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IIF file errors while importing to QuickBooks Desktop
IIF file errors while importing to QuickBooks Desktop

Basic guide on how to resolve errors while importing IIF files to QuickBooks Desktop

Gayathiri Sridhar avatar
Written by Gayathiri Sridhar
Updated over a week ago

When importing IIF files to QuickBooks Desktop, import failure may occur due to errors in the file. Some possible causes of these errors could be that the name in Fyle for a specific dimension differs in QuickBooks Desktop. For example, you may have a category called Meals and Entertainment in QuickBooks Desktop vs. only Meals in Fyle. In this case, QuickBooks does not auto-match these two values and instead throws an error.

It is, however, easy to resolve an error before trying to report it again. Please read the steps below for the same.

How to review an error and fix the IIF file?

If an import has errored out, QuickBooks Desktop automatically indicates that the file import is unsuccessful and gives an error output file for you to review.

You can choose the Review now option to check the errors and make the required changes.

It is important to note that QuickBooks Desktop always generates a new IIF file for the Error, and it is recommended to make changes to this file and then retry importing.

There are two ways of resolving the Error:

  1. Fix the IIF file

    When you click on the Review now option, you can open the error log in Notepad and make changes to the errored value.
    For example, if the Error reads that the chart of account value does not exist in QuickBooks Desktop, it could be due to a case where the value exists, but the name does not match exactly.

    In such a case, you can change the name in the Notepad according to the correct name in QuickBooks and Save the file. Once the changes are made to the file, you can now retry importing the file to QuickBooks Desktop.

    It is important to note that while editing the file in Notepad, the tab spaces should not be disturbed, as that would cause an issue with the file template. Also, please make sure you save the file and not save it because the file should still be retained in the IIF format with the .iif extension for importing into QuickBooks Desktop. Below is a quick video guide on fixing an error in Notepad and reimporting files into QuickBooks Desktop.



    Alternatively, suppose you have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer. In that case, you can also open this IIF file in Microsoft excel with Tab Delimiters, modify the data, and then Save it.

    2. Make changes in QuickBooks Desktop
    If the Error reads that an entity or chart of accounts does not exist in QuickBooks Desktop, you can create the value in QuickBooks Desktop and then retry importing.

If you are unsure of the Error and how to fix the same, QuickBooks Desktop always gives an explicit error code and a description of the Error; you can also try searching for this error code in Intuit forums to find easy steps to resolve or reach out to us at [email protected] in case you have more questions.

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