How to Import QFX, QIF or CSV into Quicken

Quicken for Windows (US and Canada editions) imports QFX (Web Connect), QIF and CSV files. Quicken for macOS imports QFX and CSV files, and does not import QIF. On Windows, use File > File Import > Web Connect (.QFX) File, File > File Import > QIF File, or File > File Import > Banking Transactions > From (.CSV) File. On Mac, use File > Import > Bank or Brokerage File (OFX, QFX).

If your bank gives you a PDF, CSV, Excel, OFX, QBO, QIF or MT940 file, convert it to QFX, QIF or CSV with ProperConvert first (CSV to QFX, PDF to QFX).

Which file formats does Quicken import?

Quicken for Windows (US and Canada editions): QFX, QIF, CSV

• QFX (Web Connect): Quicken versions no older than three years. Once a version is three years old, it stops importing QFX files until you upgrade.
• QIF: all Quicken for Windows versions, including ones older than three years. Quicken 2005-2017 needs the Deluxe edition or higher (Home & Business, for example) to import QIF into bank or credit card accounts; the Starter edition does not import it. QIF has been "officially" supported since Quicken 2018.
• CSV: current Quicken Classic for Windows, US and Canada editions, into banking, cash, credit card, other asset and other liability accounts. The file must follow Quicken's column layout, described below.

Quicken for macOS: QFX, CSV

• QFX (Web Connect): Quicken for Mac versions no older than three years.
• CSV: Quicken 2015 and later for Mac, in the Mint column layout (CSV Mint).
• QIF: not imported. Quicken for macOS does not import QIF files; convert them to QFX or CSV Mint.

Which one to use

• Current Quicken for Windows: QIF, QFX or CSV.
• Current Quicken for Mac: QFX or CSV Mint.
• Older Quicken for Windows: QIF.
• Older Quicken for Mac: CSV Mint.

How to import a QFX file into Quicken Classic

To create the QFX file, load your file in ProperConvert, open the QBO/QFX/OFX tab on the right sidebar, and set the file type to "QFX (Quicken)". See QFX output settings for the bank ID (INTU.BID) and account ID fields.

Back up your Quicken data file before the import, so you can restore it if the transactions come in wrong. Quicken needs an Internet connection during a QFX import: it checks the bank ID online, so allow Quicken through your firewall.

Quicken for Windows

1. Disconnect the account from online services. Click Tools > Account List, click Edit on the account, open the Online Services tab, and click Deactivate. Click Yes, then OK.
2. Click File > File Import > Web Connect (.QFX) File and select the QFX file.
3. Choose "Link to an existing account" and pick the account (a deactivated account appears in the list), or choose "Create a new account". Click Import, then Close.
4. The transactions appear in the bottom section of the register. Review them, apply renaming rules if you like, and click Accept All.

If you would rather keep the account connected to online services, import into a new account instead. Then move the transactions to the connected account. That way you do not have to reconnect the account afterward.

Quicken for Mac

1. Disconnect the account from direct online download. Right-click the account and click Edit. If it shows a connection type such as Web Connect, click "Set up transaction download", then Options. Select "Enter transactions manually", click Continue, then Finish.
2. Open Preferences, then Connected Services, and uncheck "Automatically improve quality of downloaded payee names and categories". Otherwise Quicken may change payee names and assign categories that do not apply.
3. Click File > Import > Bank or Brokerage File (OFX, QFX) and select the QFX file.
4. Select the existing account instead of "Add a new Quicken account" and click Continue.

QFX files carry no categories. Any category you see after the import was assigned by Quicken, not taken from your file. Change it if needed; Quicken uses your choice the next time you import.

How to Import a QIF file into Quicken Classic

QIF works in Quicken for Windows only; Quicken for macOS does not import it. Which steps apply depends on the Quicken version year, and the QIF file must be written for that version. In ProperConvert:

• Select the QIF target (the software and version you import into). See QIF output settings.
• Select the account type: Bank for checking and savings, CCard for credit cards, Invest for investment accounts.
• Enter the account name exactly as it appears in Quicken. Quicken 2017 and earlier find the account by this name; if it does not match, Quicken offers to create a new account.
• Check the signs: money out should be negative. Some credit card files have the signs reversed; the "Change +/-" button flips them all at once.
• When converting a bank file (OFX, QFX, QIF, QBO), open the QIF tab on the right sidebar and enter the Quicken account name for each listed account.

Back up your Quicken data file before the import. QIF import does not check for duplicates.

Import a QIF file into Quicken Classic (2018 and later)

Since 2018, Quicken for Windows imports QIF files with fewer restrictions. The account name in the file no longer has to match the account name in Quicken.

1. Click File > File Import > QIF File and select the file.
2. Select the account to import into from the drop-down list.
3. Click Import and review the imported transactions.

