List.
3. The Downloaded as column shows the payee from the QBO file. The Payee column is empty until you choose a vendor record. Click Show Bank Memo to see the memo column.
4. For each transaction, choose a payee (vendor record) and an expense or income account.
5. Check the transactions you want and click Add/Approve. Mark any wrong or unwanted rows and click Ignore.
6. When you add a transaction, QuickBooks offers a renaming rule so the same downloaded payee gets the same vendor next time. Accept it for real payees such as Home Depot; uncheck it for vague ones such as "No payee".

The added transactions appear in the account register (Lists > Chart of Accounts, then open the account).

Tip: set a default expense account for regular vendors before you import. Open Vendors > Vendor Center, right-click a vendor, choose Edit Vendor, and on Account Settings choose the account to prefill (for example, Office Supplies). See QuickBooks vendor matching.

Import a QBO file into QuickBooks Desktop for Mac

1. Disconnect the account from online services. Click Lists > Chart of Accounts. A blue ball icon means the account is connected to online banking, or a QBO file was imported into it before with unknown settings. Right-click the account, choose Edit Account, click Online Settings, select Not enabled, click Save, then OK. Check that the blue ball is gone.
2. Import the file. Click File > Import > From Web Connect, select the QBO file, and click Open.
3. Pick the account. QuickBooks shows the account number and account type from the file. Select an existing account to store the transactions and click Continue. An account that still has the blue ball is not listed.
4. Click OK when QuickBooks says the Web Connect data has been read.
5. Match the transactions. The Downloaded Payee column shows the payee from the file. Choose a vendor in the Payee column and an expense or income account (for example, Office Supplies). QuickBooks remembers the vendor for future imports. Click Add One, or mark several rows and click Add Multiple. Continue until no transactions are left.

Import an IIF file into QuickBooks Desktop

IIF goes straight into the QuickBooks database, so vendor and account names in the file must match QuickBooks exactly. A typo creates a new vendor or account, or makes the row fail. If you are new to QuickBooks, start with QBO instead.

For transactions, an IIF file carries the date, amount, vendor or customer (with an optional job), description, the bank or card account, the expense or income account, and a class. ProperConvert can set a default expense account for rows without one.

1. Back up the company file (see above). There is no undo for an IIF import.
2. Create the accounts and vendors first. The IIF file is tab-separated text; open it in Notepad and check the dates, the bank account name, the vendor names and the expense and income account names. Make sure each one exists in QuickBooks (Lists > Chart of Accounts, and the Vendor Center).
3. Click File > Utilities > Import > IIF Files. QuickBooks needs to close all windows; click OK.
4. Click Import IIF, select the file, and click Open. Then click Proceed.
5. If QuickBooks reports errors, click Review now and open the report in Notepad. Rows that imported are in the register; the failed rows are listed with the reason, such as a missing account.

Fix IIF import errors

QuickBooks saves the failed rows in a new IIF file. You have two options:

• Fix and re-import only the failed rows. Fix the cause in QuickBooks (for example, create the missing expense account with Account > New, choose Expense, enter the name, Save & Close) or correct the name in the new file in a text editor. Then import the new file with File > Utilities > Import > IIF Files. If some rows still fail, QuickBooks makes another, smaller file; repeat until none are left.
• Start over. Restore the backup with File > Back Up Company > Restore Previous Local Backup, correct the original file, and import it again.

For QuickBooks Enterprise, you need exclusive access to the company file to import IIF.

QBO and IIF import: the differences

• QBO import needs an internet connection. IIF import is fully offline.
• QBO lets you match payees and assign accounts after import, with renaming rules. IIF needs exact account and vendor names in the file.
• QBO transactions go to the Bank Feeds Center for review first. IIF transactions go directly into the register.
• QBO import requires QuickBooks no older than three years. IIF works with any version. See QuickBooks after the sunset.
• QuickBooks Online imports QBO but not IIF.

Older QuickBooks versions

QuickBooks stops importing QBO files about three years after a version is released. For an older QuickBooks, IIF is the only file format left for bank transactions. Convert your QBO, QFX, OFX, QIF, CSV, PDF or MT940 file to IIF with ProperConvert, then follow the IIF steps above. If your QIF file has categories that match your expense and income accounts, convert QIF to IIF.

