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DarleneZ
Level 1

Importing Excel Budget File

Can anyone help me with instructions on how to import an Excel Budget File?  We have a very extensive chart of accounts.  Our budget is broken down by each account by month.  Our budget varies considerably from year-to-year so it makes more sense to import new numbers.  

 

Thank you

13 Comments 13
RenjolynC
QuickBooks Team

Importing Excel Budget File

I've got two options on how you can import the budget in QuickBooks Desktop, DarleneZ.

 

The first option is to look for an online converter to convert the file from Excel to IIF. Then import the file in QuickBooks by following these steps:

  1. Click File located at the top.
  2. Select Utilities, and select Import.
  3. Choose IIF Files.
  4. In the Import your IIF file, click the Import IIF button.
  5. Select the converted file and click Open.
  6. You will get a pop-up box of what was imported.
  7. Click Done.

For the second option, you can create a budget in QuickBooks and export an IIF file. Then, import it back to QuickBooks.

 

Here's how:

  1. Create a Budget in QuickBooks by going into the Company menu and select Planning & Budgeting.
  2. Choose Set Up Budgets, and select Create New Budget.
  3. Select the budget type and click Next.
  4. Choose the budget criteria and click Next. Then, click Finish.
  5. Click Save located at the bottom right and select OK.
  6. Once done, go to File located at the top.
  7. Select Utilities, and select Export.
  8. Choose List to IIF Files, and put a check mark on the Budgets box.
  9. Click OK, and save the file.

To open the file:

  1. Go to File, select the Open option, or drag-and-drop the file into the excel spreadsheet.
  2. Modify the information. Note: Income accounts need to be in negative (since they are credits) and expense accounts in positive.
  3. Click the Save icon once done.

Then, import the IIF file back into QuickBooks.

 

Finally, you can run a Budget Overview report to see the imported information.

 

Here are the steps:

  1. Click Reports at the top, select Budgets & Forecasts.
  2. Choose Budget Overview, and select the budget you want to use.
  3. Click Next.
  4. Select a layout for the budget report, and click Next.
  5. Click Finish.

I'm also adding this article to check details about importing and exporting data in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

Please reach out to me if you need anything else. Thanks.

DarleneZ
Level 1

Importing Excel Budget File

How does Quickbooks know that this is a budget file and that's where the information should be posted to?

RenjolynC
QuickBooks Team

Importing Excel Budget File

Thanks for your reply, DarleneZ.

 

I have updated the steps above. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. I'll get back to you the soonest. Thanks.

tthornhill
Level 1

Importing Excel Budget File

I tried to import an excel budget IIF file to quickbooks premiere and after appearing to import I received a report from quickbooks that the file could not be imported because the records have errors. the error message is 

; [ERROR] It's a list or transaction that is not supported by the IIF import process.

This error was on each record.

I decided to export quickbooks budget IIF file using the file /utilities route and then tried to import this file unmodified back to quickbooks.  I got the same error message.  Can someone explain what could be going wrong.

Terrence

Angelyn_T
QuickBooks Team

Importing Excel Budget File

Thank you for joining the thread, @tthornhill.

 

This error could be a limitation with the file imported and the items that it contains. Be sure that data on your file is supported for IIF import.

 

At this time, I encourage checking your file and ensure that the details are correct before trying to import it. Also, you can download and install the .IIF import kit to save you time and improve your results. Or, download the sample .IIF files to practice or use as templates for importing transactions into QuickBooks.

 

For your reference, check out these articles: 

 

Get back to me if you have any other questions by leaving a comment below. I'm a few clicks away to help. Have a good day!

tthornhill
Level 1

Importing Excel Budget File

Thanks very much Angelyn T for your quick response.  we checked the file for accuracy of format and could find no apparent errors. As mentioned we exported the quickbooks budget format and tried to reimport it and got the same errors. If there is a file quickbooks should import error free it ought to  be the same file quickbooks exported but we got errors here too. We did arrive at a solution however.  Instead of the Import IIF file Icon we used the "Import it for me, I'll fix it later". Note this is not recommended by Quickbooks and maybe you should back up your quickbooks file first, but I tried it and it worked beautifully. budget data imported correctly and error free. 