Import a QIF file into Quicken 2005-2017 for Windows

These steps work in the Deluxe edition and higher. They do not work in the Starter edition.

1. Click File > File Import > QIF File, click Browse, and select the QIF file.
2. In "Quicken account to import into", select All Accounts. The file already names the account (for example, Checking), so Quicken puts the transactions there. Ignore the "Don't see your account?" message about QIF limitations.
3. Click Import, then Done.
4. To review transactions before they reach the register, open Edit > Preferences > Downloaded transactions and uncheck "Automatically add to banking registers" and "Automatically add to investment transaction lists" before the import.
5. Review the transactions and click Accept All. They now appear in the register.

QIF files downloaded from online banking often lack the account header Quicken 2017 and earlier need. ProperConvert can convert such a QIF file into one that imports. If Quicken asks you to select an account and the import fails, see Quicken asks to select an account for a QIF file.

How to import a CSV file into Quicken for Windows

Current Quicken Classic for Windows (US and Canada) imports CSV files into banking, cash, credit card, other asset and other liability accounts. Investment accounts use a separate CSV import with a different layout. Quicken describes the layout in Import transactions from a CSV file.

The columns must come in this order:

The first seven columns are required, even when Debit/Credit, FI Payee or Category are empty. Columns 8 to 10 are optional, but if you use them, keep that order. A header row is optional and must use the same order. Put double quotes around any field that contains a comma, and save the file as UTF-8.

1. Back up your Quicken data file.
2. Click File > File Import > Banking Transactions > From (.CSV) File and select the file. The import window also has a "Create Sample File" option that writes a file in the expected layout.
3. Review the imported transactions in the register.

Two things the CSV import does not do:

• It does not check for duplicates. Every row is added, so importing the same file twice doubles the transactions.
• It does not create transfers, even when the Category holds an account name in brackets ([Savings]).

How to import a CSV (Mint) file into Quicken for Mac

Quicken 2015 and later for Mac imports CSV Mint files. A CSV Mint file is a CSV file with the column layout of a Mint.com export; a random CSV or Excel file will not import. ProperConvert takes your CSV or Excel file, lets you remap the columns, and saves it as CSV Mint.

• CSV Mint carries a category for each transaction, but not a subcategory.
• It always imports into a new account. After the import, select the transactions in the new account and drag them onto the intended account in the sidebar.

Quicken formats: QFX vs QIF vs QXF vs CSV Mint

• QFX (Web Connect) imports in Quicken Classic for Windows, through File > File Import > Web Connect File, and for Mac, through File > Import > Bank or Brokerage File. See what is a QFX file.

• QIF imports in Quicken Classic for Windows, through File > File Import > QIF File. It has no currency, so it imports into any account, and it carries categories and tags. See what is a QIF file.

• CSV Mint is a specifically formatted CSV file that Quicken for Mac imports into a new account, categories included. After the import, select the transactions in the new account, drag them to the intended account in the sidebar, and delete the temporary account.

• QXF is not for transactions. It moves a whole Quicken data file from one Quicken to another, and a successful QXF import replaces the data set. Autocorrect often turns QXF into QFX and back, so check which one a support answer means.

• CSV imports in current Quicken Classic for Windows (US and Canada), through File > File Import > Banking Transactions > From (.CSV) File, when the columns follow Quicken's layout (see the CSV section above). It carries categories, subcategories and tags, but no duplicate check.

Back up the Quicken file before any import: QFX, QIF, CSV, QXF or OFX.

In short: on Windows, QIF is usually the better choice, because it brings categories and tags, needs no Internet connection, and keeps working after the three-year cutoff. Use QFX to add transactions to an account that already receives downloads, when you do not need categories. On Mac, QFX is usually the better choice; use CSV Mint when moving from another app and the categories must come along.

".OFX" or ".QFX" for Quicken? QFX

With Quicken installed, Windows describes .qfx files as "Quicken OFX data files". That does not mean Quicken imports OFX: it imports only .qfx files. A QFX file is an OFX file with the extra attributes Quicken looks for, mainly the bank ID, and a plain .ofx file is rejected or ignored.

Troubleshooting Quicken imports

• Quicken refuses the QFX file, or says it is not valid. Check the Quicken version: once it is three years old, QFX import stops. Convert to QIF on Windows or CSV Mint on Mac instead. See Quicken import errors.
• Quicken puts the QFX file into the wrong account or asks for an account. After a successful QFX import, Quicken links the INTU.BID, bank ID and account ID in the file to the Quicken account ("online services"). Files with the same values go to that account; files with other values need an unlinked account. To remove the link, edit the account and use the Online Services tab.
• The bank in the QFX file is not your bank. That is fine. INTU.BID only sets the bank name Quicken shows on the import screen; you can import a QFX file marked as one bank into any Quicken account. Use the Lookup button in the converter to choose a bank Quicken supports.
• Quicken skips transactions you deleted and want to import again. QFX gives each transaction a unique ID, and Quicken skips IDs it has already seen, even after you delete the transaction. ProperConvert creates new IDs each time you save a QFX file (on by default), so a corrected file imports again. Turn this off to keep the IDs the same. See Quicken import duplicates.
• QFX import hangs or fails without an error. Quicken calls home during a QFX import. Make sure your firewall lets it through. QIF import works offline.
• Investment transactions. Use QIF into an investment account. See importing investment transactions into Quicken.

