What Can You Import Into QuickBooks? Data Types, File Formats and Tools

Short answer: QuickBooks Online natively imports bank transactions (CSV, QBO, QFX, OFX), customers, vendors, chart of accounts, products and services, invoices and bills, all from spreadsheets. QuickBooks Desktop imports bank transactions only as .qbo Web Connect files, never as raw CSV, plus lists and transactions through IIF. Everything else, bulk journal entries, bulk edits, bulk deletes, needs a third-party importer.

The reason this question matters is money. Import tools cost between $13 and $61 a month, or $155 to $299 up front, and most people buy one to solve a job QuickBooks already does for free. Knowing which side of the line your data falls on is worth the five minutes.

Can QuickBooks Online import a CSV of bank transactions?

Yes. QuickBooks Online accepts a bank CSV in one of two layouts, three columns (Date, Description, Amount) or four columns (Date, Description, Credit, Debit). The file must be 350 KB or smaller and 1,000 rows or fewer per upload. It also accepts .qbo, .qfx and .ofx files, which is the better route because those carry transaction IDs QuickBooks uses to block duplicate imports.

Can QuickBooks Desktop import a CSV of bank transactions?

No. This trips up more people than any other item on this page. QuickBooks Desktop has no path for importing raw bank CSV files, in any version or year. Its bank feed accepts .qbo Web Connect files through Banking, Bank Feeds, Import Web Connect File. If your bank gives you a CSV, you have to convert it to .qbo first. That single limitation is the reason most Desktop users go looking for an import tool at all.

What file formats can QuickBooks import?

QuickBooks Online reads CSV and Excel for lists and records, and CSV, QBO, QFX and OFX for bank transactions. QuickBooks Desktop reads QBO for bank feeds, IIF for lists and transactions, QBJ for general journal entries, and Excel or CSV for a limited set of lists. Desktop cannot read a bank CSV and QuickBooks Online cannot read IIF, which is the pair of gaps most import tools exist to fill.

Do I need Transaction Pro or SaasAnt to import into QuickBooks?

Only for jobs QuickBooks cannot do itself: bulk invoices or bills into Desktop, bulk journal entries, or mass editing and deleting of records that already exist. If your import is bank or card activity, you do not need one. Convert the export to .qbo and QuickBooks' own bank feed takes it, with native matching and duplicate protection that an API import does not give you.

What is the difference between an importer and a converter?

An importer authorizes against your company file and writes records into it directly through Intuit's API or the Desktop SDK. A converter transforms your file and hands it back, and you decide whether to import it. Importers cover more record types. Converters keep your books untouched until you are satisfied with the output, and a file that turns out to be wrong simply never gets uploaded.

How many transactions can I import into QuickBooks at once?

For a bank CSV upload into QuickBooks Online, the limit is 1,000 rows and 350 KB per file, whichever you hit first. A year of a busy checking account will usually exceed both, so split the export by month or quarter. A .qbo file is not bound by the CSV row limit, which is another reason to convert rather than upload a raw spreadsheet when you are doing catch up work.

Can I import journal entries into QuickBooks Online?

Not natively in bulk. QuickBooks Online has no built-in importer for journal entries, so a batch of them means either keying them in one at a time or buying a tool that writes through the API. QuickBooks Desktop can take them through a .QBJ general journal entries file or through IIF. This is a legitimate reason to pay for an import suite.

Can I import invoices into QuickBooks from Excel?

In QuickBooks Online, yes: there is a native invoice import that reads a CSV or Excel file, and it handles the common case well enough. In QuickBooks Desktop there is no native spreadsheet import for invoices, so you need IIF or a third-party importer. If you are choosing a tool mainly for invoices, that Desktop gap is the thing you are actually buying.

What cannot be imported into QuickBooks at all?

Reconciliation history, audit log entries, attachments in bulk, and the internal links between transactions (which payment settled which invoice) do not import. Neither do bulk edits or deletes, in either product, without a third-party tool. If a migration plan depends on carrying reconciliation status across, budget for redoing the reconciliations rather than importing them.

Which import route is safest?

The bank feed, when the data is bank data. A .qbo file goes through the same review queue as a live bank connection, so every transaction lands in For review rather than straight into the register, QuickBooks matches it against what is already there, and the transaction IDs inside the file stop the same import running twice. Nothing posts until you approve it.

Once the data is in and the accounts reconcile, the reporting layer is a separate problem entirely, and that is the point where a clean export becomes useful again: a reconciled trial balance is all you need to produce a board-ready P&L and balance sheet without rebuilding anything by hand.

What is the practical rule?

If it is a bank or credit card line, convert it and use the bank feed. If it is a list, use QuickBooks' native list import. If it is an invoice or bill in QuickBooks Online, use the native import. Everything else, bulk journal entries, bulk deletes, invoices into Desktop, is where a paid importer earns its money. Buying one to import bank lines is paying for a road that already exists.

To convert a bank export, upload it to the CSV to QBO converter. For the format landscape underneath all of this, see QuickBooks file extensions. To weigh the paid tools honestly, read the Transaction Pro alternative and Zed Axis alternative comparisons, or the full best CSV to QBO converter roundup.