Why turn a bank file into a spreadsheet
QFX, OFX and QBO files are made for Quicken and QuickBooks to read, not for people. If you open one in Excel you see a column of tags instead of a table. Converting it gives you something you can sort, filter, total and share.
- Preparing figures for taxes or for your accountant.
- Checking a download before importing it, so you know exactly what will land in your books.
- Moving transactions into software that only takes CSV files.
- Building a budget or a spending summary from months of downloads.
What the spreadsheet contains
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Date | The posted date of each transaction, in the format you choose. |
| Description | The payee name from the bank. |
| Memo | Extra detail the bank included, such as a reference or the rest of a long description. |
| Amount | Negative for money out, positive for money in. You can switch to separate money out and money in columns. |
| Type | The bank's label, such as DEBIT, CREDIT, CHECK, FEE or INT. |
| Check number | Filled in for checks when the bank provides it. |
| Transaction ID | The bank's unique ID for the line, useful for spotting duplicates. |
| Account | The account number from the file, handy when you combine several accounts. |
In the Excel download, dates are real Excel dates and amounts are numbers, so formulas and pivot tables work straight away.
How to convert
- Download a QFX, OFX or QBO file from online banking, or find one you saved earlier.
- Drop it into step 1. To combine months or accounts, drop several files at once.
- Pick the date format, the amount layout and the columns you want in step 2.
- Download an Excel (.xlsx) or CSV file in step 3.
Combining several downloads
When you add more than one file, every transaction goes into one sheet, sorted by date. Monthly downloads often overlap by a few days; lines with the same transaction ID in the same account are kept only once, so the overlap does not double your totals. Transactions without a bank ID are always kept.
Excel or CSV?
Choose Excel if you will work in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets: dates and amounts arrive as proper values, and the header row is frozen. Choose CSV to import into another program. The CSV is saved as UTF-8 with a marker that tells Excel to show accented characters correctly. If your copy of Excel expects semicolons, use the Excel download instead of the CSV.
Files it can read
- OFX version 1 (the plain-text format most banks use) and OFX version 2 (the XML format).
- QFX files from Quicken downloads and QBO files from QuickBooks downloads.
- Bank and credit card statements, including files with more than one account.
Investment statements, which list buys, sells and holdings, are not supported.
Questions
Does the converter change my original file?
No. It only reads the file. Your original download stays exactly as it was.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The file is read by your browser and the spreadsheet is created on your device.
Can I open a QBO file in Excel without converting it?
Excel will open it as text, but you will see lines of tags rather than a table of transactions. Converting it first is much quicker.
Can I go the other way, from a spreadsheet to QBO?
Yes. Use the CSV to QBO, CSV to QFX or CSV to OFX converter.
Why do some descriptions look cut short?
Many banks limit the payee name to 32 characters and put the rest in the memo. Keep the Memo column switched on to see the full text.
Check for yourself that nothing is uploaded
- Open this page, then turn off Wi-Fi or switch on airplane mode.
- Drop your file into the tool and convert it. It still works, because the conversion runs in your browser, not on a server.
- For a closer look, open your browser's developer tools and watch the Network tab while you choose a file. No request carries your file anywhere.
The tools work in current versions of Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox, on computers and phones.
Last reviewed November 11, 2026. Found a bank export this tool reads wrongly? Tell us about the layout and we will look at it.