IIF: An IIF file is QuickBooks Desktop's back door.
Intuit Interchange Format is tab-delimited text that QuickBooks Desktop imports directly into the company file. It will take lists, transactions, and accounts, and it will do it without validating much of anything first, which is both why it is useful and why it deserves care.
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- Tab-delimited text
- QuickBooks Desktop only
- Writes straight to the company file
Export transactions
Choose the scope, format, fields, and column order.
Scope
Selected transactions (40)Exports only the currently selected rows.
Format
QuickBooks Desktop (IIF)An import file for QuickBooks Desktop.
Fixed field set
OFX/QuickBooks files always carry date, description, and signed amount.
Row order
Match current viewFields
Fixed by the OFX/QuickBooks format
Preview
1,284 matching transactions
| Date | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-24 | STRIPE PAYOUT 4af2c9 | 4820.00 |
| 2025-10-23 | AWS EMEA SARL us-east-1 | -1204.00 |
| 2025-10-22 | WHOLE FOODS MKT #214 | -112.88 |
1,284 rows · 3 columns
Export QuickBooks Desktop (IIF)The import does not ask twice.
An IIF that names an account which does not exist does not fail. QuickBooks creates the account and carries on, which is how a file with a typo leaves a company file holding two accounts a character apart with the year's transactions split between them. There is no preview, no dry run, and no built-in undo. The only real protection is a backup taken before the import and a look at the file beforehand.
How it works
How to open an IIF file
- 1
Open it in a spreadsheet to read it
An IIF is tab-delimited text. Excel or Google Sheets will show it as a grid, which is the quickest way to see which accounts and transaction types the file is about to create.
- 2
Check the account names against your chart of accounts
Every account named in the file that does not already exist will be created on import, exactly as spelled. This is the step that prevents almost every IIF mess.
- 3
Back up the company file
In QuickBooks Desktop, File, then Back Up Company. An IIF import cannot be rolled back, so the backup is the undo.
- 4
Import in single-user mode
File, then Utilities, then Import, then IIF Files. QuickBooks reports the rows it rejected but not the ones it accepted into the wrong place, so reconcile afterwards.
What an IIF file looks like inside
Header rows starting with !
A line beginning !TRNS defines the columns for transaction rows, !SPL for the splits under them, and !ENDTRNS closes each group. Lists use !ACCNT, !CUST, !VEND, and their relatives.
Tabs, not commas
Fields are separated by tab characters. Saving an IIF from a spreadsheet as CSV breaks it, and a description containing a comma is fine while one containing a tab is not.
Every transaction balances or nothing imports
The TRNS line and its SPL lines have to sum to zero, because QuickBooks is reading double-entry rows rather than a bank statement. A one-sided row is rejected.
Missing accounts are created, not questioned
Account, customer, vendor, and class names that do not exist are added on the fly with whatever spelling the file used.
No duplicate detection
Unlike QBO and OFX there is no unique id per transaction. Import the same file twice and the transactions land twice.
Desktop only
QuickBooks Online does not import IIF. For QuickBooks Online the file you want is a QBO, or a CSV in the layout its import screen expects.
The keywords in a transaction IIF
A bank transaction written as double-entry rows, which is how QuickBooks reads it.
| Keyword | What it does |
|---|---|
| !TRNS | Defines the columns for the transaction line that follows. |
| !SPL | Defines the columns for the split lines: the other side of the entry. |
| !ENDTRNS | Marks the end of a transaction group. Required after every one. |
| TRNSTYPE | DEPOSIT, CHECK, TRANSFER, GENERAL JOURNAL, and the rest. |
| DATE | The transaction date, in the date format the company file uses. |
| ACCNT | The account this side of the entry posts to. Created if it does not exist. |
| NAME | Customer, vendor, or employee. Also created if absent. |
| AMOUNT | Signed. The TRNS line and its SPL lines must total zero. |
| DOCNUM / MEMO | Reference number and description carried onto the register. |
Intuit has discouraged IIF for transaction imports for years without replacing it for QuickBooks Desktop, which is why it is still in use.
FAQ
Common questions
What is an IIF file?
An Intuit Interchange Format file: tab-delimited text that QuickBooks Desktop imports into a company file. It can carry lists such as accounts, customers, and vendors, and transactions written as double-entry rows.
How do I open an IIF file?
Open it in Excel or Google Sheets to read it, since it is tab-delimited text. To use it, import it into QuickBooks Desktop through File, then Utilities, then Import, then IIF Files, after backing up the company file.
Can QuickBooks Online import IIF files?
No. IIF is a QuickBooks Desktop format. For QuickBooks Online, use a QBO file for bank transactions, or a CSV matching the layout its bank import screen expects.
What is the difference between IIF and QBO?
A QBO file is a bank statement in Intuit's flavour of OFX, with a unique id per transaction, and it goes through the bank feed review screen before anything is accepted. An IIF writes directly into the company file with no review step and no duplicate detection.
Why did my IIF import create duplicate accounts?
Because QuickBooks creates any account the file names that does not already exist, matching on the exact text. A trailing space or a different spelling produces a second account rather than an error, so the fix is to check the names against your chart of accounts before importing.
Can I undo an IIF import?
Not as an operation. There is no rollback for an IIF import, so the practical undo is restoring the backup you took beforehand. Deleting the imported transactions by hand is possible but the accounts and names it created stay behind.
Keep exploring
QIF Files
Quicken's oldest text format: what is inside one, and what still reads it.
QFX Files
Quicken's Web Connect file, and why a plain OFX will not do instead.
OFX Files
The banks' interchange format, its two incompatible versions, and what imports it.
QBO Files
QuickBooks' Web Connect file, and the header that decides whether it imports.
Bank Statement Converter
What a converter has to get right, and what the file looks like when it does.
Look at the file before QuickBooks does.
Check an IIF for the accounts it will create and the rows that will not balance, or convert a statement PDF straight to QBO and skip the IIF path entirely.