QFX to OFX Converter: Do You Even Need One?

Most people do not need a QFX to OFX converter. A QFX file is an OFX file with a few Intuit lines added, so renaming .qfx to .ofx is often enough for a program that reads OFX. If that program refuses the renamed file, delete the Intuit lines in a text editor. A converter only saves you that small edit.

Is a QFX file already an OFX file underneath?

Yes. A QFX file uses the Open Financial Exchange layout, the same tags for the account, the date range, each transaction and the closing balance. Intuit adds a small number of its own lines, mainly an INTU.BID bank identifier in the sign-on section, so Quicken can match the file to a bank. Everything below those lines is standard OFX.

The header at the very top is worth a look, because it tells you which generation of OFX the file follows. The OFX 2.2 specification shows both styles. Older files open with plain lines such as OFXHEADER:100 and DATA:OFXSGML. Newer files open with an XML declaration and <?OFX OFXHEADER="200" VERSION="220" ...?>, and the specification requires end tags on every element. Open your file to see which one you have. For a picky reader that difference can matter more than the Intuit lines do, and the differences between SGML and XML OFX files covers it in full.

The practical upshot: a "conversion" from QFX to OFX is not a rewrite of your data. The dates, amounts, payees and transaction IDs are already in the form an OFX reader expects.

Renaming .qfx to .ofx: when the new extension is enough

A rename is enough when the receiving program checks the extension and then reads standard OFX tags while skipping ones it does not know. Trying is the quickest way to find out. Copy the file, change the copy's extension to .ofx and try the import. If the transactions appear with the right dates and signs, you are done.

Rename, edit or convert

The rows are a guide, not a promise about any particular program. Some programs give no error at all and simply import nothing, so always count what arrived.

Never rename the only copy. Keep the bank's original QFX untouched, because it is your record of what the bank sent.

Which Intuit lines in a QFX file might an OFX reader refuse?

A strict OFX reader may refuse tags that are not in the standard. In a QFX file those are the lines whose names start with INTU., usually INTU.BID and sometimes INTU.USERID. Removing them leaves a plain OFX file. Do it in a text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit in plain text mode, never in a word processor.

Here is an example of the sign-on block from a QFX file, with made-up values:

<SONRS>
<STATUS><CODE>0<SEVERITY>INFO</STATUS>
<DTSERVER>20260430083000
<LANGUAGE>ENG
<FI><ORG>Example Credit Union<FID>4410</FI>
<INTU.BID>4410
<INTU.USERID>exampleuser
</SONRS>

After the edit, the two Intuit lines are gone and nothing else has moved:

<SONRS>
<STATUS><CODE>0<SEVERITY>INFO</STATUS>
<DTSERVER>20260430083000
<LANGUAGE>ENG
<FI><ORG>Example Credit Union<FID>4410</FI>
</SONRS>

Leave the <FI> block in place. It is part of the standard and some readers use it to label the account. Leave every STMTTRN block alone too. If an edit is touching transaction lines, it is doing more than a QFX to OFX change.

An OFX to QFX converter and Quicken's Web Connect import

Going the other way is harder. Quicken's guide to importing data into Quicken for Windows says Quicken cannot import OFX files, and that bank downloads come in as Web Connect files with a .QFX extension. So adding Intuit lines and renaming an OFX is the only route, and it does not always succeed.

The sticking point is the bank identifier line. A converter can write one in, but the result is a home-made file, and the reasons Quicken rejects a home-made QFX apply to it in full. If the file is meant for a program that reads QIF instead, converting OFX to QIF may be the simpler path. If you are holding a QIF and want an open format, a QIF to OFX converter is the piece you need.

Testing a renamed QFX in the program that reads OFX

Test the renamed or edited file in an empty account before it meets your real register. Count the transactions, compare the total with the QFX original, and check that a purchase shows as money out. The OFX standard signs each transaction amount by its effect on the account, so a debit should be negative.

A short routine:

1. Make a new, empty account in the receiving program.
2. Import the .ofx copy into it.
3. Compare the count of transactions with the count of <STMTTRN> blocks in the original.
4. Compare the ending balance with the LEDGERBAL amount near the end of the file.
5. Delete the test account, then import into the real one.

If your aim is a readable record rather than an import, a bank file is not the best format to share. Turning a QBO file into a printable report shows how to get a clean page out of a bank download. And if the transactions already sit in QuickBooks Desktop, exporting the bank register from QuickBooks Desktop gives you a spreadsheet without touching QFX or OFX at all.

For statements that only exist as PDFs, SimpleBankConvert is being built to produce CSV and QBO files from them; the homepage explains what it will handle.