Feature · Export formats
Bank statement export formats for every accounting package
Convert a PDF statement once and export it in the format your software actually imports. Each format is written to its own rules, from QuickBooks’ bank ID to Tally’s inverted signs, so the file imports the way you expect.
- Excel, CSV, QBO, QFX, OFX, QIF, IIF and Tally XML
- Re-export without counting pages again
- Stable transaction IDs in QBO, QFX and OFX
- Holding accounts instead of guessed categories
<INTU.BID>10898<STMTTRN> <TRNTYPE>CREDIT <DTPOSTED>20260302 <TRNAMT>4210.00 <FITID>a3f9c2e81b07 <NAME>ACH DEPOSIT STRIPE PAYOUT</STMTTRN><STMTTRN> <TRNTYPE>CHECK <DTPOSTED>20260305 <TRNAMT>-1250.00 <FITID>5d10e7b4c9a2 <CHECKNUM>1042</STMTTRN><LEDGERBAL><BALAMT>15354.12
The short answer
Which bank statement format to export
Export the format your software imports: QBO for QuickBooks, QFX for Quicken, the Xero CSV preset for Xero, OFX for Sage and MYOB, IIF for QuickBooks Desktop when Web Connect is not an option, Tally XML for TallyPrime, and Excel when the statement is going into a spreadsheet or to another person. One conversion exports to every format your plan includes.
The formats are not interchangeable wrappers around the same table. QBO and QFX need an Intuit bank ID. IIF is double-entry and needs your account names. Tally imports finished vouchers and matches ledgers by name. A CSV only imports cleanly if its columns and dates match what the importer expects. Each of those is handled when the file is written, and where a format needs something only you know, you are asked for it.
Step by step
How to export a converted statement
- 1Convert and review the statementUpload the PDF, read the reconciliation result and deal with any flagged rows. Every export is built from the reviewed rows, so a fix made once is in every format.
- 2Choose the format for your softwareUse the table further down this page. If you are unsure, the software pages for QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, Tally and the rest say which format to use first and which to fall back to.
- 3Give the format what it needsFor QBO and QFX, enter your bank’s Intuit bank ID (INTU.BID), three to six digits. For IIF and Tally XML, make sure the bank account or ledger name in the file matches the one in your company exactly before importing.
- 4Download, and export again if neededIf the first format does not suit, export another. Exporting the same conversion several times does not count its pages again.
- 5Import into your softwareQuickBooks Online: Transactions, Bank transactions, Upload from file. QuickBooks Desktop: File, Utilities, Import, Web Connect Files or IIF Files. Xero: the bank account’s Import a statement. Quicken: File, File Import. TallyPrime: Import, Transactions.
The formats, and who needs each
The canonical transaction is the same for all of them; the formats differ in what they can carry and what they demand.
- CSV — three presets: full with reconciliation columns, Xero, and QuickBooks three-column, with ISO, day-first or month-first dates chosen at export. The universal fallback.
- Excel — with a reconciliation sheet alongside the transactions.
- QBO — QuickBooks Web Connect. Requires an Intuit bank ID, which we ask you for rather than guess.
- QFX — Quicken. Same bank ID requirement, and a different ID from the QBO one at the same bank.
- OFX — the open format underneath both, accepted by Xero, Sage, MYOB and most of the rest, and needing no bank ID.
- QIF — the oldest, least specified, and the fallback that imports almost anywhere.
- IIF — QuickBooks Desktop only. Double-entry, and an unbalanced transaction is set aside while the rest of the file imports, so the balancing is done here.
- Tally XML — vouchers for TallyPrime, where the sign convention is inverted from everything else and the ledger is matched by name.
The requirements each format hides
A format is not just a file extension. QBO and QFX carry an Intuit bank ID that QuickBooks checks against its own list, and a guessed one produces an error naming a connection problem rather than the tag that caused it. IIF is double-entry, and an unbalanced transaction is not imported while the rest of the file is — a partial import that leaves the register short. Tally rejects a voucher whose two ledger entries do not sum to zero, and writes a debit as a negative — the opposite of every other format here.
Getting those wrong produces files that import cleanly and are wrong, which is the failure mode worth engineering against. Each is handled in the serializer and asserted in the tests.
One conversion, any format
Converting once and exporting several times costs one conversion against your allowance, not several. So trying QBO, finding your bank is not enrolled for Web Connect, and falling back to CSV does not cost you twice.
A format cannot fix what your software will not accept
Why it works
What the export does for you
Eight formats, one conversion
Excel, CSV, QBO, QFX, OFX, QIF, IIF and Tally XML from the same reviewed rows. Trying a second format costs nothing in pages.
