# QFX to QIF: Converting Quicken Downloads for Older Software

- Author: SimpleBankConvert (https://www.simplebankconvert.com)
- Published: 2025-03-25
- Updated: 2025-03-25
- Category: Import file formats
- Canonical: https://www.simplebankconvert.com/blog/qfx-to-qif

> QFX to QIF conversion for software that only reads QIF: what each Quicken format holds, what is lost in the move and how to check the converted file.
QFX to QIF conversion rewrites a tagged Quicken bank download as the older line-by-line Quicken Interchange Format. Dates, amounts, payees, memos and check numbers carry across. The bank's transaction IDs, the account details and the closing balance do not, so check totals afterwards and keep the original QFX file as your record.

## Which programs still need a QFX to QIF conversion?

A QFX to QIF conversion is for software that reads QIF and nothing newer: an old personal finance program, a home-grown spreadsheet macro, a niche package kept running for one client, or an open source tool set up years ago. QFX is what banks offer as "Download for Quicken", and those older readers do not understand its tags.

The two formats differ in shape more than in content:

- **QFX** is Intuit's flavour of the Open Financial Exchange standard. The file is a set of nested tags, with a header that names the bank and the account, then one tagged block per transaction.
- **QIF** is a much older plain text layout. It has a type line at the top, then each transaction as a short stack of lines, each line starting with a single letter, and a caret to end the record.

People who reach this page tend to fall into three groups. Some run software that was last updated before banks moved to QFX. Some have a script or a spreadsheet that parses QIF and would rather not rewrite it. And some assume Quicken itself wants QIF, which is often not true, as the last section explains.

If your program reads OFX as well as QIF, stop here and try OFX first. A QFX file is very close to OFX, and [checking whether a QFX file is already a usable OFX file](/blog/qfx-to-ofx-converter) is a smaller job than a full conversion to QIF. It also keeps the transaction IDs that QIF throws away.

## QFX tags and the QIF line letters they become

Each QFX transaction block becomes one QIF record. The posted date tag becomes the D line, the amount becomes the T line, the payee name becomes P, the memo becomes M and a check number becomes N. The QFX account type decides the QIF type line, such as `!Type:Bank`, written once at the top.

### Mapping table

| QFX tag | What it holds | QIF line | Example value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BANKACCTFROM or CCACCTFROM | Which kind of account | `!Type:Bank` or `!Type:CCard` | Bank |
| DTPOSTED | Posted date, year first | D | 03/14/2026 |
| TRNAMT | Signed amount | T | -86.40 |
| NAME | Payee text | P | CITY WATER DEPT |
| MEMO | Extra description | M | Autopay March |
| CHECKNUM | Check number | N | 2051 |
| FITID | Bank's unique transaction ID | none | not carried |
| TRNTYPE | Debit, credit, check and so on | none, or folded into N | not carried |

The values above are examples, not taken from any real bank.

### One transaction in both formats

Here is a single example payment as a QFX block:

```
<STMTTRN>
<TRNTYPE>CHECK
<DTPOSTED>20260314120000
<TRNAMT>-86.40
<FITID>7731-20260314-02
<CHECKNUM>2051
<NAME>CITY WATER DEPT
<MEMO>Autopay March
</STMTTRN>
```

And the QIF record a converter would write for it, under a bank type line:

```
!Type:Bank
D03/14/2026
T-86.40
N2051
PCITY WATER DEPT
MAutopay March
^
```

Notice that the QIF record is shorter. The FITID line has no home, and the time of day on the posted date is gone. The meaning of each QIF letter is explained alongside a dated example in [the QIF date formats that trip up a conversion](/blog/qif-to-qbo#qif-date-formats-that-trip-up-a-conversion), so it is not repeated here.

## What does a QFX to QIF converter leave behind?

A QFX to QIF converter leaves behind everything QIF has no line for: the bank's transaction IDs, the institution and account numbers, the statement date range and the ledger balance. The transactions still arrive, but the receiving program loses its main defence against importing the same line twice, and you lose the built-in closing balance.

### The losses that matter

- **Transaction IDs.** A QFX download gives every line a FITID, which the programs that read QFX use to spot lines they already have. QIF has nothing equivalent. Import two overlapping QIF files and the overlap goes in twice.
- **Bank and account identity.** The QFX header says which bank and which account the file came from. A QIF file only says "bank" or "credit card". The person importing has to pick the right account by hand every time.
- **The closing balance.** QFX ends with a ledger balance and its date. QIF does not carry it, so the converted file cannot prove itself complete.
- **Transaction type.** QFX marks lines as debit, credit, check, fee, interest and so on. QIF keeps only the sign of the amount, plus the check number if there is one.
- **Time stamps.** QFX dates can include a time and a time zone. QIF dates are calendar days.

### What still comes through

Dates, amounts, payee names, memos and check numbers survive intact if the converter is sound. For most people moving a month of bank activity into an old ledger, that is the part that matters.

Before converting, write down the closing balance and the number of transactions from the QFX file, or from the bank's website for the same date range. Those two numbers are the yardstick for the check further down.

