QBO to Excel converter

What’s in a .qbo file

QBO here means QuickBooks Web Connect — not QuickBooks Online. A .qbo file is an OFX statement with an Intuit bank ID (INTU.BID) added, so QuickBooks knows which bank it came from. Banks provide it as the “QuickBooks” or “Web Connect” download. QuickBooks imports it without any column mapping, but it gives you no chance to look at the transactions first, and no other program opens it.

Why convert QBO to Excel

• Check before importing. See every transaction, the date range and the totals before they reach your books — useful after a bank feed has been broken and you’re filling a gap.
• QuickBooks won’t accept the file. When QuickBooks Desktop rejects a .qbo with a bank or account error, converting it shows that the transactions themselves are fine. See importing Web Connect files into QuickBooks Desktop for the fixes.
• Records and audits. Keep a readable copy of what was imported, or send it to someone who doesn’t use QuickBooks.

How to convert QBO to Excel or CSV

1. Drop the .qbo file on the converter, or try the sample.
2. Compare the money in and money out with your bank statement.
3. Download the Excel workbook. For QBO to CSV, choose Clean CSV (all columns) in step 3 first.

Reading the result

Each row is one Web Connect transaction. The Description combines the payee and memo, Amount is signed (negative for money out) and the separate Debit and Credit columns hold the same values as positive numbers. Dates and amounts are real Excel values. The FITIDs that QuickBooks uses to skip repeats aren’t written to the sheet; if you need to edit the transactions and import them again, convert the edited sheet back with Excel to QBO.

Common issues

• Confusing QBO with QuickBooks Online. A QuickBooks Online company file can’t be downloaded as .qbo; this page is for bank Web Connect files.
• Two accounts in one download. Their transactions are listed together; download them one at a time to separate them.
• Different results from the bank’s website. Web Connect downloads normally contain posted transactions only, so recent pending items won’t be there.

Checking a QBO file against your statement

Before importing, put the workbook beside the bank statement for the same period. The number of rows should equal the number of transactions on the statement, and the totals of the Debit and Credit columns should match its money out and money in. If the statement shows an opening and closing balance, the opening balance plus the Amount total should give the closing balance. A difference usually means the download covers a slightly different date range — compare the first and last dates.

Frequently asked questions