How to import fiscal year budget (Apr-Mar) into QB Premier 2020 Desktop

Let's get rid of the error so you can import budgets in QuickBooks, bjgorski.

You'll receive this error when a specific field on the IIF file isn't mapped correctly. Check out this link to get a sample template of the file: IIF Overview: import kit, sample files, and headers.

Once you have the file ready, here's how to upload the budget:

1. Click File.
2. Choose Utilities.
3. Select Import.
4. Click IFF Files.
   
   

For more details about creating a budget, check out this article: Create a budget or forecast in QuickBooks Desktop.

I'm adding these articles to learn more about Intuit Interchange Format (IIF) files, check out these articles: 

• Export or import Intuit Interchange Format (.IIF) files
• Tasks you can do with IIF files.
  
  

Keep me posted if you have any additional questions or concerns about importing budgets in QuickBooks. I'll be glad to assist you with this.

Unfortunately, none of the information you provided deals with Budgets.

Further, I tried successfully EXPORTING an existing budget from Quickbooks to an IIF file. Then, (without making any changes to the IIF file, and not even opening the IIF file, attempted to import the file back into Quickbooks. This was unsuccessful, and I received the same error message that I have been receiving all along...

I appreciate you for sharing the details of your concern with us, Brian.

I want to ensure I provide you the right resolution to fix the issue you’re having with importing an IIF file. Can you share with me the specific error message you received? Any additional information can help us narrow things down.

Also, you’ll want to make sure your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) is updated to the latest release. An outdated program can cause unusual behavior that prevents you from importing your file. Allow me to walk you through the steps.

1. Go to the Help menu and select Update QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Click the Update Now tab.
3. Select Get Updates to start the download.
4. When the download finishes, restart QuickBooks.
5. Then accept the option to install the new release.

For more insights, you can also check this article: Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release.

If the issue persists, I recommend running the Verify Rebuild tool. This tool scans your company file for errors and fixes it right away.

I’m also adding this link that you can utilize to learn more about importing IIF files. This provides complete information on the task you can do using IIF.

Keep me posted if you need further assistance importing your files in QBDT. I’ll be around to back you up. Have a good one!

Please know that I am running the most current version of QB Desktop.

Also, Please see the attached IIF file reflecting all of the (same) error messages.

As a reminder, this attached file is a result of me having exported the budget into an IFF file, and then immediately attempting to import that very file back into QB...

Thanks for coming back, @Brian85248. I'm here to help you get past this error so you can import the fiscal year budget (Apr-Mar) in QuickBooks. 

As an insight, when the import isn't successful, QuickBooks will automatically create a new .IIF file for failed records with error info which is the one from your screenshots. 

I'd suggest you review the errors in .IIF. Here's how: 

1. Select Review now, then look for ERROR to see what the problem(s) with the file is.
2. Correct the errors and Save. If asked if you want to keep the file type, select Yes.
3. Close the File not imported window, then import the new, corrected .IIF file.

You can also check out this article for additional insights: Improved IIF Import in QuickBooks 2019 and later. 

I've also found similar topics which I think might help resolve your issue. You can follow the ideas shared by another user: CJDay which is marked as Solved in this link: Budget IIF Import Error.

Feel free to get back and update us here in the Community. We're always around here to help in any way we can. 

Please don't give me repeat solutions from previous respondents, as their solutions didn't work when I tried them after they suggested them to me. I'm still looking for a solution that will work...

Hello Brian,

I will continue to help you import your budget using an IIF file, and we will take another step to achieve this.

During the import process, you will see a window that says Import IIF file and at the bottom part of that, you will see an option that says Import it for me. I'll fix it later. Click on that. It uses the old process of importing this type of file which is used in the older version of QuickBooks.

After selecting the said option, you will be prompted to backup your company file, which I recommend you do to preserve your existing data and you will have something to restore if there are issues along the way.

That's it. I know you've been working on this one quite a while, and happy I was able to share this detail with you. Feel free to share an update after importing your file.

PLEASE HELP! I see where there wasn't a single good solution to Brian's problems. I am having the EXACT same issue that he is. The problem is NOT anything having to do with his process or his data. This process worked fine last year for me. After your update it does NOT. What he was saying is that he simply took last years file and tried to export it and re-import it without him touching the file at all. That did not work and he got the same error that I am getting (below).

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

I'm editing my initial post without the anger (sorry about that). The following link had some helpful tips and I think the process is working now.

https://bigredconsulting.com/quickbooks-2019-iif-import/

Thank you for joining the thread and sharing your concern with us, @Althepal3.

I know how important it is to import your data into QuickBooks. Please know that the troubleshooting steps that were shared above are intended for resolving IFF import issues.

If none of these steps works for you, I'd recommend reaching out to our phone support. This way, they can check your file for any possible data damage and fix it. Here's how you can connect with them:

1. Go to the Help icon and select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
2. Click Contact Us.
3. Write your concerns in the description box, then select Continue.
4. Select which one of the support options you'd like to use.

Please also check out our support hours to ensure that we address your concerns on time.

