Importing from Quicken

This is the complete guide to migrating your financial data from Quicken to Monize using QIF file exports. It covers exporting from Quicken, preparing your data, and importing into Monize. For importing from other sources using CSV or OFX/QFX files, see Importing Transactions. For migrating from Microsoft Money, see Importing from Microsoft Money.

Overview#

Quicken uses QIF (Quicken Interchange Format) for data export. Monize includes a comprehensive QIF import wizard that handles:

• Regular banking transactions (chequing, savings, credit cards)
• Investment transactions (buy, sell, dividends, splits, reinvestments)
• Split transactions (multiple categories per transaction)
• Account-to-account transfers
• Category creation and mapping (with colon-separated hierarchy support)
• Tag definitions from Quicken's tag system
• Security creation and mapping
• Multi-account full-file exports (all accounts in a single QIF file)

Monize auto-detects whether a QIF file is a single-account export or a full-file export and adapts the import wizard accordingly. Quicken for Mac's .qmtf transfer files are QIF under another extension, with section headers in capitals and Mac line endings; Monize reads them exactly like a .qif file.

Important Limitations#

Part 1: Exporting from Quicken#

Quicken offers two ways to export your data as QIF files.

Single-Account Export#

Export one account at a time:

1. In Quicken, select the account you want to export
2. Go to File > Export > QIF File
3. Important: Change the "to" date to today's date. Quicken defaults this to a far-future date (e.g., 31/12/2099), which will include scheduled and future-dated transactions that Monize cannot import.
4. Select the transactions to include
5. Save the .qif file with a descriptive name (e.g., Chequing.qif, Visa.qif)
6. Repeat for each account

Investment Accounts: Unlike Microsoft Money, Quicken's QIF export for investment accounts includes both securities transactions and cash transactions in a single file. You do not need to export twice.

Full-File Export (All Accounts)#

Export your entire Quicken data file at once:

1. In Quicken, go to File > Export > QIF File
2. Select All Accounts (or select multiple accounts)
3. Important: Change the "to" date to today's date. Quicken defaults this to a far-future date (e.g., 31/12/2099), which will include scheduled and future-dated transactions that Monize cannot import. Set it to today's date to export only past and present transactions.
4. Ensure categories and tags are included in the export
5. Save the .qif file

A full-file export produces a single QIF file that contains:

• Category definitions (!Type:Cat sections) -- your full category hierarchy with tax-related flags
• Tag definitions (!Type:Tag sections) -- your Quicken tags
• Account blocks (!Account sections) -- each account's transactions grouped together
• Transaction data -- all transactions across all included accounts

Which Export Method to Use#

Part 2: Preparing Your QIF Files#

Removing Future-Dated Transactions#

The easiest fix is to re-export from Quicken with the "to" date set to today. See Full-File Export for details.

If you prefer to fix an already-exported file, open it in a text editor (Notepad, VS Code, etc.) and delete any transactions with future dates. Each transaction looks like this:

D3/14/2026
T-45.00
PGrocery Store
LFood:Groceries
^

The D line is the date and ^ marks the end of the transaction. Delete the entire block (from D through ^) for any transaction dated after today, then save the file.

Part 3: Importing Single-Account QIF Files#

Navigate to Tools > Import Transactions to begin.

Recommended Import Order#

If you are importing multiple single-account QIF files, the order matters for transfer linking. Import in this order:

1. Asset Accounts
      |
2. Bank, Credit Card and Line of Credit Accounts (Home Currency)
      |
3. Bank, Credit Card and Line of Credit Accounts (Foreign Currency)
      |
4. Investment Accounts

Monize matches pending transfers from previously imported files, so importing accounts with the most outgoing transfers first ensures correct linking.

Tip: Select all your QIF files at once for bulk import. Monize processes them sequentially and coordinates transfer matching across files.

Step 1: Upload QIF Files#

1. Click the upload area or drag your QIF files onto it
2. You can select multiple files at once for bulk import
3. Monize parses each file and extracts:
   • Account type detected from the QIF header
   • Number of transactions
   • Date range of transactions
   • Categories found (including colon-separated hierarchy)
   • Transfer accounts referenced
   • Securities found (for investment files)

Step 2: Select Destination Account#

For each QIF file, specify which Monize account the transactions should be imported into.

