QBO vs QFX vs OFX — what's the difference?
All three are the same underlying OFX (Open Financial Exchange) format. The difference is which app they're aimed at and the Intuit-specific tags they carry:
Quick answer
- QBO → use for QuickBooks (Desktop Web Connect & Online import). Carries an
INTU.BID. - QFX → use for Quicken. Also Intuit-flavored OFX with an
INTU.BID. - OFX → use for Xero, GnuCash and most other accounting tools. Plain OFX, no Intuit tags.
In a bit more detail
OFX is the open standard banks use for "Direct Connect" and downloadable statements.
QBO and QFX are Intuit's branded variants: structurally they're OFX, but they add
an INTU.BID (and sometimes INTU.USERID) so QuickBooks/Quicken can match the file to a known
financial institution. If that id is missing or wrong, QuickBooks rejects the file as "not recognized" — which is the
single most common import problem.
| Format | Best app | Intuit tags | Extension |
|---|---|---|---|
| QBO | QuickBooks | Yes (INTU.BID) | .qbo |
| QFX | Quicken | Yes (INTU.BID) | .qfx |
| OFX | Xero, GnuCash, others | No | .ofx |
How to generate any of them
LedgerBridge produces all three from the same bank CSV/Excel file — just pick the format in the dropdown. Everything runs in your browser, so your data stays private.
Related: What is a QBO file? · Fix "file could not be read"