Batch entry in QuickBooks Accountant

QuickBooks Accountant has a Batch Enter Transactions window for checks, deposits and credit card charges. ProperConvert can copy converted transactions to the clipboard, ready to paste into that window (the CSV tab on the right sidebar).

After the import

• Review the account register and reports to check the import. Edit a wrong transaction in the register, or delete it there.
• Importing the same period twice can create duplicates. See QuickBooks import duplicates.
• If QuickBooks shows an error during a QBO import, see QuickBooks import errors. To import into an account that is already connected, see QuickBooks existing account.

QuickBooks Desktop import settings

QuickBooks Desktop imports bank transactions in two formats: QBO (Web Connect) and IIF. They go into QuickBooks through different doors, and the right one depends on the QuickBooks version and on how much detail the file must carry.

• QBO (Web Connect) imports under Bank Feeds, the same way an online banking download arrives. Transactions land in the Bank Feeds Center for review, where QuickBooks matches them to existing entries and lets the user add, match or ignore each one. It is the simpler path, but it only works while the QuickBooks version is supported: Intuit discontinues each version after about three years, and a discontinued QuickBooks stops importing QBO files.
• IIF is the older format and still reliable. It imports directly into the register, with no review step and no duplicate check. In return it needs more specific data: the bank account name exactly as it is in QuickBooks, a vendor or payee name for each row, and an expense or income account name for each row.

Settings that matter for a QBO file:

• Account ID and bank ID: QuickBooks links the file to an account by the account ID inside it. Use the same ID every time for the same account, or QuickBooks asks to create a new one. The bank ID must be one that QuickBooks recognizes, or the file is refused with a message that the bank does not support Web Connect.
• Account type: checking, savings or credit card. A credit card file imported into a checking account reverses every sign.
• Dates: four-digit years. Cross-year statements must carry the correct year on every row.
• Amounts: signed. Money out is negative. No currency symbols.
• Transaction IDs: each row needs a unique ID. QuickBooks uses the ID to skip rows it has already imported, so a file with repeated IDs loses transactions, and a file with new IDs for old transactions creates duplicates.
• Payee and memo: the payee field is short and QuickBooks truncates it. Put the rest of the description in the memo.

Settings that matter for an IIF file:

• Bank account name, not an ID, matching the chart of accounts. Sub-accounts use the full path, Parent:Sub.
• Vendor names that match existing vendors, or QuickBooks creates new ones during import.
• Expense or income account for every row, or a default account that the converter fills in.
• Back up the company file before importing an IIF file. There is no undo.

QuickBooks Desktop questions

Which format should I use, QBO or IIF?

Use QBO when QuickBooks is less than three years old and the transactions should go through Bank Feeds for review and matching. Use IIF when QuickBooks is discontinued, when the transactions should land directly in the register, or when each row must carry a vendor and an expense account.

My QuickBooks is older than three years. Can I still import?

Not with QBO. A discontinued QuickBooks version refuses QBO files and no longer connects to online banking. IIF still imports, because it does not depend on Intuit's servers.

Why does QuickBooks say my bank does not support Web Connect?

The bank ID in the QBO file is not one QuickBooks recognizes. A converter sets the bank ID from its own list. Choose a listed bank, or use an ID that QuickBooks accepted before.

Why did QuickBooks create a new account instead of using mine?

The account ID in the file does not match the ID QuickBooks stored for the existing account. Use the same account ID as the last successful import, or connect the file to the existing account when QuickBooks asks.

Why are transactions missing or doubled after import?

QuickBooks skips rows whose transaction ID it has seen before. Missing rows usually mean repeated IDs in the file. Doubled rows usually mean a statement that was already imported with different IDs. Both are fixed by importing each period once, with IDs that stay the same for the same transaction.

Can I import into a sub-account?

Yes, in both formats. For QBO, match the file to the sub-account in Bank Feeds. For IIF, write the full path Parent:Sub as the account name.

Where do IIF import errors go?

QuickBooks writes a new IIF file next to the original with a timestamp in its name, containing only the failed rows and an error message per row. Fix the cause in QuickBooks, usually a missing account or vendor, and import the timestamped file.