How to Import QuickBooks Lists (IIF) into Conto

This guide shows you how to import a QuickBooks Desktop IIF file into Conto. A single IIF file can contain your chart of accounts, vendors, customers, employees, and other names. For clients using third-party payroll, the employee section will be empty — see the note below.

This is the first import step. The GL import (transactions) comes second.

Prerequisites

• An IIF file exported from QuickBooks Desktop (see How to Export Lists to IIF Files)

Steps

1. Export Lists from QuickBooks Desktop

If you haven’t already, follow the IIF export guide. Select at minimum:

• Chart of Accounts
• Vendor
• Customer:Job
• Employee

2. Upload the IIF File

1. Go to the IIF import page in Conto
2. Upload your .iif file
3. Conto detects and imports all lists present in the file:

IIF Section	What Conto Creates
ACCNT	Chart of accounts (name, type, number, hierarchy)
VEND	Vendor counterparties
CUST	Customer counterparties
EMP	Employee counterparties
OTHERNAME	Other name counterparties

Third-party payroll?

If your client uses ADP, Paychex, Gusto, or another external payroll provider, the IIF file will likely contain zero employees. QuickBooks Desktop only tracks employees in its Employee Center when its built-in payroll is active. For these clients, upload a Payroll Journal after the IIF to get employee counterparties.

3. Review the Results

Confirm the import summary shows the expected counts for accounts, vendors, customers, and employees.

Verification

After importing, confirm:

• All expected accounts appear with correct types
• Key vendors and customers are listed as counterparties
• Account numbers mapped correctly (Conto auto-generates codes for accounts without numbers)

Troubleshooting

Missing accounts after import

Check that your IIF export included all accounts. QuickBooks may filter to active accounts only.

Vendors or customers not imported

Verify the IIF file contains VEND or CUST rows. Open the file in a text editor and search for these keywords. If missing, re-export with those list checkboxes selected.

No employees after import

If the IIF file contains zero EMP rows, the client likely uses a third-party payroll provider (ADP, Paychex, Gusto, etc.) instead of QuickBooks Desktop’s built-in payroll. Employees managed outside QuickBooks don’t appear in the Employee Center and won’t be included in the IIF export. Upload a Payroll Journal to import these employees as counterparties.

Duplicate counterparties

If you previously imported vendors via a standalone Excel list and then import an IIF file containing the same vendors, duplicates may appear. Merge or remove duplicates in Conto.

What’s Next

After importing lists, import your General Ledger (Excel export from QuickBooks). The GL provides the actual transactions that Conto matches against bank statements.

Related

• How QuickBooks Import Works in Conto — explains the two-import model
• How to Export Lists to IIF Files
• How to Import General Ledger into Conto
• How to Import a Payroll Journal — for clients using third-party payroll
• Understanding Conto’s Readiness Score