QIF vs OFX vs QBO
All three carry the same transactions between programs. The difference is which program reads them: QIF is the oldest and simplest, OFX is what most banks export, and QBO is what QuickBooks Online imports. Pick by the destination, not by the format.
What each one is
| Format | What it contains | Read by |
|---|---|---|
| QIF | Plain text with tagged lines — one block per transaction, no account structure. | Quicken and older desktop finance tools. |
| OFX / QFX | A structured format for bank feeds. Carries account details and balances, not just transactions. | What most banks let you export; QFX is Quicken’s branded variant of the same thing. |
| QBO | QuickBooks Online’s version of the bank-feed idea, narrowed to what its import expects. | QuickBooks Online, through the bank-feed import. |
Which to pick
- Quicken— QIF, or OFX/QFX if your bank exports it
- QuickBooks Online— QBO
- A spreadsheet— Neither — use CSV or Excel
- Xero, Tally— Their own import formats, not these three
Two things that catch people out
- A file in the wrong format simply will not import. QIF is not a QBO file with a different extension; the receiving program rejects it rather than converting it.
- None of them carry your categories. Categories are a decision, not data on the statement, so they are set in the destination program.
Frequently asked questions
Is QIF the same as OFX?
No. QIF is a flat, tagged text format with no account structure. OFX is structured, and carries account information and balances as well as transactions.
What is the difference between OFX and QFX?
They describe the same content. QFX is Quicken’s branded variant of OFX; most tools that read one read the other.
Which format does QuickBooks Online need?
QBO. QuickBooks Online’s bank-feed import reads .qbo files, and QuickBooks Desktop uses a different format again (IIF).
Can I convert between them?
Yes — a bank statement converts to any of them, so the usual route is to go back to the statement rather than from one export format to another.