Fixing QuickBooks bank CSV import errors: dates, signs, duplicates and "file not readable"

A troubleshooting list for every common error when uploading bank transactions to QuickBooks Online from a CSV, with the fix for each.

"We can't read this file" / "Invalid file format"

• The file is actually an Excel workbook renamed to .csv. Save as CSV (UTF-8) or export again from Rowledger.
• There's a title row above the headers, or blank lines at the top. Delete them so row 1 is the header.
• Encoding is UTF-16 (common from Windows "Unicode text" exports). Re-save as UTF-8.

"The date format is invalid"

Every date must use the same format and a four-digit year. Choose the format in the import wizard that matches the file. For statements from UK/AU/NZ/EU banks, export DD/MM/YYYY; US banks MM/DD/YYYY. Rowledger detects the statement's own day/month order and pre-selects the matching export format.

Amounts have the wrong sign

You mapped a 4-column file as single-column or vice versa. In a 3-column file money out is negative; in a 4-column file both Debit and Credit are positive and only one is filled per row.

Amounts are off by thousands separators

Some CSVs include 1,234.56 in quotes; QuickBooks usually handles this, but $ signs break it. Remove currency symbols.

Duplicates after import

Part of the period already existed from a bank feed. Select the duplicates in For review and choose Exclude. Going forward, import QBO files rather than CSV. QBO carries unique IDs, so QuickBooks skips transactions it has already seen.

Rows missing after import

QuickBooks skips rows with an empty date or amount, and stops reading at a blank line. Open the CSV in a text editor and check for blank lines or a totals row.

The import succeeded but the balance is wrong

The extraction missed or duplicated a row. Check the converter's reconciliation: Rowledger shows whether opening + credits − debits equals the printed closing balance before you download anything.