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Format guide

QBO file for QuickBooks: what is inside and how to import it

Short answer

A QBO file is a Web Connect bank statement. It is plain-text OFX 1.02 with a bank ID, INTU.BID, that tells QuickBooks which bank it came from. Ours defaults to 3000. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop both import it.

Last tested

Updated

What the format is

QBO stands for QuickBooks Web Connect. Banks use it to let customers download transactions and open them in QuickBooks. Inside, it is the open OFX format, with a few extra lines for QuickBooks.

Which software takes it

  • QuickBooks Online: Bank transactions, Link account, Upload from file.
  • QuickBooks Desktop: Banking, Bank Feeds, Import Web Connect Files.

Not for Xero, Quicken or Tally. Use OFX, QFX or Tally XML for those.

How our file is laid out

OFXHEADER:100
DATA:OFXSGML
VERSION:102
...
<OFX>
<SIGNONMSGSRSV1>
<SONRS>
...
<FI>
<ORG>Tableaf
<FID>3000
</FI>
<INTU.BID>3000
</SONRS>
...
<STMTTRN>
<TRNTYPE>DEBIT
<DTPOSTED>20261003120000
<TRNAMT>-12.40
<FITID>2026100340usvg1taa8s1
<NAME>CORNER CAFE 0412 SEATTLE WA
</STMTTRN>
...
<LEDGERBAL>
<BALAMT>4242.60
<DTASOF>20261031120000
</LEDGERBAL>
Part of a QBO file, with made-up data
PartWhat we write
INTU.BID and FIDThe same number twice. 3000 unless you type another in the export options; digits only
AccountA bank statement for bank accounts (type checking, savings or money market) or a card statement for credit cards
ACCTIDThe account number you enter, up to 22 letters, digits and hyphens, or 0001 if you leave it empty
DatesYYYYMMDD, with a fixed time of 12:00:00
TRNAMTDot decimals. Money out and card charges are negative
FITIDThe date, then two short hashes of date, amount and description. The same statement always gives the same IDs. Identical rows on one day get numbered apart
NAME and MEMONAME is the description in plain ASCII, cut to 32 characters. When it is longer, the full text, up to 255 characters, goes in MEMO
CHECKNUMOnly for rows with a check number, so QuickBooks can match checks
LEDGERBALThe statement’s closing balance. When it is missing, the opening balance plus the rows
CurrencyThe statement’s currency, or USD if it isn’t known

Accents are dropped and symbols such as £, € and ₹ are written as GBP, EUR and INR, since the file is plain ASCII.

How to import it

QuickBooks Online

  1. 01Open Bank transactions (All apps, Accounting, Bank transactions).
  2. 02Open Link account and choose Upload from file, or Upload transactions if the account isn’t connected.
  3. 03Pick the .qbo file, choose the QuickBooks account, select the transactions and finish.

QuickBooks Desktop

  1. 01Choose Banking, Bank Feeds, Import Web Connect Files.
  2. 02Select the .qbo file and pick the account.
  3. 03Review the transactions in the Bank Feeds Center.

Full steps: QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.

Common errors and fixes

QuickBooks says the bank isn’t supported

It didn’t accept the ID in INTU.BID. Export again with a different Bank ID, or copy the ID from a .qbo your own bank produced.

“QuickBooks is unable to verify the Financial Institution information”

Export a fresh file and don’t open it in another program first. Intuit’s other steps are to try Classic mode and a test company.

The file isn’t a valid Web Connect file

The file was changed after it was made, or its extension is wrong. Use a fresh download.

Duplicates

The FITID makes the same statement import once. Overlapping statements and live bank feeds are the usual cause of repeats.

Converter

PDF to QBO

Converts a text PDF to a QBO file in your browser, checked against the statement’s own balances.

Open PDF to QBOTry a sample statement

Text PDFs are read in your browser and never uploaded. Scanned PDFs are not supported yet; OCR is coming soon.

Questions

What is INTU.BID?
It is the bank ID QuickBooks reads from the file to name the bank during import. We write 3000 by default. You can change it in the export options.
Is a QBO different from an OFX file?
Slightly. A QBO adds the FI block and the INTU.BID line. Everything else, including the transactions, is the same.
Why is the name cut short?
OFX 1.02 allows 32 characters in NAME. QuickBooks shows the NAME, so we keep the full description in MEMO.
How do I know the transactions are right?
Each statement is checked against its printed opening and closing balances before you export. If they don’t match, the review screen shows the difference so you can fix it first.
Is my statement uploaded anywhere?
No. A PDF with real text is read by code running in your browser tab, and the file is built there too. Nothing is sent to our servers. How we handle your data.
Does this work on scanned statements?
Not yet. Tableaf reads PDFs that contain real text, which is what most banks give you when you download a statement. Reading scanned or photographed pages (OCR) is coming soon.
What does it cost?
Five pages a day are free with no account, in every format and with the balance check. Paid plans are on the pricing page.

Sources

Menu names and limits for other companies’ software come from their own help pages below, checked October 2026. Software changes menus often, so if a label differs on your screen, the vendor’s page is the one to follow.

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General information, not accounting or tax advice.