Quicken import questions

Why won't Quicken import a QFX file into my account?

The first QFX import "online links" the account to the bank settings in that file. A QFX file with different settings is then refused for the "occupied" account. Edit the account, open the Online Services tab, and select Deactivate online link, then import again.

Why doesn't Quicken see my QFX file?

The import was started from File > Import > QXF file. QFX files are Web Connect files: use File > File Import > Web Connect File.

Can I import QFX into a non-USD account?

Not safely. Quicken refuses a QFX file in a non-USD currency, and since Quicken 2016 R7 (US edition), importing a USD QFX file into a non-USD account changes the account's currency to USD, which cannot be changed back. Two workarounds:

1. Import the QFX file into a USD proxy account, then select all transactions there (right-click > Select all transactions), cut them, switch to the intended account and paste. Amounts stay the same.
2. Use QIF, which has no currency.

Can I import transactions into a discontinued Quicken?

Yes, as QIF. Quicken 2017 and earlier no longer accept QFX; convert the QFX or other file to QIF and import it.

Does Quicken import OFX files?

No. Quicken imports .qfx files, even though Windows labels them "Quicken OFX data files". Convert an OFX file to QFX before importing; see convert OFX to QFX for Quicken.

Does Quicken need the Internet to import?

For QFX, yes: Quicken checks the bank ID online during the import. QIF, CSV and CSV Mint import without an Internet connection.

How do I review transactions before they reach the register?

See review transactions in Quicken.

Quicken import settings

Quicken for Windows (US and Canada editions) imports QFX, QIF and CSV; Quicken for macOS imports QFX and CSV. Which one works depends on the platform and the version.

• Quicken for Windows imports QFX (Web Connect) in versions that are still supported, QIF in every version, and CSV in Quicken's own column layout in current versions.
• Quicken for Mac imports QFX in supported versions, and CSV in the Mint layout (CSV Mint) in Quicken 2015 and later. Quicken for Mac does not import QIF.
• QFX stops working when a Quicken version is about three years old. QIF keeps working because it does not check the version.

QFX and QIF differ in what they carry:

• QFX carries the date, the amount, the payee, a memo, a check number and a unique transaction ID. It does not carry categories; Quicken assigns those with renaming rules during import. Quicken links a QFX file to an account by the account ID, so use the same ID for the same account every time, and a different ID for each account.
• QIF carries categories, subcategories and tags. It does not identify the financial institution and does not need an Internet connection. QIF has several variants; the converter must write the variant that matches the Quicken version and the account type.

Settings that matter:

• Account type: bank, credit card, cash or investment. A credit card QIF imported as a bank account reverses every sign.
• Dates: MM/DD/YYYY for US Quicken, DD/MM/YYYY for Canadian and UK versions.
• Amounts: signed, money out negative, no currency symbols.
• QIF target: Quicken for Windows, Quicken 2007 for Mac, or another application. The target changes the date format and the account header.
• Transaction IDs (QFX): unique per row and stable per transaction, so a second import of the same period does not double it.

Quicken questions

QFX or QIF for Quicken for Windows?

QIF when categories should come in with the transactions, or when Quicken is older than three years. QFX when the transactions should go into an account that already receives downloads and categories will be assigned by rules.

QFX or CSV Mint for Quicken for Mac?

QFX for a normal import into an existing account. CSV Mint when moving from another app and the categories must come along. CSV Mint imports into a new account; transactions can be moved afterward.

Why does Quicken say the file is not a valid QFX?

Either the Quicken version is discontinued and no longer accepts QFX, or the financial institution ID in the file is not one Quicken recognizes. Switch to QIF in the first case and choose a listed institution in the second.

Why did Quicken create a new account?

The account ID in the QFX file does not match the one Quicken stored for the existing account. Use the same account ID as the previous import.

Why are transactions doubled after import?

The same period was imported twice with different transaction IDs, or as QIF, which has no IDs and no duplicate check. Import each period once. For QIF, delete the doubled rows in the register.

Can I import investment transactions?

Yes, as QIF into an investment account. QFX also supports investment transactions but the converter must write buy, sell, dividend and other action types correctly, and Quicken must recognize the security.