# Which Bank Download Format to Choose for QuickBooks - Author: SimpleBankConvert (https://simplebankconvert.com) - Published: 2026-10-17 - Category: Downloads from your bank - Canonical: https://simplebankconvert.com/blog/which-bank-download-format-to-choose > Which bank download format to choose: QuickBooks Web Connect, Quicken, CSV, Excel or OFX, and the one that suits QuickBooks Online, Desktop or Xero. Which bank download format to choose depends on your software. For QuickBooks Online or Desktop, choose QuickBooks Web Connect (.qbo). For Xero, choose OFX, with CSV as the back-up. Pick Quicken (.qfx) only for Quicken, and pick CSV or Excel when you want to check or edit the lines in a spreadsheet before importing. ## Bank download formats side by side A bank download format is the type of file your bank builds from your transaction history. Most US banks list several on one form, each named after the program it was made for. They hold much the same data, a date, a description and an amount per line, but packaged so different software can read them. | Option on the bank's list (labels vary) | File ending | QuickBooks Online | QuickBooks Desktop | Xero | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | QuickBooks Web Connect | .qbo | Yes, suggested | Yes, the only one | Yes | | Quicken | .qfx | Yes | No | Yes | | Microsoft Money or OFX | .ofx | Yes | No | Yes, recommended | | Spreadsheet or CSV | .csv | Yes, with column mapping | No, through Web Connect | Yes, with column mapping | | Excel | .xls or .xlsx | Save as CSV first | No | Save as CSV first | | QuickBooks IIF | .iif | No | Desktop list import, not Web Connect | No | The QuickBooks Online column comes from Intuit's guide to [manually uploading transactions in QuickBooks Online](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/import-transactions/manually-upload-transactions-quickbooks-online/L0rE9OXBz_US_en_US). The Xero column comes from Xero's article [about manually importing bank transactions](https://central.xero.com/s/article/About-manually-importing-bank-statements-US). The Desktop column comes from Intuit's article on [downloading bank feed transactions in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/bank-feeds/download-bank-feed-transactions-quickbooks-desktop/L8o0Aw9VM_US_en_US). ### Three questions that settle it 1. **Which program will open the file?** That alone rules out most of the list. 2. **Do you need to look at or change the lines first?** If yes, a CSV is easier to work with. 3. **Do the dates you need fall inside the bank's download window?** If not, no format will help, and you need the PDF statements. ### Three example choices These people are examples, not customers: - **A freelance designer on QuickBooks Online** downloads last month's checking activity. She picks the QuickBooks option, uploads the .qbo file and reviews the lines. No spreadsheet is needed. - **A café owner on QuickBooks Desktop** sees only Quicken and CSV on his bank's list for one account. Neither goes through Web Connect, so he converts the CSV to a QBO file, or asks the bank whether the QuickBooks option is offered for that account type. - **A consultant on Xero** has a card that mixes business and personal spending. She takes the CSV, deletes the personal lines in a spreadsheet, saves it and imports it. For her business checking account she uses OFX and imports it untouched. Each one starts from the program, then asks whether the lines need editing. That order is the whole method. ## Which bank download format works best in QuickBooks Online? QuickBooks Web Connect, the .qbo file, is the best bank download format for QuickBooks Online. Intuit suggests it for uploads, and it needs no column matching. QuickBooks Online also accepts QFX, OFX, CSV and TXT files through the same upload, so a second-best choice is always close at hand. Why the QBO file wins: - **No mapping step.** The date, amount and description are already in labelled fields. - **Signs are built in.** Money in and money out are marked in the file, so deposits rarely land as withdrawals. - **Fewer clean-up rules.** A CSV must meet Intuit's column rules: three columns (date, description, amount) or four (date, description, credit, debit), with one date format throughout. Any file must also fit Intuit's limits of 350 KB and 1,000 lines per upload. A long date range on a busy account can break that, so split big downloads by month. Pick QFX or OFX only when the bank doesn't offer QBO. They upload the same way. If none of the three is on the list, use CSV and plan a few minutes for mapping columns. ## Which bank download format does QuickBooks Desktop need? QuickBooks Desktop needs the QuickBooks Web Connect format, a file ending in .qbo. Intuit says Web Connect accepts only .qbo files, and that a bank's QFX or QIF exports won't import. That makes the choice for Desktop users simple, and it makes picking the wrong option on the bank's list more