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Convert an MT940 file to QuickBooks (QBO)

In short: An MT940 file is the SWIFT bank statement many European banks offer for download. It is plain text in tagged fields, with decimal commas, D and C marks for money out and in, and a free-text description field whose layout differs by bank. A .qbo file is Intuit's Web Connect format: an OFX bank statement that also carries an Intuit bank identifier (INTU.BID). QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop read it without a column-mapping step. Drop the file below. It is converted on your device and never uploaded.

Before you start: QuickBooks US editions only accept US dollar Web Connect (.qbo) files (QuickBooks Canada takes CAD or USD), and most MT940 statements are in euros or another currency. The converter warns when the file is not in US dollars. For a euro, pound or franc account, use the Xero CSV, the OFX file or the spreadsheet CSV instead (choose it under "To"), or the bank upload of your own QuickBooks edition.

Convert your file

MT940 to QuickBooks (.qbo Web Connect)

A .sta, .940, .mt940 or .txt file from your bank's MT940 (SWIFT) statement download

Your file stays on this device

It is read and converted by this page, inside your browser. Nothing from the file is uploaded, and the converter keeps working offline once the page has loaded.

One email when it ships. The address is used for nothing else. Details.

1. Export the file from your bank

  1. In your online banking open the account and look for Statements, Export or Download.
  2. Choose the MT940 format (some banks call it SWIFT, MT940 structured or .sta).
  3. Pick the period and download.
  4. Upload the file here exactly as downloaded.

Why a raw MT940 export fails in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks and Quicken read Web Connect files, not MT940. The statement has to be rebuilt as a .qbo file, with the account, the dates and a signed amount for each booking.

QuickBooks cannot read a payment app CSV as a .qbo file, and renaming the file does not help. A .qbo file needs the OFX statement structure, an account type that matches the QuickBooks account you upload into, and an Intuit bank identifier.

What is unusual about the MT940 file

  • One file can hold many statements and several accounts. Each converted file holds one account in one currency; you choose which.
  • Amounts use a decimal comma (1234,56) and a D or C mark for money out or in. RD and RC mark reversals.
  • Each entry has a value date and usually a booking date; we use the booking date and keep the value date in the spreadsheet CSV.
  • We check every statement: the opening balance plus the entries must equal the closing balance. If it does not, you get a clear warning.
  • The description field (:86:) comes in several layouts. We read the German ?20 to ?63 subfields and the /NAME/ /REMI/ /EREF/ style used by Dutch banks, and keep anything else as plain text.

What QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop requires

  • OFX 1.0.2 SGML file carrying an Intuit bank id (INTU.BID 3000, a bank Intuit's published list shows as active for Web Connect).
  • QuickBooks US needs US dollars; QuickBooks Canada takes CAD or USD with bank id 2.
  • QuickBooks Online: up to 1,000 transactions and 350 KB per upload (we split bigger files between days where possible).
  • Each transaction id is built from its date, amount, description and platform id, so the same row in two overlapping exports gets the same id.
  • Credit card accounts must be exported with account type "credit card".
  • QuickBooks Desktop only imports Web Connect in its supported (recent) releases.

2. Before and after

Before: the MT940 statement as downloaded

:20:940S150209
:25:NL68RABO0123456789 EUR
:28C:0
:60F:C150206EUR000000005442,89
:61:150209C000000000300,00N541NONREF
NL75INGB0001234567
:86:/ORDP//NAME/Hr J DOE/ADDR/Ieplaan 100 2500AA S GRAVENHAGE
 NL/REMI/bijdrage februari 2014/ISDT/2015-02-09
:62F:C150209EUR000000005742,89

After: what QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop receives

...
<STMTTRN>
<TRNTYPE>CREDIT</TRNTYPE>
<DTPOSTED>20150209120000</DTPOSTED>
<TRNAMT>300.00</TRNAMT>
<FITID>1E063BAD7E836350</FITID>
<NAME>Hr J DOE</NAME>
<MEMO>bijdrage februari 2014</MEMO>
</STMTTRN>
<STMTTRN>
<TRNTYPE>CREDIT</TRNTYPE>
<DTPOSTED>20150216120000</DTPOSTED>
<TRNAMT>300.00</TRNAMT>
<FITID>3026819D882E6A67</FITID>
<NAME>Hr J DOE</NAME>
<MEMO>Maandelijkse bijdrage februari</MEMO>
</STMTTRN>
...

Synthetic sample data that follows the real export layout, not a real account. The "after" output was produced from it by the same converter this page runs.

3. Import the converted file into QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop

  1. QuickBooks Online: go to Transactions > Bank transactions, click Link account (or Update) > Upload from file.
  2. Choose this .qbo file, pick the QuickBooks account to put it in, and click Continue.
  3. QuickBooks Desktop: File > Utilities > Import > Web Connect Files, choose the file, then pick or create the account.
  4. Review the transactions under For review and add or match them.

Questions

How do I know nothing went missing?
Every MT940 statement carries an opening and a closing balance. The converter adds up the bookings of each statement and compares the result with the closing balance. If they do not match, you see a warning that names the statement and the difference.
What does "QuickBooks is unable to verify the financial institution" mean?
It is commonly reported when the bank identifier (INTU.BID) inside a .qbo file is missing or not one QuickBooks recognizes. Files from this converter use 3000, an id listed as active for Web Connect in Intuit's published bank list. Intuit does not document exactly how QuickBooks Online checks the id.
My file has several accounts. What happens?
One file can hold statements for several accounts or currencies. Each converted file holds one account in one currency, and a menu lets you pick which one. Convert each account into its own account in your books.
Should I use .qbo or the QuickBooks Online CSV?
For QuickBooks Desktop, use .qbo: Web Connect is how Desktop brings in bank transactions. For QuickBooks Online either works. The .qbo file skips the column-mapping step, and each transaction carries an id built from its date, amount, description and platform id, so the same row converted from two overlapping exports gets the same id.

Other ways to convert MT940

Other exports to QuickBooks (.qbo Web Connect)

Common import problems