QIF [file import into Q Mac]

James Young

Mac OS10.13.6 Quicken 6.2.2 - My download from Chase Credit card skipped 2 months, I downloaded the transactions for this period and it is in QIF format when I try and upload into Q it says cannot upload must be an empty document? Please assist

NotACPA

Create, temporarily, an otherwise empty account.  Import the QIF into that account then MOVE the transactions to the account where you want them and delete the Temp account.

James Young

Thanks, but how do I import the QIF data into the specific new account set up. So I set up a new CC account just called "blank" lets. Say but I only know how to just do a general import, not to an account.

jacobs

@NotACPA Your answer was for Quicken Windows, but I don't believe there is a way to do what you said in Quicken Mac.

@James Young Quicken Mac generally does not support imports in QIF format. The developers did build a special case for importing from two competing programs (Mint and Banktivity, I believe), but those imports are only for creating a new data file in Quicken. Quicken Mac does not support importing data for a selected account.

I would go back to the Chase website to see if they offer downloads in the format Quicken actually supports: QFX. If so, download a QFX file and you should be able to import it.

If Chase does not offer QFX downloads, then the only option I'm aware of is that there are some third-party software developers who sell QIF to QFX data converters. They do this by spoofing the ID of a Quicken-supported financial institution. I can't vouch for their reliability because I have never purchased one. 

James Young

Thank you both for you comments. I am checking with Chase to see if if they can send a QFX downloads. Hopefully quicken will build the compatibility. Seems really odd they don't support that format for Mac.

jacobs

I won't go into the long history of QIF and QFX, but I'd just say that I wouldn't expect them to add support for QIF. It's an old file format which had a lot of problems because the data wasn't in consistent format; OFX (and the minor Quicken variation on that, QFX) came about to improve on the failings of QIF.

Many, but not all, financial institutions which support Quicken provide QFX downloads. You should be able to log onto their website and see if it's an option in the same place where you found to download the QIF file. 

James Young

Thank you for the assistance. I see that quicken import menu provides the option for "mint CSV". Is it possible to upload a CSV file with credit card transactions?

jacobs

No, sorry, CSV falls into the same situation. The QFX format exists, in part, because financial institutions need to sign up with Quicken -- in some cases because Intuit (who runs the connectivity service) charges a fee, but also so Quicken has access to technical contacts at each financial institution in case there are problems they need to work out. Generic file formats like QIF and CSV don't give them that control (or revenue), and people could cause problems with their data and then lean of Quicken Support to help them out -- so they just don't make it possible to use those file formats.

Again, if you Google CSV to QFX converters, you'll find some third-parties selling software to transform your data into a format Quicken will import. It does this, in part, by using the spoofed ID of a supported Quicken financial institution, so obviously it's not sanctioned by Quicken. But it may be a solution to look into. Or you could probably enter your missing two months of transactions manually -- unless you have many hundreds of them -- in less time than it will take to research, buy, install and import with one of these converters. 

lhossus

I just signed in to my Chase credit card account, called up the Accounts page, and used the website's search to look for "Quicken".

Selecting "How do I download into Quicken", I got: 

First, choose the account you’d like to download from your list of accounts on the left of your accounts page. Then, choose the download icon , which you'll find in the upper right corner, above your transaction history. Follow the prompts on the Download page to choose a file type for your transactions: Spreadsheet (Excel, CSV), Quicken Web Connect (QFX), Quicken (QIF), QuickBooks (IIF), QuickBooks Web Connect (QBO) or Microsoft Money (QIF).

I was able to download a QFX file, and on quick inspection, it looks usable, but I have not tried importing into my data.