File Information#

A gray information box shows:

• File: The filename being imported
• Transactions: Number of transactions found
• Date Range: Earliest to latest transaction dates
• Detected Type: Account type from the QIF header (e.g., Chequing, Investment, Credit Card)

Selecting an Account#

Choose from the Import into account dropdown:

• For investment QIF files (detected type: Investment), only brokerage accounts are shown, and a blue note says so
• For regular QIF files, all non-brokerage accounts are shown

Auto-Matching: Monize matches QIF file names to account names automatically, so Visa.qif lands on your "Visa" account. When several files are uploaded together, each gets its own dropdown; files matched by name are shown in green and guesses in amber.

Creating a New Account#

If the destination account does not exist:

1. Click + Create new account (+ Create new for a file in a bulk import)
2. Fill in the Account name (pre-filled from the file name), Account type and Currency
3. Click Create

The new account is auto-selected as the destination. Creating an Investment account creates its linked cash and brokerage pair; an investment file goes into the brokerage side.

Date Format#

Monize detects the date format from the dates in the file, including Quicken's space-padded dates. There is no override for a single-account file, so if the dates come out swapped (day and month), re-export from Quicken with your system's date format set to the format you expect. A full-file export has a Date Format dropdown on its review step (see Part 4).

Quicken Date Quirk: Quicken may pad single-digit days with spaces (e.g., 2/ 4/19 instead of 2/4/19). Monize handles this automatically.

Step 3: Map Categories#

Quicken uses colon-separated category paths (e.g., Food:Groceries, Auto:Fuel, Fees & Charges:Bank Fee). Monize automatically parses this hierarchy and matches each path against your existing categories.

A summary line counts the categories that need attention and those matched, and they are displayed in three groups:

1. Needs attention (amber border) -- Categories that could not be auto-matched. Require your input.
2. Auto-matched to loan accounts (shown expanded) -- Matched to loan or mortgage account names (imported as payments to the loan account).
3. Auto-matched to categories (collapsed) -- Successfully matched to existing Monize categories. Click Show n auto-matched to categories to review or change them.

For a colon path Monize cannot match, the row comes already filled in to create the last level under its parent: Auto:Parking suggests a new "Parking" under an existing "Auto", or under a new parent "Auto" if you have none. Accept the suggestion, or change it. For each unmatched category, you can:

• Map to existing -- Select an existing Monize category
• Or create new -- Enter a new category name, then pick a Parent category (or + Create new parent...)
• Skip -- Leave the dropdown at Skip (no category); categorize later
• This is a loan payment -- Tick it to import the category's transactions as payments to an existing loan, or to a new loan you name with its type, institution and initial amount

Automatic Category Hierarchy Creation#

When Monize creates new categories from Quicken's colon-separated paths:

1. It detects the parent-child relationship from the colon separator
2. Creates the parent category if it does not exist
3. Creates the child category under the correct parent
4. Deduplicates parents across multiple children

For example, importing categories Food:Groceries, Food:Restaurants, and Food:Coffee creates one "Food" parent with three children.

Step 4: Map Securities#

This step appears only for investment QIF files containing security references.

When you reach the step, Monize looks up every security it could not match to one of yours (the line "Looking up securities..." shows while it runs) and fills in what it finds. A row shows a green border once it is ready and an amber one while it needs attention.

For each security, you can:

• Map to existing -- Select from the dropdown of existing Monize securities (it starts at Skip (no security))
• Or create new (symbol) -- Enter the symbol, the Security name, the Security type (Stock, ETF, Mutual Fund, Bond, Option, GIC, Cryptocurrency, Cash/Money Market or Other), the Exchange and the Currency. Picking an exchange sets the currency that exchange trades in
• Lookup -- Search again by name or symbol. When several securities fit, you choose the right one from a list

Your preferred exchanges (Settings > Preferences) are tried first.

Step 5: Map Transfer Accounts#

This step appears when the QIF file references transfers to other accounts (using Quicken's [Account Name] notation). It is skipped for investment files, whose transfers go through the linked cash account.

For each referenced account (names that match one of your accounts are filled in already):

• Map to existing -- Select from the dropdown of existing Monize accounts
• Or create new -- Enter the account name, then choose its Account type and Currency

Bulk Import Tip: If you are importing all files at once, transfers between accounts in the batch are linked automatically. You only need to map accounts that are not part of the current import.

