QFX to QBO Converter

How to use

Drop the .qfx you downloaded for Quicken. It converts at once; the file's own INTU.BID, bank block, account numbers and transaction ids are kept.

Change nothing unless QuickBooks complains: an INTU.BID override and the account type are the only settings, for banks whose Quicken id QuickBooks does not list.

Import the .qbo: QuickBooks Desktop → File → Utilities → Import → Web Connect Files (or Banking → Bank Feeds → Import Web Connect File); QuickBooks Online → Transactions → Bank transactions → Link account ▾ → Upload from file.

QFX and QBO are the same data

Both are OFX 1.02 statements with Intuit's sign-on tags; the bank generates them from the same download page and only the extension and the product they are meant for differ. Banks pay Intuit separately to be listed for Quicken and for QuickBooks, so a bank may offer .qfx and not .qbo. Renaming the file often works in QuickBooks Desktop, and when it does not, the reason is usually a character the QBO reader rejects, or an INTU.BID that is on the Quicken list but not the QuickBooks one.

This converter rebuilds the file rather than renaming it: the statement is read, every transaction is written back in the strict layout QuickBooks accepts (nine header lines, ASCII text, NAME cut at 32 characters with the full payee moved to the memo, MEMO at 255), and the FITIDs are kept unchanged, so a month already imported from the bank's own .qbo is recognised as a duplicate and not doubled.

What can still go wrong

If QuickBooks Desktop shows "the bank is not on the list" or error OL-222 after the conversion, the bank's Quicken id (INTU.BID) is not enabled for QuickBooks Web Connect. Enter 3000 in the override field: QuickBooks then shows Wells Fargo as the source and imports into whichever account you choose. If the file has no account type (some card issuers leave ACCTTYPE out), QuickBooks treats it as a checking account; set the type in the settings.

QuickBooks Online uploads .qfx files directly, so for QuickBooks Online this page is only needed when the upload fails on a formatting problem, which the rewrite fixes as a side effect.

Where the file comes from

The bank's transaction download page: the choice named "Quicken", "QFX" or "Quicken Web Connect".
Quicken itself does not export QFX; from Quicken you get QIF (File → Export), for which the QIF to QBO page exists.
Credit card issuers offer QFX for card statements; the result is a credit-card QBO that QuickBooks imports into a credit-card account.

Questions and answers

Can I just rename .qfx to .qbo?

Often yes for QuickBooks Desktop, since the data is the same. It fails when the file holds characters the QBO import rejects, when a payee is longer than 32 characters, or when the bank's id is not on the QuickBooks list; converting here fixes the first two and lets you override the third.

Will the transactions be duplicated if I imported some of them before?

No. The bank's transaction ids (FITID) are kept, and QuickBooks skips every id it has already stored in the register.

Do I have to enter an INTU.BID?

Not usually: a QFX already carries one and it is kept. Enter a number only if QuickBooks rejects the bank; 3000 is the safe value.

The file has several accounts. What comes out?

One QBO per account, named with the last four digits of each account number, since QuickBooks imports one account per Web Connect file.