How QuickBooks Import Works in Conto

Conto needs two types of data from QuickBooks to build a complete picture of your client’s books: lists (accounts, vendors, customers, employees) and transactions (the general ledger). How you export these depends on whether you use QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks Desktop vs. QuickBooks Online

	QuickBooks Desktop	QuickBooks Online
Lists	Single IIF file (all lists in one export)	Separate Excel files per list type
General Ledger	Excel report	Excel report
Export guide	Export Lists to IIF	Export Data from QBO
Import guide	Import QuickBooks Lists (IIF)	Import QBO Data

Conto’s bulk import accepts all file types — IIF, Excel, CSV — and auto-detects what each file contains. The import steps on Conto’s side are the same regardless of source.

QuickBooks Desktop workflow

Two exports, two purposes

Export	Format	What it contains	Why Conto needs it
Lists (IIF)	`.iif` (tab-delimited text)	Chart of accounts, vendors, customers, employees, other names	Master data for matching and categorization
General Ledger	`.xlsx` or `.csv` (Excel report)	Transactions with dates, amounts, payees, check numbers, accounts	Transaction history to match against bank statements

QuickBooks Desktop exports lists via File > Utilities > Export > Lists to IIF Files. This produces a single file containing all selected lists — there’s no need for separate exports per list type.

QuickBooks Desktop exports the General Ledger as a report (Reports > Accountant & Taxes > General Ledger), which you then export to Excel. IIF files cannot contain transaction data — this is a QuickBooks limitation, not a Conto choice.

QuickBooks Online workflow

QBO doesn’t support IIF export. Instead, you export each data type as a separate Excel file:

Export	Where to find it in QBO	Why Conto needs it
Chart of Accounts	Accounting > Chart of Accounts > Run Report > Export	GL accounts for categorization
Vendor List	Expenses > Vendors > Export	Vendor names for matching
Customer List	Sales > Customers > Export	Customer names for matching
Employee List	Reports > Employee Contact List > Export	Employee names for matching payroll transactions
General Ledger	Reports > General Ledger > Export	Transaction history

The fastest method is the bulk export (Gear > Export Data) to download everything at once as a ZIP file. This requires admin access.

Upload all exported files to Conto in one step — Conto detects each file type and processes them in the correct order. See How to Export Data from QuickBooks Online for detailed steps.

Import order matters

Whether you use QBD or QBO, Conto processes files in this order:

Chart of Accounts first — creates GL accounts
General Ledger second — creates transactions and calculates your readiness score
Vendor, Customer, and Employee lists last — enriches counterparty data for matching

Conto’s bulk import handles this ordering automatically when you upload multiple files at once. The chart of accounts is processed before the GL so that transactions can reference known accounts. Vendor and customer lists are processed last to enrich the counterparty data that the GL import creates.

The GL import uses the accounts and vendor names from the lists import to calculate your readiness score and enable auto-matching. Importing the GL before lists still works, but the readiness score and vendor match rate will be less accurate until lists are present.

What each import populates

Lists (QuickBooks Desktop — IIF)

The IIF file contains up to five sections of master data:

ACCNT — Chart of accounts with account types, numbers, and hierarchy
VEND — Vendors (name, company, phone, email)
CUST — Customers (name, company, phone, email)
EMP — Employees (name, phone, email)
OTHERNAME — Other names not in the above categories

All five sections come from a single IIF file. One upload handles everything.

Lists (QuickBooks Online — Excel)

QBO exports each list type as a separate Excel file. Conto creates the same data from these files as it does from an IIF:

Chart of Accounts — GL accounts with names, types, numbers
Vendor List — Vendor counterparties
Customer List — Customer counterparties

Upload all files at once — Conto auto-detects each type.

General Ledger (Excel — both platforms)

The GL Excel export contains the actual transactions:

Transaction type (Check, Bill, Credit Card, Deposit, etc.)
Date, check number, payee name, memo
Debit and credit amounts
Split account (offset account)

Conto’s GL parser supports three common QuickBooks report layouts: hierarchical (account headers with indented transactions), flat (one row per transaction), and journal format (grouped by transaction number).

Clients with third-party payroll

Many businesses — especially restaurants, hospitality, and retail — use external payroll providers like ADP, Paychex, or Gusto instead of QuickBooks’ built-in payroll. This affects both Desktop and Online:

QuickBooks Desktop: The IIF file will have zero EMP records. QuickBooks only populates its Employee Center when its own payroll module is active.
QuickBooks Online: The Employee Contact List may be empty or limited to names without payroll detail.
Both platforms: The GL will show aggregated payroll entries (e.g., “PAYROLL”, “TIP”), not individual employee names. The payroll provider posts summary journal entries into QuickBooks, not per-employee transactions.
The Payroll Journal from the provider is the only source of individual employee names. Upload it as a separate step to create employee counterparties.

This means the standard import model becomes a three-part model for these clients: Lists + GL + Payroll Journal.

When you don’t need both

Lists only: Useful if you’re setting up Conto before the GL period closes, or if you only need counterparty data for bank statement matching.
GL only: Works if the GL Excel contains enough payee and account information on its own. You’ll miss vendor contact details and any accounts not referenced in transactions.
Standalone vendor/customer lists (Excel): For QBO users (where IIF isn’t available), or when you can’t get an IIF from QBD, Conto accepts vendor and customer lists exported as Excel files. See How to Import Vendors (Alternative).

QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Desktop

Both

How to Import a Payroll Journal — for clients with third-party payroll
How to Import Vendors (Alternative) — standalone Excel vendor import
Understanding Conto’s Readiness Score