Bank Statement File Formats Explained: CSV, OFX, QFX, QBO, QIF
CSV is a plain-text spreadsheet of transactions that opens anywhere. OFX and QFX are bank-data formats used for importing into finance software; QBO is the QuickBooks flavour of OFX; QIF is an older Quicken format. Most tools accept CSV, which makes it the most flexible format to convert a PDF statement into.
The formats, plainly
CSV (comma-separated values): a plain-text spreadsheet with one row per transaction. Opens in Excel and Google Sheets and imports into nearly every accounting tool. The most universal option.
OFX / QFX (Open Financial Exchange): structured formats designed for importing bank and investment data into finance software. QFX is Quicken's variant.
QBO: QuickBooks' flavour of OFX, used for its Web Connect import.
QIF (Quicken Interchange Format): an older text format still accepted by some tools as a fallback.
Which should you use?
If your accounting tool accepts a native bank format (QBO for QuickBooks, OFX/QFX elsewhere) and you have that file, it can carry more structure. But you rarely start with one — you start with a PDF. Converting the PDF to CSV gives you a format every tool accepts, that you can also open and review in a spreadsheet before importing.
FAQ
What's the difference between CSV and OFX?
CSV is a generic spreadsheet you can open and edit anywhere; OFX is a structured bank-data format meant for direct import into finance software. CSV is more universal and human-readable.
Which format does QuickBooks use?
QuickBooks imports CSV as well as its native QBO (Web Connect) format, plus QFX/OFX. CSV is the easiest to produce from a PDF statement.
Keep reading
- How to Convert a PDF Bank Statement to Excel (or CSV)
Three ways to turn a PDF bank statement into an Excel/CSV spreadsheet — copy-paste, Excel's PDF import, and an automatic converter — with the pros and cons of each.
- How to Import Bank Statements into QuickBooks
How to get transactions from a PDF bank statement into QuickBooks Online using a CSV — the format QuickBooks expects, and how to prepare it in seconds.
- How to Categorize Business Expenses for Taxes
A practical guide to categorizing business transactions from your bank statements so tax time is painless — and how to get a pre-categorized CSV to start from.
- How to Convert a Bank Statement PDF to CSV
The fastest way to turn a bank statement PDF into a clean CSV — what a CSV needs to contain, why manual methods break, and how to do it in seconds.