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Import a bank statement into QuickBooks

QuickBooks Online takes transactions from a .qbo file through its bank feed; QuickBooks Desktop takes a different file altogether. The route is the same either way: get the statement into the format your edition reads, then bring it in through the bank feed.

The four steps

  1. Download the statement

    From your bank, as a PDF or CSV. Both convert the same way.

  2. Convert it to the file QuickBooks reads

    Online takes a .qbo file; Desktop needs CSV or Excel instead.

  3. Open the bank feed in QuickBooks

    In QuickBooks Online: Banking, then the upload option for a file.

  4. Match the account and import

    Choose which account the lines belong to, then confirm the import.

Which file QuickBooks actually wants

QuickBooks Online imports .qbo, the file format used for bank feeds. That is what bank statement to QBOproduces from a PDF or CSV statement.

QuickBooks Desktop is a separate program with a separate import. A .qbo file is refused by Desktop, so convert the statement to CSV or Excel and import that instead.

Where imports fail

  • The file is for the other edition. A .qbo will fail on Desktop and an IIF on Online, usually without a useful message.
  • Dates the import cannot read. Statement dates in an unusual order or with a month name are the most common parse failure.
  • The account does not exist yet. The lines need somewhere to land, so the bank account has to be set up before the import, not during it.
  • Duplicates. Importing the same statement twice creates a second copy of every line. Check the date range of the last import before bringing in a new one.

Frequently asked questions

What file does QuickBooks Online need?

A .qbo file — that is the format its bank-feed import reads. The bank statement you download from your bank is a PDF or CSV, so it has to be converted first.

Can I import straight from a PDF?

No. QuickBooks does not read PDFs; convert the statement to .qbo (Online) or CSV and Excel (Desktop) first.

Why does my import fail with no error?

The usual causes are a file in the wrong format for your edition, dates the import cannot parse, or an account that has not been set up in QuickBooks yet.

Does it work with QuickBooks Desktop?

Desktop is a different program and reads IIF or a bank-specific format. Convert to CSV or Excel for Desktop rather than using the .qbo file.

Is my statement kept?

No. The file is used only to produce the converted copy and is deleted right after.

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