What are QFX and QBO files?
QFX and QBO are both Intuit's versions of OFX, the standard format banks use to send transactions to software. A QFX file is a Web Connect file for Quicken. A QBO file is a Web Connect file for QuickBooks. Inside, they hold the same things: the account, each transaction's date, amount, payee and ID, and the ending balance.
Banks often offer both downloads, but not always. If your bank only gave you a QFX, or you're moving from Quicken to QuickBooks, you need to change the file type.
Why won't QuickBooks Desktop open my QFX file?
QuickBooks Desktop imports bank downloads through Web Connect, and Intuit's help says a .qbo file is "the only type Web Connect can read." A .qfx file is refused even though its contents are nearly the same. QuickBooks Online is more flexible: its Upload from file option takes .qbo, .ofx and .csv files, and Intuit's article mentions QFX too. So this tool matters most for QuickBooks Desktop.
Renaming .qfx to .qbo isn't a reliable fix. The two formats carry different Intuit-specific fields, and this tool rewrites the file in the QBO layout.
How to convert QFX to QBO
- Choose your .qfx file above, or drop it on the box.
- Check the preview: the number of transactions, the dates and the first rows.
- Leave "Convert to" on QuickBooks Web Connect (.qbo) and click Download.
- In QuickBooks Desktop, go to Banking > Bank Feeds > Import Web Connect Files, pick the file, and choose the QuickBooks account it belongs to. Intuit notes that you need to be signed in to your Intuit account inside QuickBooks Desktop to import Web Connect files.
- In QuickBooks Online, use Bank transactions > Link account > Upload from file. Intuit's limit is 350 KB and 1,000 lines per file.
Why QuickBooks sometimes rejects a QBO file
The bank ID (INTU.BID)
Every QBO and QFX file names a bank with a tag called INTU.BID. Intuit's page for banks says Web Connect is tied to a bank's Intuit BID ("Branding ID"), and QuickBooks uses it to label the download. By default, our QBO files use 3000, which converter makers such as ProperSoft document as Wells Fargo's ID. So QuickBooks may show "Wells Fargo" during the import. That's only a label: the transactions go into whichever QuickBooks account you pick.
Your QFX file carries your own bank's ID. The tool shows it and lets you use it instead, under More options, if you want your bank's name on the import. If QuickBooks Desktop then says it's "unable to verify the Financial Institution information for this download" (one of the Web Connect errors Intuit lists), switch back to 3000.
Bank or credit card account
The file says whether it's a bank account or a credit card. QuickBooks only offers matching accounts during the import, so import a card file into a credit card account. The tool keeps the account type from your QFX. You can change it under "Account type" if the original was wrong.
Duplicates
Each transaction in a QFX has an ID called a FITID, which QuickBooks uses to recognize transactions it has already imported. This tool keeps your bank's FITIDs, so importing the same transactions twice is still caught.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The page reads the QFX file and builds the QBO file on your computer. Nothing is sent to StatementCheap or anyone else. Account numbers are shortened to the last 4 digits in the new file.