Additionally, you can check out this article to know more about importing IIF files. This provides complete information on the task you can do using IIF.

If you have further questions or concerns, feel free to reach back out anytime. Stay safe. 

I used the old method and it did import but for some odd reason it imported only half the fiscal year and with the wrong data.  So, the July through December populated with January through June data.  Our fiscal year is 7/01 to 6/30 and I dated the beginning date in the file to 7/01/2021

I can help you correct your uploaded transactions, @chrissmck.

You can delete those incorrectly imported files in QuickBooks since importing IIF files or data in QuickBooks Desktop is an irreversible process.

You can either delete them one at a time, restore a backup copy dated before the import happened, or use a third-party tool to remove them for you.

I've listed the solutions below, so you can choose which way you'd go for:

Solution 1: Manually deleting transactions or lists.

1. To remove transactions, click on Lists from the top menu bar and then select Chart of Accounts.
2. Click to open the account that contains the transactions you want to delete.
3. Scroll to the transaction in the account screen. QuickBooks displays transactions in date order, with the most recent at the top of the screen.
4. Click to select the transaction you want to remove.
5. Press Edit in the main menu and then click Delete.
6. Click OK to confirm the action.
7. Repeat this procedure for each transaction you want to delete.
8. To delete lists, go back to the Lists menu and select the listing you want to remove.

Solution 2: Find the most recent backup of the company file before the import and restore it. For the steps to find the third-party app, backup, and how to restore it, refer to the links below:

• Locating Backups and Company Data Files
• Restore a backup of your company file
• Apps for QuickBooks Desktop

Make sure to review the data before reimporting. Then, ensure to update QBDT to its latest release. Most of the time, performing this action can fix data issues.

I've collected these articles for reference with importing files in QuickBooks:

• IIF Overview: import kit, sample files, and headers
• Improved IIF Import in QuickBooks 2019 and later'
• Import or export MS Excel files

Keep me posted if you have any other concerns or questions about importing or exporting your data. I’ll be around ready to help you. Take good care, @chrissmck.

Using QB Desktop Enterprise 2021. 

With 5+ hours of trial and error I was able to import excel FY budget for Oct 2021 - Sept 2022 successfully. 

-In the IIF file enter the Startdate as 10/1/2021 for the portion of the FY for Oct 2021 - Dec 2021 and left the remaining 9 months of cells blank. 

-For Jan 2022 - Sept 2022 I entered the Startdate as 1/1/2022 and only entered 9 months of the budget and left the remainding 3 months blank. I even used the class.  

I was able to import it by prompting QB to ignore errors.

That didn't solve my issue.  I need to know how to get the budget to import to the correct months.  Does anyone know this fix?  Obviously, the QB people don't know.

Hello, Chris. 

I have one more solution to help you ensure you'll be able to import all of your budget data in QuickBooks. 

If you haven't already done it yet, you'll want to check your fields that might've caused the missing and incorrect budget data. 

An overview and a guide for header placements can be found here: IIF Overview: import kit, sample files, and headers.

You can also use the solution given by ladae007 and import the data in batches. 

However if you still can't get the correct data and there are missing months, I would recommend contacting our support. They can look deeper into the system and check what's causing the issue:

1. Press the F1 key to bring up the Help window. 
2. Click the Contact Us button. 
3. In the box, enter "Imported budget did not import properly."
4. Hit Continue, then choose how you want to reach us. 

Aside from using the Budgets feature, you can check this article for a guide if you need to utilize the Reporting feature in QuickBooks: Understand reports.

I'm willing to lend a hand again if you have other questions regarding the Budgets feature. If you have any other concerns regarding QuickBooks Desktop, please let me know. 

Hi, I am having the same issues with importing the FY budget and it would be great if you could find some time to answer some questions that I have about your import.

- Did you use the "import now for me and I will fix it later" method?

- Did you import the first 3 months and and then the remaining 9 months using two different IIF template? Or did you use the same template, but just changing the content?

Thank you in advance

Hi, I am having the same issue and it would be great if you could find some time to answer some questions that I have about your import. 

- Did you use the "import it for me now and fix it later" method?

- When importing the first 3 months and then the remaining 9 months, did you use the same template just changing the content or 2 different ones? 

Thank you.

Thank you for joining the thread, @vittoverd.

I'll share additional information about importing IIF files in QuickBooks Desktop.

QuickBooks doesn't use the "import it for me now and fix it later" method. You'll need to correct all the information on each field before importing. This is to ensure you won't get any error messages.

On the other hand, since you have two IIF files (one for 3 months of data and 9 months of data), you'll need to use 2 different templates when importing. This will help make sure that data won't be duplicated.

However, if your IIF file came from a third-party app, I'd recommend contacting the app’s technical support for help. Please know that Intuit doesn't offer technical support for the import and export of IIF files coming from a third-party app.

You can read these resources to learn more about importing budget through IIF files: 

• Export, import, and edit IIF files
• Tasks you can do with IIF files

Feel free to come back to this post if you need more information about importing IIF files. I'll be around to provide further assistance.