How to import a QIF file from Quicken
QIF (Quicken Interchange Format) is the file format Quicken and many older desktop finance apps use to export data. If you are moving to TallyMint, a QIF import is the fastest way to bring your transaction history with you. This guide shows you how.
What a QIF file contains
A QIF file is a plain-text export of your transactions. For each transaction it typically includes the date, payee, amount, memo, check number, category, and any splits or transfers. It does not include some app-specific extras, but for a transaction register, it covers what matters.
Step 1: Export a QIF from Quicken
In Quicken for Windows, use the QIF export option (under the File menu, then export, depending on your version). Choose the account or accounts you want to export and save the QIF file somewhere you can find it, like your Desktop.
Step 2: Open TallyMint and choose import
In TallyMint, open the import option and select your QIF file. TallyMint reads the file and prepares to bring the transactions into the account you choose.
Step 3: Review how categories map
TallyMint matches each transaction's category to your existing TallyMint categories where the names line up. If a category in the QIF does not match one in TallyMint, that transaction comes in uncategorized, so nothing is dropped, and you can categorize it afterward. Splits and transfers are preserved during the import.
Step 4: Confirm the import
Run the import. It completes in seconds. Open the account and check that the transaction count and ending balance look right compared to the source. Because the QIF export does not touch your original file, you can re-export and re-import if something looks off.
Other formats TallyMint imports
QIF is not your only option. TallyMint also imports:
- OFX / OFC: the format most banks use for downloadable transaction files.
- CSV: useful for spreadsheets or exports from apps that do not offer QIF.
Between QIF, OFX, and CSV, you can bring history in from almost any source.
A note on Quicken's QIF quirks
Real-world QIF files from Quicken sometimes have small formatting quirks, especially around transfers between accounts. TallyMint's importer is built to handle these, including pairing the two sides of a transfer where possible. If a transfer comes in as a one-sided entry, you can link it to its counterpart afterward.