Import a QIF file into FreeAgent

This tutorial shows how to import a QIF file with transactions into an Online Accounting system - FreeAgent. 

Let's say you have a QIF file, downloaded from your Online Banking, it's called Quicken Interchange Format. Let's say, your Bank provides this QIF file (some Bank provide, some don't) and you select which account, what is the transaction range since the last download. And you download this batch of transactions, it comes as a QIF file. And you can import it into FreeAgent or let's say you exported from Quicken, you want to move from Quicken to FreeAgent. Then you would export from Quicken (better to export each account separately into a QIF file and export just transactions, nothing else). So, FreeAgent is not confused about all this stuff, it just specifically transactions for the specific account.

Let's say you have a PDF file and you have a ProperSoft PDF2QIF converter. Then you would use the converter and you would get the QIF file from a PDF file. And now you want to upload it into FreeAgent. So, let's try to do that. IMPORTANT: PDF2QIF is now replaced with the Transactions app, which converts from more formats and converts to more formats.

First, you need to login into FreeAgent. Then click on 'Banking'.Then we have to click 'Upload a bank statement'. 

FreeAgent supports OFX, QIF, CSV formats. If you have the format, which FreeAgent doesn't support, let's say PDF format, then you would use ProperSoft converter to convert to QIF and then import here. 

Click 'Select a file'. 

Look for a sample.qif file.  

Now you have to select which account you want to upload to. In our case, we have 'Business Checking Account'. We can click 'Guess explanations for my bank transactions', but better to use it later after a few statements, once you categorize or explain few transactions. So it knows how to guess. 

Click 'Upload Statement'. 

The statement with 4 new and 0 existing transactions was uploaded successfully. Click 'Review your transactions'. 

We see 4 unexplained transactions, they are red. In Quickbooks, they call the process "Matching" transactions to Vendor records and expense/income accounts. In FreeAgent, they call "Explaining". So you have some explaining to do after your statement was imported. Click on the transaction.  

Select a 'Category'. 

Then change the 'Description', if needed and click 'Explain Transaction'. 

So, now 'Office Costs' is an explained transaction. Continue for all transactions. That is how you avoid data entry, instead of typing and entering the transactions. If you have a file with transactions, you will speed up the process with this import function. 

Let's say you realize, that this QIF file was not imported correctly or something wrong with this file, so FreeAgent has a useful function, as 'Undo Last Upload', click it. 

Whatever you uploaded this time, you can just delete. Click 'Delete these transactions'. 

So, four bank transactions are deleted. Now you can go back to the converter or go back to your file, how you created and correct the file and then import it, as a new file.