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Bankflow

CSV to QBO converter: A spreadsheet in, a QBO QuickBooks reads.

Turn the CSV or Excel file your bank lets you download into a .qbo for QuickBooks Online or Desktop. Map the columns once, check the rows, and export a file with proper transaction types and IDs, without reshaping the spreadsheet to fit QuickBooks' CSV rules.

Convert a CSV freeSee pricing

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  • CSV, TSV, XLS, XLSX
  • Columns detected for you
  • Web Connect .qbo out

Export transactions

Choose the scope, format, fields, and column order.

Scope

Selected transactions (40)

Exports only the currently selected rows.

Format

QuickBooks (Web Connect)

A Web Connect file for QuickBooks.

Fixed field set

OFX/QuickBooks files always carry date, description, and signed amount.

Include category as memoAdds an optional memo field with the current category.

Row order

Match current view

1,284 rows · 3 columns

Export QuickBooks (Web Connect)

QuickBooks takes a CSV, on its own terms.

QuickBooks Online will upload a CSV, but only in a 3-column (Date, Description, Amount) or 4-column (Date, Description, Credit, Debit) layout, with every date in one format and no more than 1,000 rows. Bank exports rarely arrive like that: extra header rows, a running balance, a Dr/Cr column, the weekday stuck to the date. QuickBooks Desktop's Web Connect takes no CSV at all. Converting to QBO skips the reshaping: you map the columns once, and QuickBooks gets the format it reads natively.

How it works

Converting a CSV or Excel file to QBO

  1. 01

    Upload the spreadsheet

    Add the CSV, TSV, XLS, or XLSX files your bank exported, several at once if you have them. Each file can be up to 50 MB.

    Import dialog on the upload tab, accepting PDF, CSV, Excel, and JSON files up to 50 MB each.
    Queue every file first; nothing is read until you confirm the selection.
  2. 02

    Map the columns

    Bankflow detects the columns and shows you the mapping before anything is saved. Date and Description are required. Pick one signed amount column or separate debit and credit columns, and if the file uses a Dr/Cr column or an unusual sign, say so here.

  3. 03

    Categorize in bulk

    Search, filter, shift-click a range, and recategorize hundreds of rows at once, or write a rule that fixes them for every later file.

    The transactions ledger, with the row selection column called out for editing a whole range at once.
    Three rows selected, one menu: category, tags, merchant, flag, or exclude from analytics.
  4. 04

    Export QuickBooks (Web Connect)

    Download the rows as a .qbo carrying the Intuit web-connect header. Filter to one account and a date range first if you only want part of the history.

    Export dialog with QuickBooks Web Connect selected from the bank and finance formats, with the matching fields and transaction preview.
    QuickBooks and other accounting-software exports are grouped in the expanded format menu beside the fields and live preview.
  5. 05

    Import into QuickBooks

    Choose Upload from file on the Bank transactions screen in QuickBooks Online, or Import Web Connect Files in QuickBooks Desktop.

What the conversion takes care of

Any column layout

Separate debit and credit columns, one signed amount, or an amount beside a Dr/Cr column: map it once and every row in the QBO carries a consistent sign.

The format QuickBooks reads natively

OFX 1.02 SGML with the Intuit web-connect header: the same kind of file a bank's own QuickBooks download gives you.

FITIDs on every row

A CSV row has no identifier. Every QBO row carries a FITID, the field QuickBooks uses to recognize a transaction it has already imported.

Files that fit the upload limit

QuickBooks Online caps an upload at 350 KB and 1,000 transactions. Filter the export to a few months at a time and each file stays under both.

Rules instead of repetition

Encode a categorization decision once and apply it to every statement you have already imported, so a year of spreadsheets gets the same treatment.

The same month, caught twice

A file holding transactions you already imported is marked Duplicate and held back, so overlapping downloads do not end up in QuickBooks twice.

Why QBO rather than uploading the CSV

What QuickBooks Online asks of a CSV upload, and how a QBO file answers it instead.

What QuickBooks asks of a CSVHow the QBO handles it
3 or 4 columns, in a set orderA QBO has a fixed structure, so QuickBooks skips its column mapping screen.
One date format throughoutDates are normalized when the spreadsheet is read, whatever format the bank used.
Amounts signed the way it expectsEach row carries a signed amount and a DEBIT or CREDIT type that agrees with it.
No way to spot a repeatEach row carries a FITID, which QuickBooks matches to avoid importing it twice.
Not accepted by Web ConnectQuickBooks Desktop imports the .qbo directly through Web Connect.

QuickBooks Online's CSV requirements per Intuit's manual upload guide, checked September 15, 2026.

FAQ

Common questions

How do I convert a CSV to QBO?

Upload the CSV to Bankflow, confirm the column mapping it detects, check the rows, then export as QuickBooks (Web Connect). The download is a .qbo file that QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop both import.

Can I convert an Excel file to QBO?

Yes. XLSX and older XLS workbooks go through the same column mapping as a CSV, and export to the same .qbo.

Why not upload the CSV straight to QuickBooks Online?

If the file already fits, you can: 3 or 4 columns in QuickBooks' order, one date format, and no more than 350 KB and 1,000 rows. Most bank exports need reshaping first, and a CSV carries no transaction IDs for duplicate detection. Converting to QBO avoids both.

Does this work with QuickBooks Desktop?

Yes. QuickBooks Desktop cannot import a CSV through Web Connect, but it imports the .qbo under File → Utilities → Import → Web Connect Files. Sign in to your Intuit Account inside the app first, or the import will not go through.

Can I convert a QFX or QIF file to QBO?

Not in Bankflow: it reads PDF, CSV, Excel, and JSON statements. QuickBooks Online accepts QFX directly, so for Online there is nothing to convert. For QuickBooks Desktop, a desktop converter such as ProperConvert reads QFX and QIF.

Will my categories come through to QuickBooks?

Turn on Include category as memo in the export and each row carries its Bankflow category in the memo. QuickBooks still assigns its own account when you accept the row.

Keep exploring

Bank Statement → Excel

Download a clean XLSX of every parsed transaction.

Bank Statement → CSV

Export filtered rows as CSV for any downstream tool.

Bank Statement → JSON

Structured transaction data for scripts and internal tools.

Bank Statement → OFX

Plain OFX for Xero, GnuCash, and Moneydance.

PDF → QBO

One-click QBO conversion for QuickBooks Desktop and Online.

Your bank's spreadsheet, in QuickBooks' format.

Upload a CSV or Excel export, map it once, and download a .qbo for QuickBooks Online or Desktop.

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