How-To Guide

Updated: 2025-01-15 6 min read

How to Format CSV Files for QuickBooks Desktop Import (2025)

Our CSV to IIF converter expects specific columns in your spreadsheet. This guide shows you how to format your CSV file for successful conversion, including column names, date formats, and amount handling.

Required Columns

Column Requirements

Column	Required	Description	Example
`Date`	Yes	Transaction date	01/15/2025
`Amount`	Yes	Transaction amount	-50.00
`Payee`	Recommended	Vendor/customer name	Amazon
`Account`	Recommended	Expense/income account	Office Supplies
`Memo`	Optional	Transaction description	Order #12345
`CheckNum`	Optional	Check or reference number	1001
`Class`	Optional	QuickBooks class	Operations

Column Name Flexibility We auto-detect common variations: - Date: "Trans Date", "Transaction Date", "Posting Date" - Amount: "Transaction Amount", "Debit/Credit" - Payee: "Description", "Vendor", "Name", "Merchant"

Date Format

We accept most common date formats:

Supported Date Formats

Format	Example	Status
MM/DD/YYYY	01/15/2025	Recommended
M/D/YYYY	1/15/2025	Supported
YYYY-MM-DD	2025-01-15	Supported
DD/MM/YYYY	15/01/2025	May be ambiguous
Jan 15, 2025	Jan 15, 2025	Supported

Ambiguous Dates Dates like "01/02/2025" are ambiguous — is it January 2 or February 1? We assume US format (MM/DD/YYYY). For clarity, use YYYY-MM-DD or include month names.

Amount Format

Single Amount Column

If your CSV has one Amount column, use:

Negative for payments/debits: -50.00
Positive for deposits/credits: 1500.00

Amount Examples

Transaction	Amount Value	Result
Paid $50 to Amazon	-50.00	CHECK transaction
Received $1500 deposit	1500.00	DEPOSIT transaction
Refund from vendor	25.00	DEPOSIT transaction
Bank fee	-15.00	CHECK transaction

Separate Debit/Credit Columns Some bank exports have separate Debit and Credit columns. Combine them into a single Amount column: - Debits become negative - Credits become positive

Formatting Rules

No currency symbols: ✓ 50.00 ✗ $50.00
No thousands separators: ✓ 1500.00 ✗ 1,500.00
Use period for decimal: ✓ 50.00 ✗ 50,00

Account Column

The Account column specifies which expense or income account to use. If you don't have this column, we'll use default accounts.

Account Examples

Payee	Account	Result
Amazon	Office Supplies	Expense to Office Supplies
Electric Co	Utilities:Electric	Expense to subaccount
Customer ABC	Sales Revenue	Income to Sales Revenue
(empty)	(empty)	Uses default account

Subaccounts Use colons for subaccounts: "Utilities:Electric" The parent account must exist in QuickBooks.

Example CSV File

Properly Formatted CSV

Date,Amount,Payee,Account,Memo,CheckNum
01/15/2025,-50.00,Amazon,Office Supplies,Order #12345,
01/16/2025,1500.00,Payroll Deposit,Income:Salary,January salary,
01/17/2025,-200.00,Rent Payment,Housing:Rent,January rent,1001
01/18/2025,-35.50,Grocery Store,Food:Groceries,,
01/19/2025,-75.00,Electric Company,Utilities:Electric,January electric,

Key Points - Header row with column names - Negative amounts for payments - Positive amounts for deposits - Empty cells are OK for optional columns

Common CSV Fixes

Remove currency symbols

Find and replace $ with nothing in your spreadsheet.

Tip: In Excel: Ctrl+H, find '$', replace with blank

Remove thousands separators

Replace commas in numbers with nothing.

Warning: Be careful not to remove commas between columns

Combine Debit/Credit columns

Create a new Amount column with formula.

If Debit is column C and Credit is column D:

=IF(C2>0, -C2, D2)

Fix date format

Ensure dates are in MM/DD/YYYY or similar format.

Tip: Format column as Text to preserve date format on export

Save as CSV

Export as CSV (Comma delimited) format.

Bank-Specific Notes

Chase

Chase CSV exports have columns: Transaction Date, Post Date, Description, Category, Type, Amount. Rename:

"Transaction Date" → "Date"
"Description" → "Payee"
"Category" → "Account" (optional)

Bank of America

BofA exports may have separate "Amount" column or "Debit"/"Credit" columns. Combine if needed.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo CSV typically works directly. Check date format matches your QuickBooks region.

American Express

Amex charges appear as positive (you owe), credits as negative. You may need to flip signs.

CSV ready to convert?

Convert to QuickBooks Desktop

Frequently Asked Questions

We auto-detect common variations like 'Trans Date', 'Transaction Amount', 'Description'. If your columns are very different, rename the headers to Date, Amount, Payee, etc.

No, it's optional. Without it, we'll use default expense/income accounts. You can assign accounts in QuickBooks after import.

Create a single Amount column. Make debits negative and credits positive. Formula: =IF(Debit>0, -Debit, Credit)

Yes! We accept .xlsx and .xls files directly. Same column requirements apply.

Remove them before converting. Use find/replace in your spreadsheet to remove $ or other currency symbols.

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