How to check a QFX file before you import it

The proof above a statement in ZeraBooks Convert: each account's opening balance plus its transactions equals the closing balance printed on the statement

A QFX file is the transaction download a bank makes for Quicken's Web Connect import: OFX text with Intuit's INTU.BID tag and a FITID on each transaction. You can read one in a text editor in two minutes. Work on a copy and close without saving, because a QFX saved from another program may stop importing.

This how-to covers checking a file before you import it: right account, right dates, nothing strange. The sample values are made up.

Why look inside a QFX file at all?

Usually to answer one of three questions. Is this the right account? Does it cover the dates I need? Will Quicken refuse it? All three answers sit in plain tags near the top and bottom of the file.

How do you open one safely?

Step 1: Duplicate the file

Copy it and rename the copy, for example oct-checking-COPY.qfx. Everything below happens to the copy.

Step 2: Open the copy in a plain text editor

Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on a Mac. Excel can show it too through File, Open with All Files selected, but it has no QFX import and only treats it as text. A short header comes first, then tags in angle brackets.

Step 3: Search for the tags that matter

TagSample valueWhat it tells you
DTSTART / DTEND20260901 / 20260930The date range, written year, month, day
ACCTID000004417The account the file belongs to
TRNAMT-62.75One transaction. A minus sign means money out
NAMEHARBOR HARDWARE SUPPLThe payee, cut to 32 characters at most
FITID20260912-0031The bank's unique ID, used to block double imports
LEDGERBAL8,904.16The balance at the end of the range
INTU.BIDa bank codeWhat Quicken checks against its participating banks

Fictional sample values. Real files vary by bank.

Step 4: Close without saving

When the program asks, choose not to save. This is the step people skip, and it's the one that breaks files.

What can't you learn from the file?

Whether it is complete. A QFX file ends with a closing ledger balance and an available balance, but there is no opening balance anywhere in it. So you can see where the account finished and not prove that every transaction in between is present.

ZeraBooks Convert, Bank and Credit Cards: recent statements grouped on the left and the open statement's transactions on the right
A PDF statement read in ZeraBooks Convert. The PDF prints both balances, which a QFX download leaves out.
A QFX file tells you where the balance ended. Only the statement tells you where it started.

Many banks also serve only around 90 days of QFX. That limit is set by each bank. For older months, the PDF statement is usually still in the bank's statement archive.

What if Quicken says the bank isn't supported?

Look at INTU.BID. Quicken compares it with the banks taking part in Web Connect, and a file can hold perfectly good transactions and still be refused on that check. A quick question to the bank about whether Quicken downloads are still supported settles it.

Key takeaways

  • QFX is OFX text plus Intuit's INTU.BID tag, made for Quicken Web Connect.
  • Always open a copy, and close it without saving.
  • DTSTART, DTEND and ACCTID answer most questions about a file.
  • The file has no opening balance, so it can't prove a month is complete.

FAQ

Can Excel convert a QFX file to columns?

Not directly. Excel has no QFX import and shows the file as text. For a transaction table, import it into Quicken, or start from the PDF statement.

Why does a QFX import create duplicates?

Usually because the bank changed systems and issued new FITIDs for old transactions, so overlapping downloads no longer match.

Which programs import QFX?

Quicken through File, File Import, Web Connect. QuickBooks Online, YNAB and GnuCash accept it directly as well.

A full sample file explained line by line is in the ZeraBooks guide to what a QFX file is and how to open one.

Disclosure: I'm the founder of ZeraBooks. The ZeraBooks bank statement converter reads PDF statements, including scanned ones, and gives you Excel or CSV, marked Proven only when it ties to the printed balances to the cent. It doesn't read or create QFX files.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to clean up messy books without redoing the same month twice

Image
Clean up books in this order: collect every statement , set opening balances from the last period your accountant signed off, then reconcile each account one month at a time, oldest first . Only once a month ties do you pair transfers, remove duplicates, place uncategorized lines and move owner spending out. A different order means categorizing lines you later delete. A month that doesn't tie, with the gap shown. During a cleanup you stay on that month until the gap is zero. The worked figures below belong to a fictional design studio whose books stopped being kept in February. They are illustrative only. What has to happen before any categorizing? Step 1: Build a statement grid Accounts down the side, months across the top. Tick a cell when you hold that month's statement as a PDF from the bank. Our studio has checking, savings and one card across eight months, so the grid has 24 cells. Any blank cell is a month you can't prove yet, so request it today. Activity...
Read more

How to convert a credit card statement PDF to Excel, step by step

 You need last quarter's card charges in a spreadsheet by Friday, and all you have is three PDFs from the issuer's website. To convert a credit card statement to Excel, download the PDF statement (not the activity export), run it through a converter or copy the tables out by hand, then fix three things: the signs on payments, the foreign currency detail lines, and the summary blocks. Finish by checking that your rows rebuild the printed new balance. Here's each step. Step 1: Download the statement PDF Go to the card's statements page on the issuer's site and download the monthly statement. Many issuers also offer a "download activity" CSV. Skip it for this job. It usually has no previous or new balance printed anywhere, and those two numbers are how you'll prove the spreadsheet is complete at the end. Watch the dates. A card statement ends on a closing date, not the end of the month. If you need the full quarter, you may need the statement after it too...
Read more

How to scan a bank statement so it converts to Excel cleanly

Image
To scan a bank statement so it converts to Excel cleanly, use 300 dpi and grayscale , keep pages straight, save each account's pages into a single PDF , and include the last page even if it looks empty. Then convert it and check that the opening balance plus the rows equals the printed closing balance. Most conversion problems with scanned statements are decided before the conversion starts, at the scanner. Here is how to get it right, step by step. Where a scanned PDF goes in ZeraBooks Convert: the Upload button, or drop the file on the page. Do you need to scan the statement at all? Step 1: Check online banking first Log in and look at the statements section. If the month is there, download the PDF. A downloaded statement carries the bank's own text and will always beat a scan. What scanner settings work best for bank statements? Step 2: Set the scanner Setting Use Why Resolution 300 dpi Lower loses faint digits; higher only makes bigger files Colo...
Read more