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What is a QIF file?

An old, plain-text way of storing transactions that Quicken made popular. It is still around, mostly for moving data between money programs. Here is how it works.

By Zishan Khan · Last checked · Sources

Short answer

A QIF file is a plain-text list of transactions in Quicken Interchange Format, an old format Quicken made popular. Each line starts with one letter saying what it holds (D for date, T for amount, P for payee) and a caret ends each transaction. It has no account number and no transaction IDs, so it is simple but easy to import twice. Quicken, GnuCash and Xero still read it; to read it yourself, convert it to Excel.

Extension
.qif
Full name
Quicken Interchange Format
Inside
One field per line
Transaction IDs
None

What’s inside a QIF file

QIF is the simplest of the bank-file formats. There are no tags and no columns, just one value per line, each with a one-letter code in front. You could write one by hand. This is the start of a real one:

sample-transactions.qifOpened as plain text

  1. 1!Type:Bank
  2. 2D09/01/2026
  3. 3T4200.00
  4. 4PACME LTD PAYROLL SEP REF 88213
  5. 5^
  6. D09/02/2026
  7. T-1850.00
  8. PDD HARBOUR PROPERTIES RENT 02SEP
  9. ^
  10. D09/03/2026
  11. T-6.40
  12. PCARD PMT 4417 BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE SF
  13. ^
  14. … five more transactions, four lines each …
  1. The account type for everything below: Bank here. A card file says !Type:CCard. This is the only line about the account; there is no account number or bank name anywhere in the file.
  2. D starts the date. 09/01/2026 is 1 September in the US order this file uses, but it would mean 9 January to a program expecting day first. Nothing in the file says which.
  3. T is the amount. Money out has a minus sign.
  4. P is the payee, here the bank’s full description.
  5. A caret ends the transaction. There is no transaction ID before it, which is why QIF can’t protect you from importing the same transactions twice.
Made by our converter from the demo statement on our home page, with US-style dates.

The codes you will meet most often in bank files:

CodeMeans
DDate
TAmount
PPayee
MMemo
NCheck or reference number
LCategory (or a transfer account, in brackets)
^End of the transaction

Files exported from Quicken can hold much more than transactions: category lists, memorized payees and whole account lists. Each section starts with its own ! line. Bank downloads usually hold just one account’s transactions.

The date problem

QIF never says which order its dates are in. A file from US software writes month first; one from UK or Australian software usually writes day first. So 03/04/2026 is 4 March to one program and 3 April to another.

When the program reading the file guesses wrong, every date up to the 12th of the month lands in the wrong month, and dates after the 12th may be rejected. GnuCash handles this by asking you to choose month-day-year or day-month-year when you import. Other programs assume the order of your computer’s region.

Before you import

Look for a date with a day above 12 in the file. If it reads 09/14/2026, the file is month first; 14/09/2026 is day first. When our converter writes a QIF, you choose the order to match your program.

Why Quicken moved away from QIF

QIF has no transaction IDs, so software can’t tell whether a transaction is new or one it already has. Import overlapping months and everything in the overlap appears twice. It also carries no account number and no currency.

So when banks started offering OFX-based downloads, Quicken pushed people towards its own version, QFX. From the 2006 version, Quicken for Windows stopped taking QIF into checking, savings and card accounts. Current versions take QIF into any account again, but Quicken now calls it a legacy format and is moving to a newer one of its own, QXF.

Quicken still suggests backing up your data before a QIF import. That is good advice for any program: QIF transactions go straight into the register, with no review step to catch mistakes.

What still reads QIF files

ProgramHow
Quicken for WindowsFile › File Import › QIF File, then choose the account. Any account type in current versions.
GnuCashFile › Import › Import QIF, then choose the date order and the account.
XeroBank accounts, the account’s menu, Import a Statement. Steps
Banktivity, MoneyWiz, Microsoft MoneyTheir File or Import menus. Microsoft Money is discontinued but still in use.
QuickBooks (Online and Desktop)Not at all. Convert QIF to QBO

How to open a QIF file in Excel

Drop your .qif file here to get a spreadsheet with one row per transaction and the date, payee, memo, category and amount in their own columns. It is read in your browser, never uploaded. If the file holds several accounts, you pick one; you can also switch the date order if nothing in the file settles it.

No file to hand?

Other directions: QIF to CSV, QIF to QFX for Quicken’s Web Connect import, and QIF to PDF for a printable report.

QIF compared with the other formats

The five bank-download formats
FormatMade forInsideBank’s ID per transactionWhere it lands
QBOQuickBooks Online and DesktopOFX plus Intuit’s bank IDYesBank feed, to review
QFXQuickenOFX plus Intuit’s bank IDYesQuicken’s downloads, to review
OFXXero, Sage, MYOB, GnuCash and most othersTagged text, an open standardYesThe app’s import screen
QIFQuicken, GnuCash, Banktivity, older appsOne field per lineNoStraight into the register
IIFQuickBooks Desktop onlyTab-separated rowsNoStraight into the books

The bank’s ID on each transaction is what lets software skip transactions it already has. Without it, importing the same file twice means doubles.

QIF and IIF have the same weakness: neither carries the bank’s transaction IDs. If your bank offers OFX, QFX or QBO, use that for regular imports and keep QIF for moving old data.

Questions

Is QIF still supported?

Yes, but as a legacy format. Quicken for Windows still imports and exports QIF and, in current versions, takes it into any account type. Quicken’s own help describes QIF as being phased out in favour of its newer QXF format. GnuCash, Banktivity, MoneyWiz and Xero also read QIF.

Can Excel open a QIF file?

It opens as text with one value per line, not as a table. Convert it to Excel or CSV to get one row per transaction with date, payee, memo, category and amount in their own columns.

Does QuickBooks import QIF files?

No. QuickBooks Online takes QBO, QFX, CSV and PDF files, and QuickBooks Desktop takes Web Connect (.qbo) and IIF. Convert the QIF to QBO first.

Why are my dates wrong after importing a QIF?

QIF has no fixed date order. A file written as month/day (the US habit) read as day/month swaps days and months for every date up to the 12th, and may reject the rest. Choose the matching date order when you import, or make the file again in your program’s order.

How do I export a QIF from Quicken?

In Quicken for Windows: File, File Export, QIF File. You choose the account, the date range and what to include, such as transactions, categories and memorized payees.

Should I use QIF or QFX?

For a bank or card account in Quicken, QFX: every transaction has the bank’s ID, so nothing doubles, and you review downloads before accepting them. QIF is better for moving history between programs, categories included.

Sources

Read on 6 October 2026. Software changes its menus often; if a step here no longer matches what you see, please tell us at hello@safebankstatementconverter.com and we will fix it.

  1. Quicken: Importing data from a QIF file (current versions)
  2. Quicken: Export data from Quicken (QIF as a legacy format)
  3. Quicken: How do I import data into Quicken for Windows? (older version notes)
  4. Wikipedia: Quicken Interchange Format
  5. GnuCash manual: Importing transactions from files
  6. Xero Central: About manually importing bank transactions

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