Stable transaction IDs
FITIDs are built from the transaction itself, so converting the same statement twice produces the same IDs and QuickBooks or Quicken recognise the repeat.
Format rules handled
OFX written as SGML rather than XML, payee names kept within QuickBooks’ 32-character limit with the rest in the memo, and characters outside Windows-1252 transliterated.
Holding accounts, not guesses
IIF posts the other side to Uncategorized Income or Uncategorized Expense; Tally posts it to Suspense A/c. Nothing lands in a plausible but wrong account.
Dates that cannot be misread
CSV dates are ISO (2026-03-14) by default, with day-first and month-first available for importers that insist on one.
The check travels with the file
Excel carries a Reconciliation sheet, and the full CSV a per-row check column and a closing note with the result and its scope.
Per format
What each format writes, and what it needs from you
Every format is built from the same reviewed transactions. What differs is what the format can hold, what the importer at the other end checks, and what has to be supplied before it will accept the file.
| Format | What is written | Needs from you | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (.xlsx) | Transactions sheet with numeric amounts, real date cells, frozen header and filters; Reconciliation sheet with each check, expected, actual and difference | Nothing | Starter and up |
| CSV | One of three presets (full, Xero, QuickBooks), UTF-8, quoted where descriptions contain commas or quotes | Pick the preset and date order | Starter and up |
| QBO | OFX statement with Intuit’s QuickBooks tags, FITID on every row, ledger balance | Your bank’s Intuit bank ID | Starter and up |
| QFX | The same statement with Quicken’s tags | Your bank’s Intuit bank ID | Starter and up |
| OFX | The open statement format with no Intuit tags, FITID on every row | Nothing | Starter and up |
| QIF | Account block, then date, amount, payee and memo per transaction; Bank or CCard type | Nothing | Starter and up |
| IIF | A balanced TRNS and SPL pair per transaction: bank side and Uncategorized Income or Expense | Your exact bank account name | Professional and Business |
| Tally XML | Receipt and Payment vouchers, each with two ledger entries that sum to zero | Your exact bank ledger name; named ledgers must exist | Professional and Business |
Bank IDs and FITIDs
INTU.BID, bank IDs and why transaction IDs stay the same
QBO and QFX files carry an INTU.BID tag that QuickBooks and Quicken check against Intuit’s list of Web Connect banks. The ID is specific to the bank and the product, so the QBO ID and the QFX ID for one bank can differ. VouchRow asks you for it instead of filling in a default, because a borrowed ID makes the file claim to come from a bank it did not come from, and the import errors that follow name a connection problem rather than the tag. The usual place to find yours is a QBO or QFX file your bank has issued: open it in a text editor and copy the number after <INTU.BID>. If your bank has no Web Connect ID, use OFX, QIF or CSV.
Every row in a QBO, QFX or OFX file also carries a FITID, the ID QuickBooks and Quicken use to recognise a transaction they have already imported. These are built from the account, the date, the amount, the normalised description and any reference, so converting the same statement again produces the same IDs and an accidental second import is recognised. Two genuinely identical transactions on the same day get distinct IDs from their order on the statement, so a coffee bought twice is not merged into one.
FITIDs only match other FITIDs written the same way. Transactions that a bank feed already brought in carry the bank’s own IDs, so importing a converted statement for the same dates will still duplicate them. Pick a cut-over date and import one source per period.
Quicken
QFX for Quicken: read this before relying on it
Quicken’s own Web Connect help says it does not support QFX files created by third-party conversion software. In practice Quicken is checking the bank ID, so a converted QFX usually imports when it carries your own bank’s current Web Connect ID, and fails when the ID is missing, belongs to another bank, or belongs to a bank that has left Web Connect.
When QFX will not import, export the same conversion as QIF or CSV. QIF needs no bank ID; its dates are written month-first, the order US Quicken reads, because a QIF file has no way to say which order it uses.
CSV
CSV presets and date formats
A CSV is only "universal" until an importer looks at its header row. Each preset writes exactly the columns its target expects, so the file imports without a trip through a column-mapping screen.
Dates are written as ISO, 2026-03-14, by default, because nobody can misread it. Some importers insist on their own format, Xero in particular wants dates in your organisation’s regional order, so day-first and month-first are available. Files are UTF-8, so accented and non-Latin characters in descriptions survive.
| Preset | Columns | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Full | Date, Description, Payee, Reference, Debit, Credit, Amount, Balance, Type, Reconciliation, then a closing note with the result and scope | Spreadsheets, review files, anything you will read yourself |
| Xero | Date, Amount, Payee, Description, Reference, Cheque Number | Xero’s bank statement import, which matches these header names |
| QuickBooks | Date, Description, Amount | QuickBooks Online’s three-column CSV upload |
| Plain | Transactions only, with no reconciliation column or note | Importers that expect nothing but transaction rows |
Double entry
IIF and Tally XML: holding accounts and exact names
IIF and Tally XML are different from the other formats because they import finished accounting entries, not a statement waiting to be categorised. Each transaction needs two sides, and both formats find accounts by name.
