How to get bank transactions from Excel or CSV into QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Desktop has no "import bank CSV" button. There are three routes that work.

1. Convert the CSV to a QBO file

This is the route for most people. A QBO (Web Connect) file goes into the Bank Feeds Center, where QuickBooks suggests payees and accounts, matches transactions you have already entered, and remembers what it has imported.

1. Drop the Excel workbook or the CSV into the Excel to QBO converter. There is no need to save a workbook as CSV first.
2. Check the preview and download the QBO file.
3. In QuickBooks choose File → Utilities → Import → Web Connect Files and select the file.
4. Pick the account, then review the transactions in the Bank Feeds Center.

The QBO import guide covers each step in detail.

2. Batch Enter Transactions

QuickBooks Desktop Accountant and Enterprise include Accountant → Batch Enter Transactions. You choose the transaction type and bank account, arrange the grid's columns to match your spreadsheet, then copy rows from Excel and paste them in. It writes straight to the register, so there is no review step and no duplicate check. It suits accountants catching up a backlog, and it is not available in Pro or Premier.

3. An IIF file

IIF is QuickBooks' own text import format. It can create transactions, but it needs every account and name spelled exactly as in your company file, it bypasses the bank feed review, and a mistake can be awkward to reverse. Use it only if you already know the format.

Which to choose

• Any edition, ongoing monthly imports: QBO file.
• Accountant or Enterprise, one-off bulk entry where you set every account yourself: Batch Enter Transactions.
• Automated exports from another system: IIF, with care.

Whichever you pick, back up the company file first.

Questions and answers

Why can't QuickBooks Desktop import my bank's CSV?

Its bank feeds read only Web Connect (QBO) files or a direct bank connection. The Excel import under File → Utilities is for lists such as customers, vendors and items, not for bank transactions.

My transactions are in an Excel workbook, not a CSV. What do I do?

Drop the .xlsx workbook into the Excel to QBO converter as it is. Only the old .xls format needs saving as .xlsx first.