Free sample IIF file for QuickBooks Desktop (bank and credit card)

Need an IIF file to test a QuickBooks Desktop import, check a converter's output, or just see what a working one looks like? These are free to download with no sign-up: a fictional month of business checking and a fictional credit card statement, each as a ready-to-import .IIF with known totals, so you can tell at a glance whether the import worked. Below, the file explained line by line, the fields and sign rules, and how to import it safely.

1. What is an IIF file?

IIF (Intuit Interchange Format) is a plain-text, tab-separated file that QuickBooks Desktop imports lists and transactions from. Intuit lists checks, deposits and credit card transactions among the transactions it can import, and the menu is File → Utilities → Import → IIF Files on Windows (File → Import → From IIF Files on Mac). To open one in QuickBooks, Excel or a text editor, see how to open an .IIF file. A few things to know before you start:

• Desktop only. QuickBooks Online doesn't import IIF. For Online, use a bank CSV or a .QBO Web Connect file; QBO vs IIF vs QIF compares the three.
• Import only, little checking. You can import transactions but not export them, and Intuit warns that IIF import does limited error checking: a wrong file can import incorrectly with no error. That's why a sample with known totals helps.
• Same country version. Intuit says you can't move IIF files between countries' versions, for example from US QuickBooks to Canadian.
• No support from Intuit. Intuit doesn't offer technical support for IIF import, so a small test file is the safest way to learn.

Since May 31, 2026 many Desktop users who lost bank feeds use IIF or .QBO files instead; importing bank transactions into QuickBooks Desktop without bank feeds compares the options.

2. The sample IIF files

Both are made by the same exporter Utilly uses for customers' statements, run on two fictional statements, so they're exactly what a real conversion produces.

The same transactions also come as .QBO, .QIF, .OFX and CSV files on sample bank statement files. Intuit's own IIF Import Kit has sample files for other transaction types (invoices, bills, checks, deposits, journal entries, transfers and more) plus a practice company backup; use it when you're importing those, and these when you're importing a statement.

3. The bank IIF, line by line

This is the start and the end of the bank file as plain text. The gaps are tab characters; the empty field in each line is NAME.

!TRNS	TRNSTYPE	DATE	ACCNT	NAME	AMOUNT	MEMO
!SPL	TRNSTYPE	DATE	ACCNT	NAME	AMOUNT	MEMO
!ENDTRNS
TRNS	CHECK	09/01/2026	Checking		-6420.18	ACH DEBIT GUSTO PAYROLL 0912
SPL	CHECK	09/01/2026	Uncategorized Expense		6420.18	ACH DEBIT GUSTO PAYROLL 0912
ENDTRNS
TRNS	DEPOSIT	09/01/2026	Checking		3184.27	STRIPE TRANSFER ST-K2M8Q4
SPL	DEPOSIT	09/01/2026	Uncategorized Income		-3184.27	STRIPE TRANSFER ST-K2M8Q4
ENDTRNS
…
TRNS	CHECK	09/30/2026	Checking		-15.00	MONTHLY SERVICE FEE
SPL	CHECK	09/30/2026	Uncategorized Expense		15.00	MONTHLY SERVICE FEE
ENDTRNS
TRNS	DEPOSIT	09/30/2026	Checking		3.21	INTEREST PAYMENT
SPL	DEPOSIT	09/30/2026	Uncategorized Income		-3.21	INTEREST PAYMENT
ENDTRNS

• Lines 1–3 are headers (they start with !). They name the columns for every TRNS line, every SPL line and the end marker. They come once, at the top.
• Each transaction is three lines. TRNS is the bank side, SPL is the other side of the entry, ENDTRNS closes it. A missing ENDTRNS runs the next transaction into this one.
• The amounts net to zero. Gusto payroll is −6,420.18 on Checking and +6,420.18 on Uncategorized Expense. A deposit is the reverse: +3,184.27 on Checking, −3,184.27 on Uncategorized Income.
• NAME is left blank on purpose. Put raw bank text there and QuickBooks adds each new description to your name lists.
• MEMO keeps the bank's description so you can find and categorize the transaction later.
• Dates are MM/DD/YYYY, the order US QuickBooks expects. The file uses Windows line endings and has no quotes.

4. IIF fields and sign rules

Need more than one SPL, for example to split a payment between two expense accounts? Add more SPL lines before ENDTRNS whose amounts add up to the opposite of the TRNS amount. QuickBooks Desktop IIF import errors has a good and a deliberately broken file side by side.

5. The credit card IIF

The card file has the same shape, with card transaction types and the card account on the TRNS line:

!TRNS	TRNSTYPE	DATE	ACCNT	NAME	AMOUNT	MEMO
!SPL	TRNSTYPE	DATE	ACCNT	NAME	AMOUNT	MEMO
!ENDTRNS
TRNS	CCARD REFUND	09/05/2026	Credit Card		1500.00	PAYMENT THANK YOU - WEB
SPL	CCARD REFUND	09/05/2026	Uncategorized Income		-1500.00	PAYMENT THANK YOU - WEB
ENDTRNS
TRNS	CCARD REFUND	09/14/2026	Credit Card		42.18	OFFICE DEPOT RETURN AUSTIN TX
SPL	CCARD REFUND	09/14/2026	Uncategorized Income		-42.18	OFFICE DEPOT RETURN AUSTIN TX
ENDTRNS
TRNS	CREDIT CARD	09/01/2026	Credit Card		-72.00	GOOGLE *WORKSPACE CC@GOOGLE.COM
SPL	CREDIT CARD	09/01/2026	Uncategorized Expense		72.00	GOOGLE *WORKSPACE CC@GOOGLE.COM
ENDTRNS

• A charge is negative on the card account (−72.00 for Google Workspace): it's money out, and it raises what you owe. A payment or return is positive and lowers it.
• Credits come first because the statement prints its Payments and Credits section before Purchases. QuickBooks sorts the register by date, so the order in the file doesn't matter.
• The last charge is interest: PURCHASE INTEREST CHARGE, −21.36 on 09/30/2026.

