PDF to QIF converter

What QIF is

QIF (Quicken Interchange Format) is a plain-text format from the early days of personal finance software. Each transaction is a short block of lines: a line starting with D for the date, T for the amount, P for the payee, and a ^ to close the record. The first line says what kind of account the file is for: !Type:Bank for a current or savings account, !Type:CCard for a credit card.

Unlike OFX, QIF has no account number and no transaction IDs, and it doesn't say whether dates are day-first or month-first. That makes it simple to read and edit, but it also means the software importing it can't tell which account the file belongs to or whether it has seen a transaction before. You choose the account when you import, and you avoid importing the same months twice.

Convert a PDF to QIF

1. Drop the PDF statement above. Text PDFs are read in your browser; scans go to the AI reader.
2. Check the verdict above the rows. Tallyrows compares each running balance printed on the statement with the transactions it read, and checks opening plus transactions against the closing balance. Anything that doesn't add up is highlighted so you can fix it before exporting.
3. Choose QIF. Credit card statements are written as !Type:CCard with purchases as negative amounts, bank statements as !Type:Bank.

Dates in the file

QIF dates are written month first (MM/DD/YYYY), the order US Quicken used and most QIF readers expect. Your statement can be in any date order: Tallyrows works out day-first or month-first from the statement itself before writing the file. If the software you import into asks for the date format, choose month/day/year.

Where QIF is still read

• GnuCash imports QIF from its File → Import menu, and asks you to map the file to an account.
• Moneydance imports QIF as well as OFX.
• Sage Accounting and FreeAgent list QIF among the bank statement files they accept, though both also take OFX, which carries account and transaction IDs.

Check the import screen of your own software for the formats it lists; if OFX is there, the OFX file is the better choice because it carries IDs that help prevent duplicates.

Limitations

• Quicken for Windows' own help says its QIF import isn't available for checking, savings or credit card accounts, only for cash, asset and liability accounts. For a current account in Quicken for Windows, QIF isn't the route.
• QIF has no transaction IDs, so importing the same statement twice will usually create duplicates. Import each statement once.
• The file holds what the statement prints: date, amount and payee. There are no categories or memo splits.

Your first statement is free (every format, up to 30 pages, no sign-up). After that a credit pack is 10 statements for £9 or 50 for £29, with no subscription.

Related: PDF to OFX converter · Convert a PDF bank statement to CSV · Credit card statement to Excel