What is QIF File and How to Open QIF Files?

I am guessing you had trouble opening QIF files and that’s why you are here. You are not the only one. Many find it difficult to open QIF files on their Windows or Mac computers. Like other files, people double click on a QIF file hoping to open it at an instance but to their disappointment, the Operating System cannot find any suitable program to open the file. This is why the OS lets you choose the program to open the QIF file. If there is nothing available on your computer that is closely associated with QIF files, then it won’t be possible to open QIF files. But don’t worry, there are ways to resolve the issue, and you are in the right place to learn all about it. In this article, we are going to discuss what a QIF file is and how you can open a QIF file with ease.

What is QIF File?

You must have a clear idea about the file format before knowing the method to open it on your computer. QIF is the abbreviation of Quicken Interchange Format. The format was developed by Intuit for the financial sector. QIF is a text file that is generated by ASCII code to show financial data, transactions, banking accounts, cash receipts, etc. in a readable format for the users. If you have a QIF file on your computer, it is most probable that the file comes from a bank or a financial institution that you are linked with some kind of account.

QIF file is very crucial when it comes to transferring data from one quicken account to another quicken account. So, if you cannot open the file at this point, you may lose sensitive data. The format is not common and popular and has become obsolete nowadays. Thus, most computers do not possess programs that are associated with QIF files. Many people also struggle to acquire information about the software and tools which can be used to open QIF files.

How to Open QIF Files?

In this section, we are going to learn about various methods, software, and approaches to open QIF files. I am assuming you have already tried to open a QIF file by double-clicking on your mouse and it has not worked. First of all, we need to investigate the file more closely. Select the file, right-click on the mouse, and choose the ‘Properties’ option. Next, select the tab ‘Type of File’. You will be able to see what kind of file you are dealing with and accordingly, you can look for the right software. Download and install the required software to open the QIF file.

Opening QIF Files by Quicken From the Intuit

Quicken is a personal financial and payment software. It was initially developed by an organization called Intuit. QIF format was actually created for Quicken software at the primary stage. Hence, it is best to use the software Quicken to open any kind of QIF files. Download and install the software, then open it and locate the QIF file that you intended to open previously. That’s it; all of your transactional data should be readable and shown to you on the Quicken interface.

Opening QIF Files by Microsoft Excel

You cannot directly open a QIF file by Microsoft Excel. You would need an intermediary software or more precisely, some kind of converter tool that can convert the QIF into a format readable by Excel. You can find this kind of software on the internet as such ‘Bank2CSV’ or ‘QIF2CSV’.

1. Download and install the software.

2. Open the software.

3. Click on the ‘File’ tab and then select the ‘Open’ option.

4. Load the QIF file and save it in CSV format.

5. Now, open your Excel and open the saved CSV file here. The transactional data should be visible.

Opening QIF Files by Other Software

Other payment or finance-related software can be used to open QIF files. You can find any free software or paid one by searching for it. Here is a list of software that can be useful for QIF files.

1. Corel Quattro Pro (Windows)

2. DESQ View Compressed Font (Windows)

3. Sublime (Windows)

4. Quick Time Image (Mac)

5. Gnu Cash (Linux)

Conclusion

Hopefully, your problem was solved through this article and you finally could open the QIF file on your computer. As financial data and information are very sensitive, you should use trusted software to load this kind of file. With this, I am ending for today. Goodbye!