costly. The QuickBooks and Quicken options often sit next to each other on a bank's form, with similar names. Check the file ending after the download. If it says .qfx, go back and download again with the QuickBooks option. Desktop has one other rule worth knowing. Intuit says you can't download the same transactions into the same company file twice, and the bank would need to reopen them for a fresh download. So choose the date range with care the first time, starting the day after the last transaction already in the register. A CSV has no direct path into a Desktop bank register through Web Connect. People with CSV files and Desktop usually convert the CSV to QBO first, or enter the lines another way. ## The bank download format to choose for Xero For Xero, choose the OFX format when the bank offers it. Xero's help article says it recommends OFX where possible, because an OFX file imports without any changes to the bank's export. Xero also accepts QFX, QIF, CSV and QuickBooks files, and lists PDF among its import options as well. So Xero is the most flexible of the three programs. A few points still shape the choice: - **OFX or QFX:** the quickest route, with no editing. - **The QuickBooks file:** accepted too, so if you already downloaded a .qbo for another reason, it can serve. - **CSV:** a dependable back-up, though you may need to tidy the columns before importing. Xero adds that if your bank can't export in any of these formats, you can build your own CSV in a spreadsheet. That is the route for data you have only on paper or in a statement. ## Excel and CSV bank downloads: when a spreadsheet beats a QBO file A spreadsheet download, CSV or Excel, beats a QBO file when you need to see or change the lines before they reach your books. You can sort them, total them against the statement, delete personal charges on a mixed-use card, or split one download into two accounts. A QBO file is built to be imported, not edited. Good reasons to pick the spreadsheet: - You want to check a month's total against the statement before importing. - The download holds a few lines that belong in a different account. - You are sending the data to someone, such as a bookkeeper or a lender, who works in Excel. - The bank offers nothing else. An Excel file (.xls or .xlsx) needs one extra step. Neither QuickBooks Online's bank upload nor Xero's statement import lists Excel files, so open it and save it as CSV before uploading. Phone downloads are a common way to end up with the wrong format, or none. Many bank apps only hand out PDFs. [Downloading bank transactions on iPhone](/blog/download-bank-transactions-on-iphone) covers using the desktop site on your phone and where the file saves. ## The IIF bank download option and why to skip it An IIF option on a bank's download list is one to skip for bank transactions. IIF is the Intuit Interchange Format, a QuickBooks Desktop format for importing lists and transactions through a separate import tool, not through Web Connect. QuickBooks Online and Xero don't read it at all. Few banks still offer IIF, but some business banking platforms do. Choosing it causes problems that are hard to spot: - The IIF import can create new accounts when the names in the file don't match your chart of accounts exactly. - Transactions arrive already posted, with no review list where you approve or match each line. - Duplicates are harder to catch, because there is no Web Connect matching step. If you already tried an IIF file and got an error report, see [reading an IIF import error in QuickBooks Desktop](/blog/iif-import-error-in-quickbooks-desktop), which explains the report and the header rows behind most failures. Otherwise, go back to the bank and download the Web Connect file. ## When no bank download format covers the dates you need No bank download format can reach past the bank's export window. Banks keep a limited stretch of recent activity available for download, often far shorter than the run of monthly statements. For months older than that window, the PDF statements are the source, whatever the format list says. Statements are kept in a separate part of online banking, and banks hold them for years. The guide to [downloading bank statements from online banking](/blog/download-bank-statements-from-online-banking) shows where banks keep them and how to request older ones. QuickBooks Online's manual upload and Xero's import can both read a PDF statement, while QuickBooks Desktop needs it turned into a .qbo file first. Converting it into one of the formats above also lets you check the lines before import. SimpleBankConvert is being built for that step, turning a digital PDF statement into a QBO or CSV file for QuickBooks Online, or a CSV for Xero. It's in early access, and the [homepage](/) shows a sample. Choose a cutover date when you combine sources. Use converted statements before it and bank downloads from it onward, and you will never import the same day twice.