QIF file: what it is, a sample and how to import one

What is inside a QIF file

Quicken describes the Quicken Interchange Format (QIF) as an open file format for moving financial data between programs. A QIF file is plain text in ASCII, so any text editor opens it. Each file begins with a header that tells the reader what kind of account follows; after that come the transaction records.

Intuit’s own documentation gives two layout rules: each item of a transaction sits on its own line, and each transaction ends with a symbol that marks the end of the entry. That symbol is a line holding only a caret (^). When Quicken exports a register it adds the header line at the top. These are the headers the documentation lists:

An annotated bank sample

This file is synthetic: the payees are invented and the dates are fixed. The highlighted lines are one complete transaction, from its first item to the caret that ends it.

1!Type:Bank2D10/ 4/263T-52.304PExample Hardware5MSynthetic sample6^7D10/ 6/268T1,200.009PExample Payroll10^

The documentation also lists C for the cleared status, A for the address and L for the category or transfer account, and split lines that use S, E and $. In Intuit’s own example a check for 1,000.00 is written T-1,000.00: the amount is negative when money leaves the account, and a comma may separate thousands.

An investment record

Investment accounts use a different set of codes, which is why the header matters. The same documentation lists N for the action, Y for the security, I for the price, Q for the quantity and T for the amount, alongside the date, cleared status and memo.

1!Type:Invst2D10/ 4/263NBuy4YEXMP5I10.0006Q57T50.008MSynthetic sample9^

Read it as: on the date, the action is a buy, of the security EXMP, at a price of 10.000 for a quantity of 5, for a total amount of 50.00. The arithmetic check is quantity times price, which is 50.00 here; any fee would be a separate item.

Dates and amounts: the habits to check

• Dates are written the way Intuit’s examples write them. Those examples use month, day and a two-digit year, with a space padding a one-digit day, as in D6/ 1/94. Nothing in the file says whether 06/01 is June or January, and a two-digit year needs a rule of its own. When you create or edit a QIF file, confirm how the program that will read it interprets the date, and test with a day greater than 12.
• Signs follow the account. Money out is negative in a bank or card record. An investment record is different: the codes describe an action, so the amount is read together with the action and not on its own.
• Keep it plain. Quicken’s help describes QIF as ASCII text. Characters outside ASCII are the first thing to check when a payee name comes out garbled.

How to import one

Quicken’s help for Windows says older versions could not import every account type and that current versions can import any account type from a QIF file. Its steps are:

1. Back up your Quicken data before importing.
2. Open the File menu and choose QIF File.
3. In the import window, choose the account to import into and browse to the file.
4. Pick the items to include (transactions, account list, category list). They should match what the file contains.
5. Import, then review the transactions in the register: categories, reconciliation and the account they landed in.

Other programs have their own import menus, so this page does not name them. Intuit’s upload guidelines for QuickBooks Online list QBO, QFX, OFX, TXT and CSV files; QIF is not among the file types they name.

Common errors

• A missing caret. Intuit’s documentation says each transaction must end with the end-of-entry symbol. Without it, two transactions can be read as one.
• Several items on one line. Each item must be on a separate line.
• The wrong header for the data. A bank-style record under an investment header, or the reverse, uses the wrong set of codes.
• Ambiguous dates. See above: a day of 12 or less can be read two ways.
• Re-importing the same file. Quicken’s help asks you to review the imported transactions afterwards. The documentation cited here describes no transaction identifier in the format, so a second import is a matter for the program’s own duplicate handling.

Common questions

Is a QIF file the same as an OFX or QFX file?

No. QIF is line-based text with one-letter codes. OFX is tagged text with versions 1.x and 2.x (see the OFX page), and QFX is the file Quicken uses for Web Connect downloads (see the QFX page).

Can QIF hold stock trades?

Yes. An investment record carries an action, a security, a price, a quantity and an amount. Whether your broker offers a QIF download is up to the broker.

Does Quicken still import QIF?

Quicken’s help for Windows documents QIF import and its steps. For other editions, check that edition’s own help, because import support differs between editions.

What Statementizer does with this

Related formats

• OFX file: what it is, a sample, and how to read one
• QFX file: what it is, where it comes from and how to import one
• IIF file for QuickBooks Desktop: structure, a sample and limits
• QBO file: what it is and the limits for uploading bank files to QuickBooks Online

Sources

Header lines, letter codes and the end-of-entry rule come from Intuit’s Quicken documentation. Intuit’s original page no longer exists, so the copy hosted by the W3C is cited. The import steps come from Quicken’s own help page, and the list of file types QuickBooks Online accepts comes from Intuit’s upload guidelines.

• Importing data from a QIF fileQuicken Help · Primary source · accessed 2026-10-18
• What is the Quicken interchange format (QIF)? (copy of Intuit’s Quicken documentation, hosted by the W3C)Intuit, via W3C · Primary source · accessed 2026-10-18
• Manually upload transactions into QuickBooks OnlineIntuit QuickBooks Help · Primary source · accessed 2026-10-18

Verified on 2026-10-18 by the Statementizer Team.