Step 6: Review and Import#

The review step shows a summary of everything that will happen:

• Files and transaction counts
• Target accounts
• Categories, transfer accounts and securities: how many are mapped and how many will be created

Click Import Transactions to execute. Each file is imported inside a database transaction -- if the import fails, none of its changes are kept. A single transaction that cannot be imported is counted as an error and the rest of the file still imports.

Step 7: Import Complete#

After import, Monize displays:

If a loan or mortgage account was created without scheduled payments, Set Up Payments lets you add them straight away. View Transactions (or View Investments) opens the accounts you just imported into; Import More Files starts again.

Part 4: Importing a Full-File QIF Export#

When you upload a full-file QIF export, Monize detects it automatically (by the presence of several !Account sections or a !Type:Cat category list) and adapts the import wizard.

How Full-File Import Differs#

Full-File Import Steps#

1. Upload -- Select your full-file .qif export (one file on its own; several files are treated as single-account exports)
2. Review -- The Multi-Account QIF Import step summarizes the file ("This file contains 3 accounts, 6 categories, 2 tags, and 6 transactions") and lists:
   • Currency for New Accounts -- the currency every account the import creates is given
   • Date Format -- detected from the file; the sample dates underneath show how it was read
   • Accounts -- each account with its type, transaction count and date range
   • Categories -- grouped into Expense and Income
   • Tags -- the tags that will be created
3. Choose missing account types -- if the file does not say what type an account is, a Choose a type dropdown appears beside it, and the import cannot start until each one has a type
4. Map Securities -- if the file holds investment accounts, the notice says how many securities need mapping; click Next: Map Securities and map them as in Step 4, then click Import All there
5. Import -- otherwise click Import All on the review step
6. Complete -- View results

An account in the file that has the same name as one of your accounts is imported into it rather than created again (for an investment account, the "name - Cash" account counts too). Every other account is created, an investment account as its linked cash and brokerage pair.

Tip: Full-file import is the easiest way to migrate from Quicken. All transfers between accounts are automatically linked, and your complete category and tag hierarchy is preserved.

Part 5: Post-Import Steps#

After importing your Quicken data, take these steps to verify and finalize your migration.

5.1 Verify Account Balances#

Compare each account's current balance in Monize against Quicken. If balances do not match:

1. Check the opening balance -- it should match the balance as of the first transaction date
2. Look for missing or duplicate transactions
3. Check that transfers between accounts were matched correctly

5.2 Verify Investment Holdings#

1. Navigate to Investments
2. Check that each holding shows the correct quantity and cost basis
3. Compare against your Quicken portfolio summary
4. If any securities were auto-created, update their symbols and exchange information

5.3 Check Security Price Updates#

Securities created during import use the symbol, exchange and type entered on the Map Securities step, and get price updates like any other security. If one was created with a guessed symbol:

1. Navigate to Tools > Securities
2. Edit the security to correct its symbol, exchange, and type
3. Prices are fetched for the corrected symbol from then on

5.4 Review Categories#

Navigate to Tools > Categories and review the category hierarchy. Categories imported from Quicken preserve the colon-separated hierarchy (e.g., Food:Groceries becomes "Groceries" under parent "Food"). Verify the hierarchy looks correct and reorganize if needed.

5.5 Set Up Scheduled Transactions#

Quicken's QIF export does not include scheduled or recurring transactions. You must recreate these manually:

1. Navigate to Bills & Deposits
2. Create each recurring bill and deposit
3. See Bills and Deposits for details

5.6 Check for Uncategorized Transactions#

Run the Uncategorized Transactions report (Reports > Uncategorized Transactions) to find any transactions imported without a category.

5.7 Verify Net Worth#

Navigate to the Dashboard and check the Net Worth chart. Click Recalculate on the Net Worth report if needed to refresh balance snapshots after import.

Part 6: Starting Over#

If your import did not go as expected and you want to start fresh, you can delete all your financial data without losing your user account or settings.