In IIF, the bank side is written under the statement’s account number until you change it, deliberately, because that is obviously not one of your account names and a mismatch is visible at once. QuickBooks Desktop creates any account name it does not recognise, so replace it with your bank account’s exact name. The other side goes to Uncategorized Income or Uncategorized Expense. QuickBooks does not check that an IIF transaction balances, so the balancing is done when the file is written.
In Tally XML, money in becomes a Receipt voucher and money out a Payment voucher, each with two ledger entries that sum to zero, and Tally’s sign convention (debit negative) is applied. The bank ledger must match the one in your company exactly, and any ledger the file names must already exist. The other side posts to Suspense A/c, ready to be reassigned.
Side by side
Which software imports which format
The first format listed is the one to try first. The software pages linked below have the import steps.
| Software | Use first | Fall back to | Will not take |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | QBO | CSV (QuickBooks preset) | IIF |
| QuickBooks Desktop | QBO | IIF | — |
| Quicken | QFX (with your bank’s ID) | QIF, CSV | — |
| Xero | CSV (Xero preset) | OFX | QBO |
| Sage | OFX | CSV, QIF | — |
| MYOB | OFX | QIF, CSV | — |
| Wave | CSV | OFX | — |
| Zoho Books | CSV | OFX, QIF | — |
| FreshBooks | CSV | Excel | — |
| TallyPrime | Tally XML | Excel | — |
| A spreadsheet or another person | Excel | CSV | — |
Who uses it
Where more than one format matters
A practice with clients on different software
One client on Xero, one on QuickBooks Desktop, one on TallyPrime. The same converter and the same review produce the Xero CSV, the IIF file and the Tally vouchers.
QuickBooks Desktop without Web Connect
When a bank has no Web Connect ID or an older Desktop version will not take QBO, IIF imports the statement with the other side in Uncategorized accounts.
Quicken users whose bank changed
Try QFX with your bank’s current ID; if Quicken refuses it, export the same conversion as QIF without converting again.
Import plus a working copy
Import QBO into the books and send the client or reviewer the Excel file with its Reconciliation sheet, both from one conversion.
FAQ
Eight formats, because your software only takes one of them: questions
Which format should I use to export a bank statement to QuickBooks?
QBO for both QuickBooks Online and Desktop, if you have your bank’s Intuit bank ID. Without one, use the three-column CSV for QuickBooks Online, or IIF for QuickBooks Desktop.
What is the difference between QBO, QFX and OFX?
They are the same statement format. QBO adds Intuit’s QuickBooks tags and QFX adds Quicken’s; both need an Intuit bank ID. OFX has neither and needs no bank ID, which is why Sage, MYOB and others take it.
What is INTU.BID and where do I find it?
The Intuit bank ID QuickBooks and Quicken use to identify the bank a file came from. Open a QBO or QFX file your bank has issued in a text editor and copy the three to six digits after <INTU.BID>. We do not fill in a default.
Why will Quicken not accept my QFX file?
Quicken’s help says it does not support QFX made by third-party conversion software, and in practice it rejects files without your bank’s current Web Connect ID. Export the same conversion as QIF or CSV instead.
Can QuickBooks Online import an IIF file?
No. IIF is for QuickBooks Desktop only. For QuickBooks Online use QBO or the QuickBooks CSV preset.
Does exporting in several formats use more pages?
No. Pages are counted when a statement is converted. Exporting the same conversion again, in the same or another format, does not count them again.
Will importing the same statement twice create duplicates?
Not from QBO, QFX or OFX files made here. Their transaction IDs are deterministic, so QuickBooks and Quicken recognise a repeat. Overlap with transactions already brought in by a bank feed can still duplicate, because those carry the bank’s own IDs.
Which plan includes IIF and Tally XML?
Professional ($39 a month, 900 pages) and Business ($99 a month, 2,500 pages). Starter ($15 a month, 300 pages) includes CSV, Excel, QBO, QFX, OFX and QIF.
Do categories go into the export?
Not yet. Labels are a review aid: they are shown against each row in the grid while you work, but exported files do not include them today. Rows arrive uncategorised, or in IIF and Tally XML in the holding accounts, so you assign them in your accounting software.
Keep going
Related guides and converters
Format pages
Related
Other features
Convert once, export the format your software takes
Starter at $15 a month covers CSV, Excel, QBO, QFX, OFX and QIF for 300 pages. Professional at $39 adds IIF and Tally XML for 900 pages. Only pages with transactions count.