CSV to IIF Converter for QuickBooks Desktop
Convert a bank or credit-card CSV, or an Excel sheet, into an IIF file QuickBooks Desktop imports straight into your register, with the offset account already filled in. Free, no sign-in, and nothing is uploaded.
Drop your file here or choose a fileTap to choose a file
Opened on your device - never uploaded · up to 50MB
Supports .csv, .txt, .tsv, .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .ods · or paste a file from your clipboard
How to Convert a CSV to IIF
- Export the transactions from your bank as CSV (or open an Excel sheet of them). Any layout with a date and an amount works; the big US banks' exports are recognised automatically.
- Drop the file above and check the preview. Money out must be negative. Fix the date order or flip the signs if the preview says otherwise.
- Name the accounts. The bank or card account the transactions belong to, and the account the other side of each one should post to - typically Uncategorized Expenses and Uncategorized Income, or Ask My Accountant.
- Download the .iif file and import it into QuickBooks Desktop.
Import the IIF File into QuickBooks Desktop
- File > Back Up Company > Create Local Backup. An IIF import posts transactions directly and cannot be undone in one step.
- Check that every account named in the file exists in Lists > Chart of Accounts with exactly that spelling.
- Go to File > Utilities > Import > IIF Files, choose the .iif file and confirm. Recent versions show an import screen first; choose the option that imports the file.
- Open the bank or card register to check the transactions, then recategorise them from the offset account into the real expense and income accounts.
What Is in the File
An IIF transaction file is plain tab-separated text. It opens with three header rows that name the columns, and every transaction is then a block of three rows:
!TRNS TRNSTYPE DATE ACCNT NAME AMOUNT DOCNUM MEMO
!SPL TRNSTYPE DATE ACCNT NAME AMOUNT DOCNUM MEMO
!ENDTRNS
TRNS CHECK 01/20/2026 Checking -600.00 2051 CHECK 2051
SPL CHECK 01/20/2026 Uncategorized Expenses 600.00 2051 CHECK 2051
ENDTRNSThe TRNS row is the bank side and the SPL row the other side; their amounts must cancel to the cent or QuickBooks rejects the transaction, so amounts are calculated in whole cents. Money out of a bank account is written as a CHECK, money in as a DEPOSIT; on a card, a charge is a CREDIT CARD transaction and a payment or refund a CCARD REFUND. A check number from the CSV goes in DOCNUM. Text is reduced to plain ASCII and stripped of tabs and quote marks, which would otherwise break the row.
IIF or QBO?
Both get bank transactions into QuickBooks Desktop, but they do different jobs. A .qbo Web Connect file goes into the Bank Feeds Center, where you review and match each transaction before it is recorded - the safer choice for a live account. An IIF file posts transactions to the register immediately with the account you named, which is faster for catching up a backlog or loading history, and it keeps working on QuickBooks Desktop versions whose online banking services Intuit has discontinued. QuickBooks Online accepts only the .qbo (or CSV) route.
Common IIF Import Problems
A new bank account appears in the Chart of Accounts
An account name in the file did not match an existing account, so QuickBooks created it as a bank account and posted to it. Delete the imported transactions, correct the name (including any Parent:Child colon for a subaccount) and import again.
Dates land in the wrong month
QuickBooks reads IIF dates in the order set in Windows' regional settings. US QuickBooks expects MM/DD/YYYY; the UK, Canadian and Australian editions usually expect DD/MM/YYYY. Choose the matching date format above. Separately, check the CSV's own date order in the preview - those are two different settings.
An out-of-balance error
The SPL lines must add up to the opposite of the TRNS line. Files from this converter always balance; this error usually comes from an IIF edited by hand in Excel, which can turn 1,234.50 into text or round it.
Frequently Asked Questions
IIF (Intuit Interchange Format) is QuickBooks Desktop's own tab-separated import format. Unlike a bank's .qbo file it can say which account each side of a transaction goes to, so imported transactions arrive already posted to an account instead of waiting in the bank feed.
No. IIF is QuickBooks Desktop only (Pro, Premier, Enterprise and Mac). For QuickBooks Online, use the CSV to QBO converter, or its QuickBooks Online CSV download.
QuickBooks creates it - as a bank account - and posts to it. That is the most common IIF mistake, so type the account names exactly as they appear in your Chart of Accounts, including any parent:child colon for subaccounts.
Not in one step. Each imported transaction has to be deleted individually, which is why the steps below start with a backup. Import a small file first to check the accounts are right.
By default the description goes in the memo only. Bank descriptions such as 'POS 4471 SQ *COFFEE 0115' would otherwise each become a new entry in your Name list. Tick 'Also use the description as the payee' if you want them as payees anyway.
No. The CSV or Excel file is read and the IIF file is written by JavaScript in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, and the page works offline once loaded.
Yes. Choose Credit card as the account type. Charges are written as CREDIT CARD transactions and payments or refunds as CCARD REFUND, the types QuickBooks itself uses when it exports a card register.