I believe there is something wrong with the Quickbooks Import IIF file routine as it relates to the importation of budgets using Quickbooks 2019

Terrence

 

 

 

IamjuViel
QuickBooks Team

Importing Excel Budget File

Let me provide additional information, @tthornhill.

 

Generally, if the information is missing when importing the data, it's possible that data was formatted incorrectly. Also, we don't recommend the option Import it for me. I'll fix it later. Since this option bypasses data review, some of the info may not be correct or complete for your books.

 

To import the IIF file successfully, you must check the file first. Double-check the account names used, the spelling and any other typographical error. You must ensure that the names used exist and are acceptable in QuickBooks.

  1. If you encounter an error, you'll have an option to select Review now.
  2. Search for the error.
  3. Make corrections to the error.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Close the File not imported window.
  6. Import the IIF file again.

You can refer to this article for more details about unsuccessful import: File not imported.

 

If the issue persists after reviewing the format, I'd suggest contacting our Technical Support Team to look into this further. They have the tools to further look into the format of the file you're trying to import.

 

Stay in touch with me if you have other questions about importing your IIF. I'm here to help however I can.

tthornhill
Level 1

Importing Excel Budget File

Thanks very much LamjuViel for your response and I agree with and tried everything you recommend and each time got a similar error.  As mentioned, we even created a budget in quickbooks and exported it as an IIF file and tried to reimport it to Quickbooks and got the same error message

; [ERROR] It's a list or transaction that is not supported by the IIF import process.

this error occured for each line of account imported. The error message is not particularly helpful because it does not say exactly which part of the data is faulty. The IIF import kit does not contain any information on budget errors. Other posts seem to suggest that this is a 2019 quickbooks problem.  Would greatly appreciate a resolution because we are not comfortable using the "import now and fix later" option

 

Terrence

Joshua R
QuickBooks Team

Importing Excel Budget File

Welcome back to the Community, @tthornhill.

 

At this time, there isn't an option to import a budget file via IIF. I'll certainly go ahead and submit feedback for you to out product developers for it to be considered as a possible option with future updates. For more information on IIF import limitations, take a look at export, import, and edit IIF files.

 

Thanks for reaching out to the Community! If you have any other questions, please feel free to post again. 

 

 

Latoya2020
Level 1

Importing Excel Budget File

I have a related question, we use QuickBooks Premier and have a July 1 - June 30 fiscal year and budget by fiscal year. When I import into QuickBooks using Utilities -> Import ->IIF Files, only part of the budget gets imported and in the wrong fiscal year ( I use 7/1/20, for example, as the start date). IF I use 1/31/21, only 6 months of the budget show in the correct fiscal year. Please help to fix this issue.

 

Thanks!

Latoya2020
Level 1

Importing Excel Budget File

Hello,

 

I use QuickBooks Premier 2018 the desktop version and having trouble with the IIF Budget file import. We have a June 30th fiscal year and so the start date of 1/1 does not work for our organization. I tried changing it to 7/1/20 and had the undesired effect of adding six months of data into the prior fiscal year budget. When I used 1/1/2021, only six months of data got imported into QuickBooks. The import function works, but I'm having trouble determining how to import a full fiscal year of data.

Any advice?

 

Thanks!

Anna S
QuickBooks Team

Importing Excel Budget File

Good afternoon, @Latoya2020.

 

Since you're having issues with your fiscal year import, I suggest checking the limitations of the IIF file you're importing. They will tell you if the data is too big, if you have any entries that are wrong in the file, and if you need to use a third-party app. The article also goes over how to import the transactions and into QuickBooks Desktop.

 

Please let me know if this gets you back to business. I'll keep an eye out for your response.

BigRedConsulting
Community Champion

Importing Excel Budget File

@Joshua R 

RE: At this time, there isn't an option to import a budget file via IIF.

 

Of course there is. It's been an option since about 1993 when QuickBooks for windows launched.

 

The IIF budget import file format is the same exact format as the IIF export format for budgets.

 

It is only the new, buggy, import code that Intuit launched in 2018 with QB 2019 that is so awful it puts up a message that says otherwise.  It is as if no one at Intuit could be bothered to test it.

 

See BRC QuickBooks 2019+ IIF Import Changes and Recommendations 

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