IIF to QIF: Preserve Cash Totals While Reviewing Split Allocations

Convert supported IIF cash transactions to a basic QIF file with explicit split-allocation warnings. This guide follows the actual controls and output of CSV2QBO, so you can distinguish a completed file conversion from a verified import.

Prepare the right source

Provide a complete IIF transaction export and select its date order. The parser checks TRNS, SPL and ENDTRNS structure and requires each accounting transaction to balance.

Work with a copy covering one account and a known date range. An export from a bank or finance application is preferable to a manually reconstructed table because it gives you an original to compare. Never rename a PDF or a company backup to a different extension and expect its contents to become transaction data.

Convert and review

1. Open the IIF to QIF Converter. Use Download sample file or the sample button first if you want to inspect the workflow with fictional data.
2. Choose the original iif file. The converter reads it locally. Keep an untouched copy for comparing counts and values later.
3. Review the parsed transactions. For QIF or IIF, set the source date order explicitly; OFX-family files already contain structured dates.
4. Inspect the preview and resolve any errors. Read and acknowledge format limitations when they appear, then download the qif output.
5. Compare the downloaded file with the original before importing it into your destination software.

What changes in this format

QIF output contains one record for each main TRNS. It does not carry the original chart-of-accounts allocation, multiple SPL lines, invoice relationships or account types into a full company migration.

Worked example: verify the meaning, not just the extension

The same -100.00 check with two offset SPL rows becomes one QIF payment for -100.00. This preserves the cash movement but not the original +60.00 and +40.00 account allocations. Export IIF to CSV first if a reviewer needs to approve those allocations before the simplified QIF is created.

Set up the destination

For QIF output, check that the target application accepts this format for the intended account type. The exporter keeps basic transactions rather than reconstructing an entire accounting system. Import a small date range into a test account, compare it, and avoid importing the same batch twice.

Common mistakes to avoid

When you need to audit the allocations first, use IIF to CSV, which exposes both sides. Only continue to QIF after accepting that transaction totals are retained while accounting detail is reduced.

An invalid date or amount blocks export rather than quietly removing a transaction. If an error names a record or source row, correct that record in a copy of the source and load it again. A date that is valid in two different orders still needs your explicit choice. Check a date whose day is greater than twelve to confirm the source convention when such a row is available.

A final comparison before import

Compare the first and last transaction dates, the number of main transactions, the total money in and the total money out. Inspect at least one refund or reversal when the source has one. A matching net total alone is insufficient: two errors with opposite signs can cancel each other. Keep the source and output together until the destination has been checked.

The local file limit is 5 MB, and supported financial inputs are bounded to 50,000 records. The destination software may allow less. Files remain in your browser; no account is needed, and no conversion file is stored on CSV2QBO servers.

Use IIF to QIF Converter or explore the other converters. For a related workflow, inspect IIF entries as CSV.