1. Navigate to Settings
2. Scroll to the Danger Zone section
3. Click "Delete Data..."
4. Check all four optional boxes (Accounts, Categories, Payees, Currency preferences) for a completely clean slate
5. Enter your password to confirm

This removes all transactions, accounts, categories, securities, budgets, and other financial data. Your user account, preferences, and security settings (2FA, trusted devices) are preserved. You can then re-import your QIF files.

For more details, see Settings and Security > Danger Zone.

Part 7: Quicken QIF Format Details#

Understanding the QIF format can help when troubleshooting or manually editing files.

QIF Record Fields#

Account Type Headers#

Quicken-Specific Format Notes#

• Quicken for Mac: .qmtf files, !TYPE: and !ACCOUNT headers in capitals, and classic Mac line endings are all read
• Category hierarchy: Uses colon separator (e.g., Food:Groceries) unlike Microsoft Money's / separator
• Date padding: Quicken may pad single-digit days with spaces (e.g., 2/ 4/19)
• Tags: Appended after / in the category field (e.g., Food:Groceries/Vacation)
• Full-file sections: !Type:Cat for category definitions, !Type:Tag for tag definitions, !Account for account blocks

Part 8: Troubleshooting#

Future-Dated Transactions Cause Issues#

Cause: The QIF file contains transactions with dates in the future.

Solution: Remove future-dated transactions from the QIF file before importing. See Removing Future-Dated Transactions. Alternatively, re-export from Quicken with a date range ending on or before today.

Dates Appear Wrong#

Cause: The date format was detected incorrectly (e.g., MM/DD was interpreted as DD/MM).

Solution: For a full-file export, change the Date Format dropdown on the review step. A single-account file's format is detected from its dates; if they are all ambiguous (every day 12 or less), re-export from Quicken with an unambiguous date range or format. Quicken typically uses MM/DD/YYYY format.

Category Hierarchy Not Created#

Cause: The colon separator in category names was not detected.

Solution: Verify the QIF file uses standard colon-separated categories (e.g., LFood:Groceries). If categories use a different separator, they will be imported as flat names. You can reorganize them manually in Tools > Categories.

Duplicate Transactions After Import#

Cause: Importing the same file twice, or transfer transactions appearing in both accounts.

Solution:

• Monize skips the second side of a transfer that is already recorded when importing the other account
• If duplicates still appear, use the Duplicate Transaction Finder report
• For future imports, import all related files in a single bulk operation

Transfer Not Linked Between Accounts#

Cause: Transfer accounts were not mapped correctly, or files were imported in separate sessions.

Solution:

• Import all files at once using bulk import
• For full-file exports, transfers are linked automatically
• Manually link unmatched transfers by editing the transactions

Investment Securities Not Found During Lookup#

Cause: The security name in Quicken does not match market data.

Solution:

1. During the Map Securities step, click Lookup after typing the symbol instead of the name
2. If lookup fails, manually enter the symbol, name, type, and exchange
3. After import, verify securities in Tools > Securities

Opening Balance Incorrect#

Cause: The opening balance transaction in the QIF does not match expected starting point.

Solution:

1. Navigate to Accounts
2. Edit the account
3. Adjust the opening balance and opening date
4. The current balance will be recalculated

Import Times Out#

Cause: Very large QIF file (near the 10 MB limit or thousands of transactions).

Solution: The import has a 5-minute timeout. If the file is too large, re-export from Quicken with a smaller date range.

Part 9: What Cannot Be Imported#

The QIF format and Quicken export have limitations. The following data must be recreated manually in Monize:

Quick Reference Card#

Export from Quicken#

1. File > Export > QIF File
2. Choose single-account or full-file export
3. Set date range to end on or before today (to avoid future transactions)
4. Save the .qif file

Import into Monize#

1. Tools > Import Transactions
2. Upload your QIF file(s), or one full-file export
3. Single-account files: map accounts, categories, securities, and transfer accounts, then review and click Import Transactions
4. Full-file export: check the review, map any securities, and click Import All

After Import Checklist#

[ ] Remove future-dated transactions from QIF files before import
[ ] Verify all account balances match Quicken
[ ] Verify investment holdings and cost basis
[ ] Update auto-created securities with correct symbols
[ ] Recreate scheduled transactions (bills and deposits)
[ ] Run "Uncategorized Transactions" report and fix gaps
[ ] Review category hierarchy and reorganize if needed
[ ] Check net worth trend on Dashboard