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See pricingGUIDE · QUICKBOOKS ONLINE IMPORTS
QuickBooks Online imports lists and most transactions from CSV, Excel or Google Sheets under Settings, then Import data, in files of under 1,000 rows. Import the chart of accounts, customers, vendors and products first, then transactions. Bank lines go in through the bank upload. ZeraBooks turns PDFs into those rows; see the bank statement converter.
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WHAT GOES IN WHERE
Intuit lists 18 kinds of data you can import. Here are the ones most businesses need when they move in, with the route and the limit for each, from Intuit’s U.S. help pages checked October 22, 2026.
| Data | Route | Limit per file | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | Settings ⚙ > Import data > Chart of Accounts | Under 1,000 rows | Needs Account Name, Type and Detail Type. Opening balances don’t come with it. |
| Customers, vendors | Settings ⚙ > Import data > Customers or Vendors | 2 MB or 1,000 rows | Names must be unique across customers, vendors and employees. |
| Products and services | Settings ⚙ > Import data > Products and Services | 1,000 rows | Overwriting existing items can’t be undone. |
| Invoices | Settings ⚙ > Import data > Invoices | 1,000 rows, 100 invoices | Not possible once sales tax is set up. No negative lines. |
| Bills | Settings ⚙ > Import data > Bills | Under 1,000 rows | U.S.: Advanced and higher only. Other plans use Upload multiple bills on the Bills page. |
| Journal entries | Settings ⚙ > Import data > Journal Entries | Under 1,000 rows | Turn account numbers off first. Sub-accounts written Parent: Sub. |
| Bank and card lines | Bank transactions > Upload from file | 1,000 lines, 350 KB for CSV | A different screen with its own CSV layout. |
| Checks, deposits, expenses, sales receipts, estimates, purchase orders, time | Settings ⚙ > Import data | Under 1,000 rows | Download the sample file in your account to see which fields are accepted. |
Files can be CSV, XLS, XLSX or Google Sheets. The first row is read as headers and is never imported, so a file without a header row loses its first record. Intuit’s pages are dated between May and October 2026; labels move, so follow what your own Import data screen shows.
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A REAL EXPORT
A real run in ZeraBooks Convert: the fictional Wells Fargo sample statement WellsFargo_Initiate_Business_Checking_2265_2026-09.pdf, already proven to the cent, downloaded QuickBooks-ready as an Excel file. The file that came out, QuickBooks-ready - WellsFargo_Initiate_Business_Checking_2265_2026-09.xlsx, has 18 rows with the columns Date, Description, Amount.
The format, picked in Convert
The file that downloaded
THE ORDER
Transactions point at lists. An invoice names a customer and a product, and a product names an income account. Import a transaction before the thing it points at and the row fails or creates a stray record. Intuit’s order:
Everything else refers to an account by name. A chart of accounts template is a good starting list if you don’t have one.
Before invoices, bills and anything with a Name column.
Only if you use them. Classes and locations must exist before a transaction can be tagged with them.
Each item names its income or expense account, so the accounts go first.
Invoices, bills, journal entries, checks, deposits, expenses and bank lines. Do the opening balance journal entry early so every later report starts from the right figures.
STEP BY STEP
The Import data screen works the same way for each list and transaction type. These steps follow Intuit’s current articles.
Headers in row 1, data on the first sheet, no formulas, merged cells, charts or blank rows. Save it as CSV, XLS or XLSX.
Keep the header row in every part. For invoices, also keep to 100 invoices a file, and keep all the lines of one invoice in the same file.
Select Settings ⚙, then Import data, then the type you are importing, such as Customers or Journal Entries.
Browse to the file, select Next, and match each of your columns to a QuickBooks field. Fields with an asterisk are required.
Rows with problems show in red. Fix them on screen or in the file. Fixing them on screen doesn’t change your spreadsheet.
Run the import, then open the matching list or report and compare its count and total with your file before importing the next part.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Harborline Supply Co. is a fictional wholesale supplier that charges no sales tax. It moves from spreadsheets to QuickBooks Online Plus on October 1, 2026. Here is its import plan, sized to Intuit’s limits:
| Import | Rows | How it splits | Imports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | 64 | One file | 1 |
| Customers | 2,340 | 1,000 + 1,000 + 340 | 3 |
| Vendors | 410 | One file | 1 |
| Products and services | 1,180 | 1,000 + 180 | 2 |
| Open invoices (260 invoices) | 610 lines | 100 + 100 + 60 invoices (235, 240 and 135 lines) | 3 |
| Opening balance journal entry | 18 | One file, AR and AP left out | 1 |
| Open bills (85) | Plus can’t import bills: Upload multiple bills on the Bills page | 0 | |
| Total | 11 |
The check that matters: the 260 open invoices add to 61,750.00, the same as the old receivables balance. Because the invoices create receivables themselves, the opening journal entry leaves Accounts Receivable out. Put it in both places and the balance sheet shows 123,500.00 owed by customers, twice the real figure. The same goes for payables and the open bills.
