# Import Journal Entries into QuickBooks Desktop from Excel - Author: SimpleBankConvert (https://simplebankconvert.com) - Published: 2026-10-16 - Category: QuickBooks Desktop imports - Canonical: https://simplebankconvert.com/blog/import-journal-entries-into-quickbooks-desktop > How to import journal entries into QuickBooks Desktop: the Excel layout it expects, the IIF alternative and why bank lines rarely belong in a journal entry. To import journal entries into QuickBooks Desktop, prepare each entry in a spreadsheet with an account, a debit and a credit per line, then bring it in as an IIF file. Intuit says importing journal entries straight from an Excel sheet is not supported. Total debits must equal total credits in every entry. ## Desktop journal entry import: Excel or IIF? IIF is the file format Desktop reads for journal entries. Excel is where you build the entries, but the import tool wants an IIF file, a tab-separated text file with fixed header lines. So the choice is less Excel against IIF than how you get from the sheet to an IIF file. An answer from the QuickBooks team on Intuit's community pages says there are only two methods for importing journal entries directly into QuickBooks Desktop: an IIF file, or a General Journal Entries file from your accountant. It adds that importing journal entries from an Excel sheet is not currently supported. You can read that in [Intuit's Batch Enter thread on importing journal entries](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/other-questions/batch-enter/00/1328750). Intuit's broader import page does list Excel and CSV for general transfers of lists and transactions, so test your own copy before you rule it out. The sections below assume the safe path, IIF. ### What an IIF file is IIF stands for Intuit Interchange Format. [Intuit's IIF overview of the import kit, sample files and headers](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/list-management/iif-overview-import-kit-sample-files-headers/L5CZIpJne_US_en_US) describes it as a tab-separated text file that Desktop uses to import or export lists or transactions. A file has header rows that tell Desktop what kind of data follows, and then the data rows. Because the file is plain text, you can create it from a spreadsheet by saving the sheet as tab-delimited text and renaming the extension to .iif. ### The accountant's file The second method on Intuit's list is a journal entries file from your accountant. If your accountant keeps your adjustments in their own copy of the books, ask them to send the entries as a file rather than retyping them. This route needs nothing from a spreadsheet. ### Third-party tools Intuit's answer also notes that approved third-party apps can bring transactions into a company file. If you import entries often, a tool that reads Excel and writes the IIF for you can save time. Check the vendor's claims on a test copy of your file, since a tool that writes a wrong IIF file posts wrong entries. ### When a journal entry is the right tool Use a journal entry for activity that is not a bank line: depreciation, accruals, a correction between two accounts, opening balances moved from another system, or reclassifying a group of past entries. It is the wrong tool for the monthly bank statement, as a later section explains. ## Laying out the Desktop journal entry spreadsheet The spreadsheet needs one row per journal line: a date, an entry number, an account, an amount and a memo. Every row that belongs to the same entry shares a number and a date. The debits and credits of each entry must add up to the same total before you export. ### The columns to include Build the sheet with these columns: - **Entry number or reference**, shared by every line of one entry. - **Date**, the same on every line of an entry. - **Account**, spelled exactly as in your chart of accounts, including any parent account and colon. - **Debit** and **Credit**, with one of the two filled on each row. - **Memo**, a short note for each line. Intuit's IIF overview says every account in the file must already exist in QuickBooks, and that a missing account will be created as a new bank account. That is a harsh outcome from a spelling mistake, so copy account names from your chart of accounts rather than typing them. ### A sample layout with two balanced entries The example below shows two entries on the sheet. The values are examples only. | Entry | Date | Account | Debit | Credit | Memo | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | JE-101 | 03/31/2026 | Depreciation Expense | 450.00 | | March depreciation | | JE-101 | 03/31/2026 | Accumulated Depreciation | | 450.00 | March depreciation | | JE-102 | 03/31/2026 | Prepaid Insurance | | 200.00 | Insurance used in March | | JE-102 | 03/31/2026 | Insurance Expense | 200.00 | | Insurance used in March | Add each entry's debits and credits. JE-101 has 450.00 on each side, and JE-102 has 200.00 on each side. Both balance. ### The matching IIF lines An IIF file does not use two columns for debit and credit. Each line has a single signed amount, with debits positive and credits negative, and each entry must sum to zero. Intuit's IIF overview says transaction files use header rows starting with !TRNS, !SPL and !ENDTRNS, with each entry closed by an ENDTRNS line. Here is the first entry as IIF lines, with tabs between the fields: ``` !TRNS TRNSTYPE DATE ACCNT AMOUNT MEMO !SPL TRNSTYPE DATE ACCNT AMOUNT MEMO !ENDTRNS TRNS GENERAL JOURNAL 03/31/2026 Depreciation Expense 450.00 March depreciation SPL GENERAL JOURNAL 03/31/2026 Accumulated Depreciation -450.00 March depreciation ENDTRNS ``` The first line of an entry is the TRNS line, which carries the first debit. Each other line is an SPL line. Check the headers against a sample file from Intuit's IIF Import Kit, which includes a general journal sample, because header spelling and placement matter. ### Dates and number formats Write dates the way