QuickBooks to Xero: map the columns, import the bank CSV
Move bank transactions from QuickBooks to Xero: the export CSV columns matched to Xero’s bank statement import fields, with the amounts fixed in one pass.
How the columns map
| QuickBooks column | Xero column | What changes |
|---|---|---|
Date | Date | Xero accepts DD.MM.YYYY, written with periods, as well as DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY and YYYY/MM/DD, so a column in one of these needs no change; keep one format all the way down. |
Description | Description | Both call it Description; Xero shows it under Particulars in the Bank statements tab. |
Amount | Amount | Xero wants no comma for the decimals; income is positive and expenses are negative, with a minus sign or in brackets. Or by handopen Health → Comma decimals → Convert 6, which writes each amount as a plain number; -1.200,00 becomes -1200 |
Credit | Amount | QuickBooks can take income in a Credit column. Xero has one Amount column for income and expenses, so the Credit amounts go there as positive numbers, by hand: DocTransform saves no step for that. |
Debit | Amount | QuickBooks can take expenses in a Debit column. They go into the same Amount column in Xero as negative numbers, by hand: DocTransform saves no step for that. |
Before and after
1,200 transactions
Do it in DocTransform
By hand: 6 stepsDocTransform: 1 sentence
- 1. Upload quickbooks_transactions.csv into DocTransform.
- 2. Type and press Send. Check the steps it adds; Undo takes them all back.
Write Amount as plain numbers with a point for the decimals
Or by hand
Apply the fix: Health → Comma decimals → Convert 6 for Amount. Dates and descriptions need no change. A file with Credit and Debit columns is merged into one Amount column by hand: DocTransform saves no step for it.
- 3. Download the cleaned file from Export, ready for Xero’s bank statement import.
Save this step once, then rerun it on your next QuickBooks export with one click.
Do it by hand in Excel or Sheets
- Open a blank workbook in Excel: choose Data → From Text/CSV, open quickbooks_transactions.csv, set Data Type Detection to Do not detect data types and click Load.
- In F2 type =NUMBERVALUE(C2,",",".") and press Enter; Excel fills it down the table, so -1.200,00 becomes -1200 and 12,40 becomes 12.4.
- Select F2:F7 (down to your last row), press Ctrl+C, right-click C2 and choose Paste Special → Values.
- Select column F, right-click and choose Delete to remove the helper column.
- If the file has Credit and Debit columns, put the Credit amounts in Amount as positive numbers and the Debit amounts as negative ones, then delete both columns.
- Choose File → Save As, pick CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) as the file type and click Save.
Questions
- Can Xero import the QuickBooks export as it is?
- Not cleanly. Xero wants each amount as a plain number with no comma for the decimals, and income and expenses in one Amount column.
- My QuickBooks file has Credit and Debit columns. What do I do?
- Merge them into one Amount column by hand: Credit as positive numbers, Debit as negative ones. DocTransform saves no step for that.
- Do I redo this for every month I move?
- No — save the step once in DocTransform and rerun it on each QuickBooks export you move.
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