GOTCHAS
Most failed imports come from a short list of rules that are easy to miss. All of these come from Intuit’s own articles:
Intuit’s U.S. article says that once sales tax is set up in the company, invoices can’t be imported this way. Import open invoices before turning sales tax on, or enter them another way.
An invoice import can’t carry discounts or credit memos as negative charges. Enter those by hand after the import.
A second customer or vendor import doesn’t overwrite the first, and there is no bulk undo for imported contacts. Make the bad records inactive before you try again.
Re-importing products with the overwrite box ticked replaces their details, and Intuit says it can’t be undone. Export the list first as a backup.
Journal entries need sub-accounts written as Parent: Sub, and account numbers switched off during the import, or rows fail with Line Account Invalid.
Turn on Multicurrency before importing, then use a Currency column. Without it, the Currency column has nowhere to go.
BEFORE YOU IMPORT
OTHER ROUTES
Bank and card lines don’t go through Import data. They go through Bank transactions, where you upload a CSV, QBO or OFX file into one account. The CSV has its own rules: three or four columns, up to 1,000 lines and 350 KB. The layout, the date format and each upload error are covered in our QuickBooks CSV import guide.
Spreadsheet Sync is an Excel add-in included with QuickBooks Online Advanced, Intuit Accountant Suite and Intuit Enterprise Suite. It adds and edits records from templates and can sync changes back, which suits repeated batches more than a one-time move. Our guide on how to use QuickBooks Spreadsheet Sync walks through a bill batch.
Third-party import apps from Intuit’s app marketplace handle types and volumes the built-in screen doesn’t, usually for a monthly fee. If you import thousands of transactions every month, compare one against Spreadsheet Sync before paying for both.
WHERE ZERABOOKS FITS
Every import above starts from rows in a spreadsheet. When what you have is a PDF, ZeraBooks Convert reads it and gives you the rows. It doesn’t connect to QuickBooks or send anything to it; you download the file and import it yourself.
BANK AND CARD STATEMENTS
Convert reads bank and card statements and checks every account against the opening and closing balances printed on it before you download. The QuickBooks-ready format has the Date, Description and Amount columns the bank upload takes, with US dates. The full route for statements is in how to import a PDF bank statement into QuickBooks.
Download formats
VENDOR INVOICES
Convert also reads invoice PDFs. Its Bills import format writes Vendor, Bill No., Bill Date, Due Date and each line’s Description, Quantity, Unit Price and Amount, the shape most bill imports take. Map the columns to your plan’s bill import or Spreadsheet Sync template. Convert makes Excel and CSV only, never .qbo or IIF files.
MORE IMPORT GUIDES
Select Settings ⚙, then Import data, and pick the type: Chart of Accounts, Customers, Vendors, Products and Services, Invoices, Journal Entries and others. Bank and card lines are the exception; they are uploaded from Bank transactions instead.
Under 1,000 rows a file for most types. Customer and vendor files also have a 2 MB cap, and invoice imports stop at 100 invoices a file. Split bigger files and keep the header row in each part.
Not through Import data in the U.S. Intuit limits bill imports to Advanced and higher. On other plans, use Upload multiple bills on the Bills page, or Spreadsheet Sync if you are on a plan that includes it.
The usual reason in the U.S. is sales tax: once it is set up in the company, Intuit says invoices can’t be imported this way. Other causes are negative lines, a missing due date or invoice number, or more than 100 invoices in one file.
Not in bulk. Imported customers and vendors have to be made inactive or edited one at a time, and an overwrite of products can’t be reversed. Test with a small file first and export your lists before any overwrite.
No. ZeraBooks Convert turns PDF statements and invoices into Excel or CSV, including a QuickBooks-ready CSV, and checks statements against their printed balances. You import the file into QuickBooks yourself. It doesn’t connect to or sync with QuickBooks.
FREE SETUP + CATCH-UP
ZeraBooks Convert reads statements and invoices and downloads Excel or CSV, including a QuickBooks-ready CSV. 7-day trial, then $79 a month billed annually; see ZeraBooks pricing. Thinking of leaving QuickBooks altogether? See AI bookkeeping in ZeraBooks.