<OFX>
 <SIGNONMSGSRSV1>
 <SONRS>
 <STATUS>
 <CODE>0</CODE>
 <SEVERITY>INFO</SEVERITY>
 </STATUS>
 </SONRS>
 </SIGNONMSGSRSV1>
 <BANKMSGSRSV1>
 <STMTTRNRS>
 <STMTRS>
 <CURDEF>USD</CURDEF>
 <BANKACCTFROM>
 <BANKID>123456789</BANKID>
 <ACCTID>9876543210</ACCTID>
 <ACCTTYPE>CHECKING</ACCTTYPE>
 </BANKACCTFROM>
 </STMTRS>
 </STMTTRNRS>
 </BANKMSGSRSV1>
</OFX>

HomeConvertersConvert Bank Statement to OFX

Industry Standard Format7,000+ Banks

Convert Bank Statement to OFX

Transform any bank statement PDF into OFX (Open Financial Exchange) format—the industry-standard XML-based format used by 7,000+ financial institutions worldwide. Compatible with QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, and all major accounting software.

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TL;DR: Everything You Need to Know

What is OFX?

Open Financial Exchange—an XML-based format that's the industry standard for exchanging financial data between banks and software.

Why OFX?

Prevents duplicates with unique transaction IDs, used by 7,000+ banks, richer metadata than CSV, automatic bank feed compatibility.

How Zera Books Helps

Upload any PDF bank statement → Zera AI extracts transactions → Download OFX file → Import to your accounting software.

Compatible Software

QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, Quicken, Microsoft Money, GnuCash, Moneydance, and more.

What is OFX Format?

OFX (Open Financial Exchange) is an XML-based data format designed for exchanging financial information between customers, financial institutions, and accounting software. Announced by Microsoft, Intuit, and CheckFree on January 16, 1997, OFX has become the de facto industry standard for financial data exchange.

The format evolved from SGML-based versions (1.0-1.6) to XML-based versions in later releases, leveraging widely accepted open standards for data formatting, connectivity (TCP/IP, HTTP), and transport-level security. Today, OFX is actively deployed at over 7,000 financial institutions worldwide.

What makes OFX special? Unlike simple CSV files, OFX files include unique transaction IDs that prevent duplicate imports, rich metadata (payee names, memo fields, check numbers, account types), and structured hierarchies that handle complex financial data like investment portfolios and multi-account transfers.

Why OFX is the Industry Standard

Universal Adoption

Deployed at 7,000+ financial institutions globally. Banks, credit unions, investment firms, and payment processors all support OFX for data export.

Prevents Duplicates

Each transaction includes a unique FITID (Financial Institution Transaction ID). When you re-import the same OFX file, accounting software automatically skips duplicate transactions—no manual checking required.

Rich Metadata

OFX files contain payee names, memo fields, check numbers, account types, balance information, and date/time stamps. CSV files often lack this contextual data, forcing manual entry.

Automatic Bank Feeds

OFX powers real-time bank feed connections in QuickBooks Online, Xero, and other cloud accounting platforms. The format's standardization enables automated synchronization without manual imports.

OFX vs QBO vs CSV: Which Format is Best?

Feature	OFX	QBO	CSV
Format Type	XML-based	XML-based (Intuit)	Plain text
Unique Transaction IDs	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No
Prevents Duplicates	✅ Automatic	✅ Automatic	❌ Manual checking
Rich Metadata	✅ Full details	✅ Full details	⚠️ Limited
Software Compatibility	✅ Universal	⚠️ QuickBooks only	✅ Universal
Column Mapping Required	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Investment Data	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No

Bottom line: OFX offers universal compatibility with duplicate prevention. QBO is identical to OFX but QuickBooks-specific. CSV works everywhere but requires manual column mapping and lacks duplicate detection. For accounting workflows, OFX is the optimal choice.

Which Accounting Software Accepts OFX?

