How to Import a .QBO (Web Connect) File into QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Desktop imports bank transactions from Web Connect files — the .qbo downloads banks offer as “QuickBooks” or “Web Connect”. The import is quick when it works, and frustrating when QuickBooks refuses the file. This guide covers the steps, the account-linking screen, and the bank ID problem behind most “bank not supported” errors.

Before you start

• Back up the company file. Imports are hard to undo in bulk.
• Note the last date already in QuickBooks for the account, and download from the following day to avoid duplicates.
• Check the file is a real .qbo. Open it in a text editor: it should start with OFXHEADER and contain an INTU.BID line.

Import a Web Connect file: step by step

1. In QuickBooks Desktop, choose File → Utilities → Import → Web Connect Files. (Double-clicking a .qbo file while QuickBooks is open does the same.)
2. Select the .qbo file and click Open.
3. QuickBooks asks which account to use. Choose Use an existing QuickBooks account and pick the bank or credit card account — or create a new one if this is the first import for the account.
4. Click Continue. QuickBooks reads the file and reports that the data has been read.
5. Open the Bank Feeds Center (Banking → Bank Feeds → Bank Feeds Center), select the account and review the downloaded transactions: match, add or create rules for each.

Menu names vary a little between QuickBooks Desktop editions and years, and between the Express and Classic (Advanced) bank feed modes; the steps are the same in outline.

“Bank not supported” and the Intuit bank ID

Every .qbo file names its bank with an Intuit bank ID in the INTU.BID tag. QuickBooks Desktop checks that ID against Intuit’s list of banks that support Web Connect. If the ID isn’t on the list, or the bank has stopped supporting Web Connect, Desktop refuses the file — typically with a message that it can’t verify the financial institution, or that the bank isn’t supported for this connection. The transactions inside are fine; it’s the label that’s rejected.

What you can do:

• Download again from the bank in the QuickBooks format, in case the bank’s ID has changed.
• Use a file with a supported bank ID. When you make a .qbo with CSV to QBO or PDF to QBO, step 3 has an Intuit bank ID field (3000 by default). If Desktop rejects one ID, you can create the file again with another ID that your copy of QuickBooks accepts, and link it to your existing account during import.
• Import a CSV-based route instead. If Web Connect won’t work at all, convert the transactions to a spreadsheet and enter them through the method your Desktop edition supports, or ask your accountant which import tool your firm uses.

Changing the bank ID only changes the label QuickBooks checks; it doesn’t alter the transactions. Keep using the same QuickBooks account for every import, so the history stays in one register.

Other Web Connect problems

• The file is linked to the wrong account. If an earlier import was linked to the wrong QuickBooks account, edit the account’s online services settings to deactivate the link, then import again and choose the right account.
• Duplicates. QuickBooks uses each transaction’s ID (FITID) to skip repeats, but files from different sources can carry different IDs for the same transaction. Don’t import overlapping periods; if you have, see how to fix duplicate bank transactions.
• Credit card imported as a bank account. Charges then appear as deposits. Make sure a card file is linked to a credit card account; when creating a .qbo with our converters, choose Credit card as the account type.
• Dates in the wrong period. Web Connect dates are unambiguous, so this usually means the file covers a different range than you expected. Check the first and last dates before importing — QBO to Excel shows them.
• Nothing happens on double-click. Open QuickBooks first, then use File → Utilities → Import → Web Connect Files.

QuickBooks Online is different

QuickBooks Online also accepts .qbo files, under Transactions → Bank transactions → Upload transactions, and it doesn’t apply Desktop’s bank ID check in the same way. It also accepts 3- or 4-column CSV files. If you use Online, see importing bank transactions into QuickBooks Online.

Make a .qbo file when your bank doesn’t offer one

• From a CSV or Excel export: CSV to QBO or Excel to QBO.
• From a PDF statement: PDF to QBO.

Each runs in your browser, so the statement isn’t uploaded. Check the money in and money out against your statement before importing.