What is a QFX file, and how do you open one?

QFX in one paragraph

Quicken’s help defines QFX as Quicken File eXchange, a file many bank websites use to send transactions, balances and other data to Quicken. The Quicken troubleshooting page also calls it Quicken Financial Exchange. Inside, a QFX file has the same tagged structure as an OFX file: a sign-on block, the account, one block per transaction with its date, signed amount, description and bank transaction ID, and a balance. What makes it a QFX is that it comes from a bank that supports Quicken Web Connect, and Quicken validates it online when you import it.

Why Quicken sometimes rejects a QFX file

Quicken’s Web Connect troubleshooting page says Web Connect files need access to Quicken’s online services to validate the file and the transactions. Intuit’s OFX partner pages say Web Connect is tied to a contracted Intuit Branding ID (BID) for the bank. Together, that means a QFX file is only as good as the bank’s current Web Connect setup.

• The bank no longer supports Web Connect: Quicken says the file then cannot be authorized when importing.
• Your Quicken subscription has expired, or you use an unsupported version: Quicken says you cannot download a Web Connect file.
• The file is QIF, not QFX: Quicken says only QFX works with Web Connect for checking, savings, credit card, brokerage and retirement accounts.
• Windows opens .qfx with the wrong program: Quicken’s page explains how to reset the file association to Quicken.
• An OL-221 error: Quicken notes this can be caused by your computer’s date and time settings.
• The file came from a conversion tool: Quicken says it does not support QFX files created by third-party conversion software, such as PDF to QFX converters.

QFX versus OFX

Both carry the same kind of data in the same tagged layout. The difference is who can use them. An .ofx file is the open format any program can read. A .qfx file is meant for Quicken, which validates it against the bank’s Web Connect service. Changing a file’s extension from .ofx to .qfx does not give it that validation.

Quicken recommends Direct Connect or Express Web Connect over QFX where your bank offers them, and says QFX is also useful for downloading older transactions.

Opening a QFX file outside Quicken

You do not need Quicken to read a QFX file. The table on this page lists the programs whose documentation we checked.

• Xero imports QFX statements, but its help recommends OFX when your bank offers it.
• QuickBooks Online’s upload guidelines say you can upload Quicken QFX files as well as QBO and CSV files.
• GnuCash’s manual lists OFX and QFX together as an import format.
• Any text editor shows the raw contents, which is enough to check the dates, the account number and whether the file is empty.

Converting a QFX file to CSV

Because a QFX file uses OFX tags, any tool that reads OFX can usually read it. The free OFX to CSV converter on this site accepts .qfx files and does the conversion in your browser, so the file is not uploaded. You get one row per transaction with the date, amount, description and transaction ID, ready for Excel or Google Sheets.

If you only have a PDF statement

Quicken says it does not support QFX files created by third-party conversion software, such as PDF to QFX converters. For Quicken, ask your bank for a Web Connect download of the period. If you are importing into QuickBooks Online or Xero instead, Fulla Ledger can turn a reviewed PDF statement into an OFX or CSV file. Fulla does not create QFX files.