OFX is universally supported across desktop and cloud-based accounting platforms. Here's a comprehensive list of compatible software:

QuickBooks Online

Direct OFX import via File → Import Data

QuickBooks Desktop

Supports .qbo extension (OFX format)

Xero

OFX bank feed import and reconciliation

Sage 50/100/300

Native OFX import support

Microsoft Money

Built-in OFX import functionality

Quicken

Primary format for transaction imports

GnuCash

Open-source, full OFX support (Mac/Windows/Linux)

Moneydance

Cross-platform personal finance software

KMyMoney

Linux-based finance manager

Apple Numbers

macOS spreadsheet application

Need to convert statements for QuickBooks specifically? Check out our guide on converting bank statements to QBO format.

Benefits of OFX Format

Prevents Duplicate Imports

Unique transaction IDs (FITID) ensure you never accidentally import the same transaction twice—critical for accurate bookkeeping.

Industry Standard Reliability

Used by 7,000+ financial institutions worldwide. Banks trust OFX for secure, standardized data exchange.

Automatic Bank Feeds

Powers real-time synchronization in QuickBooks Online, Xero, and other cloud platforms—no manual imports needed.

Rich Transaction Metadata

Captures payee names, memo fields, check numbers, account types, and balance snapshots—context CSV files lack.

Universal Software Compatibility

Works across all major accounting platforms, desktop and cloud-based, without vendor lock-in.

Handles Complex Transactions

Supports investment portfolios, multi-account transfers, loan payments, and other financial complexity CSV can't express.

How to Convert Bank Statement to OFX with Zera Books

Zera Books uses proprietary AI trained on millions of financial documents to extract transaction data from any bank statement PDF and generate industry-standard OFX files. Here's how it works:

Upload PDF Bank Statement

Log in to Zera Books and navigate to the bank statement converter. Upload any PDF statement—digital or scanned, any bank format worldwide. Zera AI dynamically processes all layouts without template training.

Zera AI Extracts All Transactions

Our proprietary OCR and machine learning engine identifies account details, transaction dates, descriptions, amounts, and balances—even from blurry scanned PDFs. Multi-account auto-detection automatically separates checking, savings, and credit card accounts.

Select OFX as Export Format

Choose OFX from the export format dropdown. Zera Books generates proper XML-based OFX files with unique FITIDs, account metadata, and structured hierarchies that match the OFX 2.x specification.

Download OFX File

Click Download to receive your OFX file instantly. For QuickBooks users, you can also download as .qbo (identical format, QuickBooks-specific extension).

Import to QuickBooks/Xero/Sage

In QuickBooks Online: Banking → Upload from file → Select .ofx file. In Xero: Bank Accounts → Import a statement → Choose OFX. In Sage: Banking → Import bank transactions. The software automatically reads the OFX structure—no column mapping required.

Bonus: Enable AI transaction categorization before export. Zera Books will auto-categorize transactions to match your QuickBooks/Xero chart of accounts, saving 30-45 minutes per statement.

Common Use Cases for OFX Conversion

Multi-Account Imports

Accounting firms managing 50+ clients need to import statements from dozens of banks. OFX's standardized format eliminates bank-specific formatting issues. CPA firms save hours by batch-processing statements into OFX and importing all clients at once.

Automatic Bank Feeds Setup

Banks that don't offer direct QuickBooks/Xero connections can still provide OFX exports. Download monthly OFX files from your bank's online portal and import to your accounting software—mimicking automatic bank feeds without API integration.

Investment Account Reconciliation

OFX handles investment transactions (stock purchases, dividends, capital gains) that CSV files can't represent. Brokerage statements converted to OFX import cleanly into Quicken and QuickBooks with full position tracking.

Historical Data Migration

Switching accounting software? Export historical transactions as OFX from your old system and import into the new platform. The unique transaction IDs prevent duplicates when overlapping date ranges.

Month-End Close Automation

Bank reconciliation workflows rely on clean, structured transaction data. OFX files integrate seamlessly with reconciliation tools, cutting month-end close time by 60-70%.

"My clients send me all kinds of messy PDFs from different banks. This tool handles them all and saves me probably 10 hours a week."

Ashish Josan

Manager, CPA at Manning Elliott

Ready to Convert Bank Statements to OFX?

Join accounting firms processing thousands of statements monthly. Zera Books generates industry-standard OFX files from any bank, any format—with AI categorization included.

Try for one week