## QIF date order and account type settings to pick before converting

Two settings decide whether a QIF file reads correctly: the date order the converter writes and the account type line at the top. Pick the date order your receiving program expects, month first or day first, and the type that matches the account. Getting either wrong produces a file that imports cleanly but puts lines in the wrong place.

### Date order

QFX dates are unambiguous because they always run year, month, day. QIF dates are written in whatever style the reading program expects, and the file itself does not say which. A converter therefore asks you, or assumes.

- US software normally reads month first, so 03/04/2026 means March 4.
- Software set up for the UK, Europe or Australia often reads day first, so the same text means 3 April.
- Some older readers want a two-digit year, sometimes with an apostrophe, such as 3/4'26.

Check your program's own settings or an existing QIF file it has accepted. Copy that style exactly.

### Account type

The type line tells the program what kind of register to load. The common values are:

- `!Type:Bank` for checking and savings.
- `!Type:CCard` for a credit card.
- `!Type:Cash` for a cash account.

A credit card QFX converted under a bank type line can import with its charges and payments reading the wrong way round in the register. Make sure the type matches the account the download came from.

### One account per file

Convert each account's QFX separately, even if your bank lets you download several accounts at once. One QIF file per account keeps the type line honest and makes the totals check simple.

## Proving the QIF file matches the QFX download

To prove the QIF file is complete, compare three numbers with the QFX original: how many transactions there are, the sum of all amounts, and the first and last dates. If all three match, nothing was dropped and no sign flipped. Then spot-check a few payees by eye.

### A five-minute check

1. **Count records.** In a text editor, count the `<STMTTRN>` blocks in the QFX file and the `^` lines in the QIF file. The two counts should be equal.
2. **Total the amounts.** Paste the T lines into a spreadsheet column and sum them. Do the same with the TRNAMT values. The totals should agree to the cent.
3. **Check the date range.** The earliest and latest D lines should match the earliest and latest DTPOSTED values.
4. **Pick three lines at random.** Compare date, amount and payee between the two files.
5. **Import into a test register.** If your program allows it, load the QIF into a new, empty account first and look at the running balance.

### A worked example

Suppose an example QFX file holds 42 transactions, its amounts sum to -1,318.55, and its dates run from March 1 to March 31. The QIF file has 41 records and sums to -1,232.15. The difference is one record of -86.40. Search the QFX for that amount and you will usually find a line the converter skipped, often one with an unusual character in the payee or a missing memo.

If the counts match but the totals differ by twice some amount, a sign has flipped on one line. If every amount is the right size but the wrong sign, the account type line is probably wrong.

Keep the QFX after the import. It is the only copy that still carries the bank's IDs and balance, and it is what you will want if the ledger and the bank ever disagree.

## When a QFX to QIF conversion is the wrong fix for Quicken or QuickBooks

A QFX to QIF conversion is the wrong fix if the destination is current Quicken or QuickBooks. Quicken reads QFX directly, and [Quicken's guide to importing data into Quicken for Windows](https://www.quicken.com/support/how-do-i-import-data-quicken-windows) says QIF import isn't available for checking, savings or credit card accounts. QuickBooks does not list QIF among its bank upload formats at all.

### Quicken

The same Quicken page describes the QFX route: the bank's download is a Web Connect file with a .QFX extension, brought in from the File menu under File Import, then Web Connect File. If you have a QFX for a bank or card account, that is the path to use. Converting it to QIF would discard the IDs the QFX file carries, and this guide says the account type would block the import anyway. Another Quicken help page disagrees, as [the QIF to QFX converter guide](/blog/qif-to-qfx-converter#does-current-quicken-still-need-a-qif-to-qfx-converter) notes, but QFX stays the cleaner route. If you are going the other way, with an old QIF and a new Quicken, [turning a QIF file into a QFX](/blog/qif-to-qfx-converter) covers that problem.

### QuickBooks Online

[Intuit's page on uploading transactions manually to QuickBooks Online](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/import-transactions/manually-upload-transactions-quickbooks-online/L0rE9OXBz_US_en_US) suggests a QBO file and names QFX and CSV as other accepted types. QIF is not mentioned. Upload the QFX as it is, or build a QBO from a spreadsheet with [a CSV to QBO converter](/blog/csv-to-qbo-converter) if you need to trim or fix rows first.

### QuickBooks Desktop

[Intuit's Web Connect troubleshooting guide for QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/bank-connectivity/fix-web-connect-import-errors/L8o5eQjO4_US_en_US) says a .qbo file is the only type Web Connect can read. A QIF file gets you no closer than the QFX did. The Desktop routes, including the bank's own QuickBooks download, are laid out in [downloading bank transactions into QuickBooks Desktop](/blog/how-to-download-bank-transactions-into-quickbooks-desktop).

### If you only have a PDF

Sometimes the reason for hunting down a QFX to QIF converter is that the bank download is missing months you need. In that case the PDF statement is the better source. SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn a PDF statement into a CSV or QBO file for QuickBooks or Xero, and the [get started page](/get-started) is where to ask for early access.