How to convert OFX to QBO
- 1
Drop the OFX file
OFX files are read as they are: dates, payees, memos, amounts and IDs.
- 2
Review the transactions
Edit a date, a payee or an amount, flip a sign or delete a line before converting.
- 3
Download the QBO
Add the Intuit bank ID in Export settings if your QuickBooks or Quicken asks for one, then import it as a Web Connect file.
The Intuit bank ID (INTU.BID)
A .qbo file names the bank it came from with Intuit’s bank ID. QuickBooks Desktop checks that ID against Intuit’s list of banks and may refuse a file whose ID it doesn’t recognise. If you have any older .qbo or .qfx file from the same bank, open it in a text editor and copy the number after <INTU.BID> into the export settings. When the file you convert already has an ID, it’s kept. QuickBooks Online is less strict, and its CSV upload needs no ID at all.
No duplicate transactions on re-import
Every transaction gets a stable ID (FITID) built from its date, amount and description, unless the source already had one. Import the same file twice, or two statements that overlap, and QuickBooks can recognise the repeats instead of doubling them.
The formats
- OFX
- Open Financial Exchange, the open standard behind QBO and QFX. Xero, GnuCash, Moneydance, Banktivity and many other apps import plain .ofx files.
- QBO
- QuickBooks Web Connect. A .qbo file is an OFX bank download that also carries Intuit’s ID for the bank (INTU.BID). QuickBooks Desktop imports it under File › Utilities › Import › Web Connect Files; QuickBooks Online takes it in its Upload transactions screen.