your computer's regional settings expect. Strip thousands separators from amounts in the IIF file, and use a minus sign, not parentheses, for credits. Save a copy of the sheet before converting, so you can fix a mistake and run the conversion again. ## Which Desktop editions can import journal entries? Intuit's answer on journal entries does not tie the IIF method to a particular edition. IIF import appears in the File > Utilities > Import menu of a standard Desktop company file. Other tools, such as an accountant's journal file, depend on the accountant's version of the software. Check your own menu first. That statement has limits. The Intuit pages cited here do not list which editions include which import tools, so there is no table to quote. The reliable test is quick: open File > Utilities > Import and see whether IIF Files is on the list. If it is, the method is available to you. ### Backups and a test copy [Intuit's guide to importing and exporting data in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/import-export-data-quickbooks-desktop/L9KS42UxP_US_en_US) says an import cannot be undone and asks for a backup before any import. Back up the file, then run the import on a copy of the file before you touch your live books. ### Support is limited Intuit says it does not offer assisted technical support for creating or importing IIF files, and that the import has only limited error checking. In practice this means a wrong file may import without a warning. After the import, open the General Journal report for the date range and compare it to your sheet, entry by entry. ### Online and Desktop differ The Online product has its own journal entry import with its own columns. If you work in both, read [importing journal entries into QuickBooks Online](/blog/import-journal-entries-into-quickbooks-online) rather than assuming the same sheet works in both. ## Journal entry imports that bypass the bank register A journal entry posts to the accounts you name, but it does not create a bank transaction. If you post a month of bank activity as journal entries, the bank account's balance moves while the register shows no cleared items, so reconciliation has nothing to tick off and the Bank Feeds Center has nothing to match. This is the main reason bank lines rarely belong in a journal entry. [Why bank statement lines make poor journal entries](/blog/import-journal-entries-into-quickbooks-online#why-bank-statement-lines-make-poor-journal-entries) explains the problem for QuickBooks Online, and the same logic holds in Desktop. ### What gets skipped - **Payees.** A journal line can name a vendor or customer, but it does not give you the bill-pay and deposit history that a check or deposit does. - **Matching.** An entry made by journal cannot be matched to a later bank line, so the same activity may arrive twice, once from your journal and once from the bank. - **Reconciliation.** The reconciliation screen lists checks and deposits. Journal lines to a bank account can appear there, but they are harder to tick off. - **Check numbers.** A journal entry has no check number, so the register loses the link between a number and a payment. ### The better routes for bank lines For bank activity, bring the lines in as bank transactions. If you have a file, use a Web Connect import, and if you have only a handful of lines, type them in the register. [Manually adding bank transactions in QuickBooks Desktop](/blog/how-to-manually-add-bank-transactions-to-quickbooks-desktop) covers the second case. For a card, [downloading credit card transactions into QuickBooks Desktop](/blog/download-credit-card-transactions-into-quickbooks-desktop) covers the setup. ### Where a statement converter fits If the bank lines start in a PDF, [SimpleBankConvert](/) is being built to produce a file for the bank import instead of a journal, with plain steps for the import. It is in early access, so check the homepage first. ## Fixing an unbalanced Desktop journal entry import An unbalanced entry has debits that do not equal credits. Desktop will not accept a journal entry that does not balance, and in an IIF file the signed amounts of one entry must add to zero. Find the entry that is out, then fix the amount or add the missing line. ### Find the entry that is out Add the debits and the credits for each entry number on your sheet. A pivot table or a SUMIF by entry number does this in seconds. The entry whose two totals differ is the culprit. Fix the entries one at a time, so a single mistake does not hide another. ### Common causes - **A missing line.** One side of the entry was never entered. Add the line. - **A typo in an amount.** 1,050.00 on one side and 1,005.00 on the other differ by 45.00. Compare the digits. - **Rounding.** Amounts copied from a calculation can carry more than two decimals. Round every amount to cents with a formula and then paste values. - **A sign error in the IIF.** A credit written as positive adds to the debits. Check the minus signs. - **Text instead of numbers.** An amount stored as text may be skipped. Look for left-aligned numbers in the sheet. ### After a rejected import Because the import offers only limited error checking, do not assume that a message names the real problem. Fix the sheet, regenerate the IIF file, and import into a test copy again. If part of a file imported before it failed, restore the backup rather than patching the books by hand. ### A final check After a clean import, run the General Journal report for the period. Total the debits and credits on the report and compare them to your sheet. Then look at the accounts that were touched and confirm each balance moved by the amount you expected. When the report agrees with the sheet, the import is done. If you need to understand the file type behind all this, [why IIF files work only in QuickBooks Desktop](/blog/convert-iif-to-qbo#why-iif-files-work-only-in-quickbooks-desktop) covers it.