If your card statements show purchases as positive numbers, that's normal: a statement is written from the bank's side. Sample credit card statement PDF explains why the signs flip.

6. Account names: change these before a real import

The sample uses generic names so it imports into any test company. For your own books, change them first, either with the account field in the CSV to IIF converter or with find and replace in a text editor:

• Checking and Credit Card must be the exact names of the bank and card accounts in your chart of accounts. If a name doesn't match, QuickBooks can add a new account with that name instead of using yours, and the transactions land there.
• Uncategorized Expense and Uncategorized Income are holding accounts: you reclassify each transaction later, the way you'd categorize a bank feed. If you already know the category, put the real expense or income account on the SPL line.
• The card payment (PAYMENT THANK YOU - WEB, 1,500.00) is a transfer from your bank account, not income. In real books, put your checking account on that SPL line, and leave the matching withdrawal out of the bank file, or the payment is counted twice.

7. Importing the sample into QuickBooks Desktop

1. Use a test company. Open a QuickBooks sample company, or a copy of your file, never your live books for a first try. Intuit says to back up the company file before importing an IIF.
2. Sign in as the admin and switch to single-user mode if you're in multi-user mode.
3. Go to File → Utilities → Import → IIF Files (Mac: File → Import → From IIF Files) and pick the .iif file.
4. In QuickBooks Desktop 2019 and later, the improved import tool scans the file before posting, shows how many transactions imported and how many failed, and saves the failed ones to a new .IIF with the errors described. How the improved IIF import works walks through it.
5. Open the Checking (or Credit Card) register and check it against the totals below.

8. Checking the import against the known totals

An IIF holds transactions only, not the statement's opening balance. Imported into a new account with no balance, the Checking register ends at 1,022.16, not 13,440.52; enter the 12,418.36 beginning balance first and it ends at 13,440.52, matching the statement.

Imported it twice by mistake? Duplicate transactions after an import covers finding and removing them. Reconciling to the statement afterwards should leave a difference of 0.00; if it doesn't, a beginning balance that's off is the usual cause.

9. Editing an IIF in Excel without breaking it

Intuit's own steps open an IIF in Excel through the Text Import Wizard, then save it and choose Don't Save when Excel asks a second time on exit, so it stays a tab-separated .iif. Watch for:

• Leading zeros (in check numbers, for example): Intuit notes Excel drops them unless you format the cells as Custom first.
• Dates and amounts reformatted by Excel, such as 9/1/2026 turning into 1/9/2026 on a day-first computer or 6420.18 gaining a thousands separator.
• Quotes and commas added by "save as CSV": an IIF is tab-separated, not comma-separated.

After any edit, drop the file on the free IIF file checker. It runs in your browser, so the file never leaves your computer, and it flags headers, ENDTRNS, blocks that don't add up to zero, bad dates and tabs in memos before QuickBooks sees them.

10. What the sample is not for

It's for learning the format and testing imports and software. The bank, cards, accounts and transactions are made up (Example Community Bank and Sample Customer LLC don't exist), and the statements they come from say SAMPLE STATEMENT, FICTIONAL DATA FOR DEMONSTRATION ONLY. Don't import them into books you file taxes or reports from, and don't use them as a record of anything.

11. An IIF from your own statement

Have a CSV or Excel download from your bank? CSV to IIF writes the .IIF with your account name, free up to 100 rows. Have a Quicken .qif? QIF to IIF. Already have an .IIF and need a spreadsheet? The IIF to CSV converter or the IIF to Excel converter keeps one row per transaction with the SPL account as Category. Need that IIF as a QuickBooks Web Connect .qbo for Online (or a supported Desktop version)? The IIF to QBO converter does that. Only have PDF statements, or months your bank no longer offers as downloads? Upload the PDF to bank statement to QuickBooks: the preview is free with no sign-up and checks that the rows add up to the statement's ending balance before you download an .IIF or .QBO; your first 3 full statements are free with your email, then downloading uses 1 credit ($9 for 5, no subscription) or Pro at $19 a month.

Sources: Intuit, Export, import, and edit IIF files (updated 8/4/2026), https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/export-import-edit-iif-files/L56LT9Z0Q_US_en_US ; IIF Overview: import kit, sample files, and headers, https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/list-management/iif-overview-import-kit-sample-files-headers/L5CZIpJne_US_en_US . Checked November 1, 2026. Intuit updates these pages; if a screen differs, follow the current article for your version.

FAQ

Related guides

• How to open an .IIF file (QuickBooks Desktop, Excel or no QuickBooks)
• QuickBooks Desktop IIF import errors (File not imported, Review now, and how to fix them)
• How to import bank transactions into QuickBooks Desktop after bank feeds stopped (2026)
• Free sample bank statement files: PDF, CSV, QBO, IIF, QIF and Xero CSV
• QBO vs IIF vs QIF: which file QuickBooks and Quicken actually need
• Free sample bank statement PDF (fictional, with known totals)

Related tools

• Bank reconciliation checker: compare a bank statement to your books and list missing, duplicate and mismatched transactions.
• Receipt to CSV: turn PDF or photo receipts and invoices into CSV, Excel, or QuickBooks and Xero bill imports.