QBO to CSV and Excel
Upload a .qbo file and download a CSV — or an Excel workbook — with one row per transaction: date, description and signed amount. A .qbo is a bank-feed file, not a spreadsheet, so this is the quickest way to read it without QuickBooks, check it before an import, or hand the transactions to someone who does not use QuickBooks.
Upload a file
What the CSV contains
- A header row, then one row per transaction found in the file
- Date as YYYY-MM-DD, description and a signed amount in their own columns
- The file’s currency in the Amount header, for example Amount (USD)
- Plain UTF-8 text, readable without QuickBooks installed
QBO to Excel
Choose Excel instead of CSV in the format menu above and the same rows come out as an .xlsx workbook, with amounts stored as numbers you can sum and filter. Opening a .qbo directly in Excel does not work the same way: you get the raw tags, one per line, not a table.
Going the other way — a spreadsheet back into QuickBooks — is the CSV to QBO converter.
How QBO fields become columns
A .qbo file is OFX with an Intuit header. Inside, every transaction is a <STMTTRN> block like this:
| QBO tag | CSV column | Notes |
|---|---|---|
<DTPOSTED> | Date | As YYYY-MM-DD. <DTUSER> is used when the posted date is missing. |
<NAME> or <PAYEE>, then <MEMO> | Description | Joined into one cell, for example “Card Payment — Corner Grocer”. |
<TRNAMT> | Amount | Signed as the file writes it: money out negative, money in positive. |
<CURDEF> | Amount header | The currency goes in the header, Amount (USD), because CSV has no currency field. |
<FITID>, <TRNTYPE>, account number | — | Bank-feed details with no spreadsheet column; the sign of the amount already says debit or credit. |
<STMTTRN>
<TRNTYPE>DEBIT
<DTPOSTED>20260304
<TRNAMT>-38.40
<FITID>20260304-3840-CardPayment
<NAME>Card Payment
<MEMO>Corner Grocer
</STMTTRN>Opening a QBO file without QuickBooks
A .qbo is plain text, so any text editor opens it — but you see tags, not a table. Converting is the readable route: CSV for Google Sheets, Numbers or any importer, Excel for a workbook. Each .qbo file counts as one page, so the first 3 files of your first upload convert free.
The same reader takes .qfx and .ofx files, which share the format: see QFX to CSV. To compare the formats themselves, read QIF vs OFX vs QBO.
What the CSV file looks like
The CSV you download: four columns and a header row. Balance stays empty for a .qbo source, because a QBO transaction carries no running balance.
Date,Description,Amount (USD),Balance
2026-03-02,Direct Debit 4471 Acme Insurance,-120.00,1880.00
2026-03-04,Card Payment Corner Grocer,-38.40,1841.60
2026-03-06,Transfer Received J Smith,500.00,2341.60How to convert
Upload the QBO file
Drop in the .qbo you downloaded from your bank or exported. Several files can go in at once.
Pick CSV or Excel
CSV is selected on this page; switch to Excel for an .xlsx workbook.
Open the spreadsheet
Check the rows in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
Statements it handles
Layouts differ from bank to bank, so nothing is matched against a fixed template. An unusual statement still produces a table you can check before exporting — which is what makes it usable for bookkeepers and accountants who receive statements from every client.
PDF statements and CSV exports
A statement downloaded from your bank, or the CSV your bank lets you export. Both arrive as the same clean table.
Multi-page statements, read as one table
A statement that runs over several pages — or several statements uploaded together — is read as one continuous table, not one file per page.
Amounts and dates kept as your bank prints them
Debit and credit signs, decimal places and date formats are left as printed, so the numbers still reconcile against the statement.
Scanned, image-only PDFs, read with OCR
A statement with no text layer is read with OCR and may need a quick review — the one case where a row can come out wrong.
- CSV
- Scan
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a QBO file to CSV?
Upload the .qbo above, keep CSV selected and download the file. Every transaction becomes one row with date, description and amount.
Can I convert a QBO file to Excel?
Yes. Choose Excel in the format menu before converting and you get an .xlsx workbook with the same rows, amounts stored as numbers.
How do I open a QBO file?
QuickBooks imports it as bank transactions. To read it anywhere else, convert it to CSV or Excel — opened in a text editor or straight in Excel, a .qbo shows raw tags rather than a table.
Does converting lose anything?
The CSV keeps every transaction — date, description and amount. Bank-feed details such as the transaction ID and account number have no spreadsheet column and are left out.
Is it free?
Each .qbo file counts as one page, and the first 3 pages of your first upload are free. After that it is $0.20 a file with a $3.90 minimum per batch.
Can I convert the CSV back to QBO?
Yes, with the CSV to QBO converter.
Is my file kept after conversion?
No. The file is deleted when the conversion finishes; only the converted copy stays at your private link.