Bank Statement CSV vs OFX vs Excel: Which Format to Use

Updated 3 November 2026

The short answer to bank statement CSV vs OFX: use CSV (or Excel) when a person or a spreadsheet will work with the data, and OFX when accounting or personal-finance software will import it. CSV is flexible and readable but leaves dates, signs and columns open to interpretation, while OFX follows a defined structure that software can read without any mapping. Here’s how all the common formats compare, including XLSX, QFX, QBO and JSON.

CSV: the universal table

CSV (comma-separated values) is a plain-text file in which each line is a row and commas separate the columns:

Date,Description,Amount,Balance
2026-10-03,Office supplies,-42.50,1957.50
2026-10-05,Client payment,1200.00,3157.50

Strengths: almost every spreadsheet, accounting package and programming language can read it, and you can open it in a text editor to see exactly what’s inside.

Weaknesses: CSV has no rules about content. The file doesn’t say whether 03/10/2026 is 3 October or 10 March, whether a negative number means money in or money out, or which column holds what. That’s why accounting software asks you to map columns when you import one. Other quirks to watch for:

• Some regions use semicolons instead of commas, because the comma is their decimal separator.
• Symbols such as £ or € can turn into garbled characters if the file’s text encoding isn’t what the program expects.
• Opening a CSV in Excel can reformat dates and long numbers automatically, and saving it again keeps those changes.

Best for: importing into accounting software that supports CSV, loading into Google Sheets, and moving data between tools. See bank statement to CSV.

XLSX: the working spreadsheet

XLSX is Excel’s native format. Unlike CSV, it stores proper data types (a date is a date, a number is a number), along with formatting, column widths, formulas and multiple sheets.

Strengths: ready to sort, filter, total and analyse straight away, with no risk of Excel reinterpreting values when you open it.

Weaknesses: many accounting packages don’t accept XLSX for bank imports and ask for CSV or OFX instead. It’s also awkward for scripts to work with.

Best for: analysis, reconciliation, budgeting, sending to an accountant, or keeping a tidy record. See bank statement to Excel.

OFX: built for financial software

OFX (Open Financial Exchange) is a standard for exchanging financial data, created in the late 1990s by a group of financial software companies. Early versions use an SGML-based syntax and later versions use XML, but either way an OFX statement describes:

• the account, including its type and usually an identifier;
• the statement period and closing balance;
• each transaction’s date, amount, type and description;
• typically a unique ID for each transaction.

Strengths: because the structure is defined, importing software knows exactly which value is the date and which is the amount, so there’s no column mapping and no sign ambiguity. Many programs use the transaction IDs to recognise transactions they’ve already imported.

Weaknesses: it isn’t designed for people to read or edit, and changing an OFX file by hand is easy to get wrong. Make corrections before you export, not afterwards.

Best for: importing into accounting or personal-finance software that accepts OFX.

QFX and QBO: Intuit’s variants

QFX and QBO are OFX files with extra Intuit-specific information. Quicken uses QFX, and QuickBooks uses QBO (also known as Web Connect). Some Intuit products check those extra details, such as a bank identifier, and may reject files without them. Others, including QuickBooks Online’s manual upload, also accept plain OFX.

The converter on this site exports standard OFX. It doesn’t create QFX or QBO files, so if your software only accepts those, check its help centre for alternatives.

JSON: for developers

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) stores data as structured text that programs can parse easily, for example a list of transactions in which each one has named fields for its date, description and amount.

Strengths: clear field names, numbers kept separate from text, and built-in support in most programming languages and databases.

Weaknesses: not convenient to open in a spreadsheet, and accounting software won’t import it.

Best for: scripts, custom dashboards, databases and web apps. See bank statement to JSON.

Comparison at a glance

Which software wants which?

Import options change over time and can vary by version and region, so always check your software’s import screen. As a general guide:

• QuickBooks Online: CSV in a 3- or 4-column layout, or OFX, QFX and QBO files. See our QuickBooks import guide.
• QuickBooks Desktop: generally expects QBO (Web Connect) files.
• Xero: CSV with at least a date and a signed amount, or OFX. See our Xero import guide.
• Quicken: mainly QFX; support for other formats depends on the version and platform.
• Other bookkeeping apps: CSV is close to universal, and many also accept OFX.
• Excel and Google Sheets: XLSX or CSV, or paste from the clipboard.
• Your own code: JSON or CSV.

How to choose

Ask yourself three questions:

1. Who or what reads the file next? A person or a spreadsheet: XLSX or CSV. Accounting software: OFX or CSV. A program: JSON.
2. Do you need to edit the data first? If so, work in CSV or XLSX, make your changes, then import. If the data is already right, OFX skips the mapping step.
3. What does the destination accept? Check its import screen. If it lists OFX, that’s usually the smoothest route; if it only lists CSV, match the columns it expects.

With our free bank statement converter you don’t have to decide up front. Review the transactions once in the editable preview, then export Excel, CSV, JSON or OFX as you need them, or copy to the clipboard for Google Sheets.

Key takeaways

• CSV is universal and editable but ambiguous about dates and signs, so expect to map columns on import.
• XLSX is best for working with data in Excel, not for importing into accounting software.
• OFX is structured for financial software and imports without mapping; QFX and QBO are Intuit’s stricter variants.
• JSON is for code and databases.
• Choose based on what reads the file next and what that software accepts.

Frequently asked questions

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