How to Import Transactions into QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online imports bank transactions from QBO, QFX, OFX and CSV files. Click Banking, select the account, and use File upload (Upload transactions) to choose the file. If your bank gives you a PDF statement, a QIF file or another format, convert it to QBO, QFX or OFX with ProperConvert first.

Formats QuickBooks Online accepts

• QBO, QFX and OFX: the best formats for QuickBooks Online. QFX and QBO are OFX files with extra fields for Quicken and QuickBooks, and QuickBooks Online imports all three the same way. They carry the date, amount, payee, memo, check number and a unique transaction ID that prevents duplicates. QuickBooks Online (except Self-Employed) imports them.
• CSV: imports only the date, the amount and a single description column. QuickBooks Online Self-Employed imports CSV too.
• IIF: not supported. IIF is a QuickBooks Desktop format.

A .qbo file is a Web Connect file. The name does not mean "QuickBooks Online". See QBO format, QFX format and OFX format.

Import a QBO, QFX or OFX file into QuickBooks Online

The steps are the same for QBO, QFX and OFX files.

1. Sign in to QuickBooks Online and click Banking.
2. Select the account you want to import into, then click File upload.
3. Click Browse, select the QBO, QFX or OFX file, click Open, then Next. The file can come from your bank or from a converter; for example, convert PDF to QBO or QIF to OFX.
4. Check what QuickBooks read from the file: the file name, account ID, account type and date range.
5. If it is what you expected, select the QuickBooks account to import into and click Next.
6. Click Let's go! to finish.

Review the imported transactions

1. Open the For Review tab.
2. The Description column shows the payee from the file. The Payee column is for the vendor (payee) record in QuickBooks, and is empty until you choose one.
3. Click in the Payee column and select a vendor or payee.
4. Confirm the Category, which is the expense or income account.
5. Click Add to add the transaction to the register. Repeat for every transaction.

Import a CSV file into QuickBooks Online

1. Prepare the CSV file. Amounts should use only a decimal separator (dot or comma, whichever your QuickBooks Online setup expects). Dates should be numbers, not month names, in MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY. Only one description column is imported; to keep the payee, memo and check number, use OFX instead. To make a clean CSV from a statement, see convert PDF to CSV.
2. Open the upload screen. Click Banking, select the account, and click File upload. Depending on the layout, the link may read Upload transactions, Import a statement or Upload a bank file.
3. Select the file. Click Browse, select the CSV file, and click Next. Select the QuickBooks account to import into and click Next.
4. Map the columns. QuickBooks preselects the Date and Description columns. Set the Amount column (one signed column, or separate columns for money in and money out) and confirm the date format. Click Next.
5. Review and finish. Check the transactions QuickBooks shows, click Next, and finish the import. Then review and categorize the transactions in For Review, the same way as for a QBO file.

QuickBooks Online import settings

QuickBooks Online imports bank transactions from a file through Banking, Upload transactions. It accepts QBO, QFX and OFX files, which share the OFX structure, and CSV files. Uploaded rows land in the For Review list, where QuickBooks matches them to existing entries and the user adds or excludes them.

Since 2026 the same upload screen also takes a PDF or an image of a statement (JPG, PNG, HEIC). Intuit's AI reads the pages, and a statement it cannot read with confidence is held for a manual review by Intuit staff. If the account is in QuickBooks Online and the statement is a clean PDF, try that first; it costs nothing. A converted file is the better route when the upload flags the statement or stops before the last page, when there are many statements to catch up, when the bookkeeper wants to see and fix every row before it enters the books, or when a client's statement should not be uploaded to a third party.

• OFX, QFX and QBO carry the date, the amount, a payee, a memo, an optional check number and a unique transaction ID. QuickBooks Online uses the payee as the Description and the transaction ID to skip rows it has already imported.
• CSV carries less. QuickBooks Online reads a date, a description and an amount, in a three-column layout with one signed amount or a four-column layout with separate debit and credit columns. Only one description column is imported; a payee and a memo cannot both be kept.

Settings that matter:

• Account: the user picks the QuickBooks account during upload, so the account ID in the file matters less than in QuickBooks Desktop. It still helps to keep the same ID per account so the file is recognized on the review screen.
• Account type: checking or credit card. A credit card file into a checking account flips every sign.
• Dates: MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY depending on the company settings, digits only, four-digit years.
• Amounts: digits and one decimal separator. No currency symbols, no thousands separators in CSV.
• File size: QuickBooks Online limits a CSV upload to about 350 KB. Split a long statement into several files.
• Transaction IDs: unique per row and stable per transaction, so re-uploading a period does not double it.

QuickBooks Online questions

Should I use CSV or OFX?

Use OFX, QFX or QBO when the file can be made in that format. It carries the payee, the memo and the check number and gives QuickBooks a transaction ID for duplicate checks. Use CSV when a spreadsheet is the only source and a single description is enough.

Why does QuickBooks Online reject my CSV?

The usual causes are a date column QuickBooks cannot read, an amount with a currency symbol or thousands separator, more columns than the three- or four-column layout, or a file over the size limit. Save the file with dates as digits, amounts as plain numbers, and only the needed columns.

Why did transactions import into the wrong account?

The account was chosen during upload. QuickBooks Online does not read the account name from the file. Exclude the rows, delete them from Excluded, and upload again with the right account selected.

How do I undo an import?

In For Review, select the rows, choose Batch actions, Exclude Selected. Open Excluded, select them again, Batch actions, Delete. The rows are gone and the file can be uploaded again.

Why are some rows missing after upload?

QuickBooks Online skips rows whose transaction ID it has already seen and, for CSV, rows it reads as duplicates by date, amount and description. Two genuine identical rows on the same day can be dropped from a CSV. Use an OFX-type file with unique IDs for those.

Can I import transactions older than 90 days?

Yes. The 90-day limit applies to a live bank connection, not to a file upload. Any date range can be uploaded from a file.

QuickBooks Online can read a PDF statement now. Why convert it?

For one clean statement of an account that is already in QuickBooks Online, the built-in upload is the shortest path, and this page says so. A converter earns its place when the upload flags the statement for review, when a scanned or multi-year statement does not go through, when the account is in QuickBooks Desktop, Quicken, Xero or Sage instead, or when the statement must stay on your computer. The converted file goes through the same Upload transactions screen as a QBO file, with a transaction ID per row, so re-uploading a period does not double it.