What is an IIF file? QuickBooks Desktop import format

An IIF file (Intuit Interchange Format) is a tab-delimited text file that QuickBooks Desktop imports transactions and lists from. It is the way to import bank transactions into a QuickBooks Desktop version too old for QBO Web Connect files, and it also imports journal entries, customers, vendors and the chart of accounts. QuickBooks Online does not import IIF.

What is inside an IIF file

An IIF file is plain text with tab-separated columns. Header rows starting with ! name the columns; each transaction is a TRNS row for one side, one or more SPL rows for the other side, and an ENDTRNS row:

!TRNS   TRNSTYPE    DATE    ACCNT   NAME    AMOUNT  MEMO
!SPL    TRNSTYPE    DATE    ACCNT   NAME    AMOUNT  MEMO
!ENDTRNS
TRNS    CHECK   09/03/2026  Checking    City Water  -42.50  Online payment
SPL CHECK   09/03/2026  Utilities   City Water  42.50   Online payment
ENDTRNS

The TRNS and SPL amounts of one transaction must add up to zero, like a journal entry.

What details can an IIF file carry?

For each transaction:

• date
• amount
• payee (matching vendor or customer names in QuickBooks)
• memo
• category, as an income or expense account from the QuickBooks chart of accounts, with : for a sub-account
• check number
• class (matching QuickBooks classes)
• bank or credit card account name, with : for a sub-account

How QuickBooks Desktop imports IIF

QuickBooks Desktop imports IIF through File > Utilities > Import > IIF Files. Unlike a QBO file, an IIF import does not go through Bank Feeds: the transactions go straight into the registers, already categorized, with no review screen.

That makes IIF fast, and it is the reason for care:

• No undo. QuickBooks cannot undo an IIF import. Back up the company file first.
• Names must match. An account, vendor or class name that does not match the company file exactly is created as a new one, so a typo becomes a new account.
• Balance per transaction. A transaction whose rows do not add up to zero is rejected or posted wrongly.

IIF and QuickBooks sunset versions

QuickBooks Desktop versions older than three years lose Intuit's online services, including Web Connect, so they cannot import QBO files. IIF import keeps working in those versions, which makes it the main way to bring bank transactions into them. Current versions import both; there, QBO is better for bank transactions and IIF for journal entries and lists. See importing transactions when QuickBooks is older than three years.

How to open an IIF file

An IIF file opens in a text editor, and in Excel as tab-delimited text. Excel shows the header and transaction rows as a sheet, but the three-row layout makes it easy to break: Excel may change date formats or drop leading zeros, and a saved file must stay tab-delimited text.

Banks do not offer IIF downloads. To create an IIF file from a bank statement, a CSV or Excel file, or a QBO, QFX or QIF file, use ProperConvert: open the file, review the transactions, set the bank account and the expense and income accounts as named in QuickBooks, and convert to IIF.

IIF questions

Can I import IIF into QuickBooks Online?

No. QuickBooks Online imports QBO, QFX, OFX and CSV files.

Why did my IIF import create new accounts?

The account names in the file did not match the chart of accounts exactly, including sub-account paths written with :. Match the names before converting, and restore the backup if the import created accounts you did not want.

IIF or QBO for bank transactions?

QBO, when your QuickBooks version still supports it: it goes through Bank Feeds for review and duplicate checks. Use IIF for sunset versions, for journal entries, and when transactions should arrive already categorized.