Convert a Bank CSV to QBO from ChatGPT or Claude

Two ways to convert: the browser tool or the agent

There are two distinct paths, and most people will use the first one.

The free browser tool. If you have a CSV or Excel file in front of you and just want a .QBO, the simplest route is the converter. You drop the file in, map the Date, Description, and Amount columns, pick QBO as the output, and download the file. It runs entirely client-side in your browser, so the statement is never uploaded to a server. The free tier covers one full statement with unlimited transactions. No signup is needed to convert.

The agent path. If you live inside an AI assistant, or you are wiring conversion into an automated workflow, QBO Maker offers an MCP server and a Convert API on the Pro plan. Instead of opening a website, you let the model call a tool named convert_transactions_to_qbo and get a file back. This is the agent-native part, and it is what the rest of this guide covers.

What MCP is and why it matters here

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external tools and data sources through a small server. When you add an MCP server to a client like Claude Desktop, the model can see the tools that server publishes and call them on your behalf during a conversation. It is the same mechanism that lets an assistant read a file, query a database, or, in this case, build a bank-import file.

The point is that the assistant does not need to know the .QBO format, the OFX structure underneath it, or how to set transaction IDs. It just calls one tool with your transactions and gets back a valid file. The format knowledge lives in the server, not in the prompt, so the result is consistent every time rather than something the model improvises.

If you want to understand the file the tool produces, our explainers on what a .QBO file is and the OFX format behind it cover the structure in plain terms.

Connect an MCP client to the QBO Maker server

The setup is the standard MCP flow. In broad strokes:

1. Get a Pro key. The MCP server and Convert API are part of the Pro plan. Your account gives you an endpoint URL and an API key.
2. Add the server to your MCP client. In a client such as Claude Desktop, add a new server entry pointing at the QBO Maker endpoint and supply your key. Other MCP-capable clients use the same idea with their own config file or settings panel.
3. Confirm the tool appears. Once connected, the client lists the server's tools. You should see convert_transactions_to_qbo, which takes a set of transactions plus account details and returns a .QBO file. Related tools cover .QFX and .OFX output from the same input.

From then on the assistant can use the tool inside any conversation, the same way it would use any other connected capability.

Convert a CSV by talking to the assistant

With the server connected, the workflow is conversational. A typical exchange looks like this:

1. Give the model your transactions. Paste the CSV rows into the chat, or in clients that read files, point it at the CSV on disk.
2. Ask for the conversion. Something like: "Convert these to a QBO file for a checking account." The model parses the rows, maps the columns, and calls convert_transactions_to_qbo with the dates, descriptions, amounts, and the account type you named.
3. Receive the file. The tool returns a valid .QBO, which you save and import into QuickBooks.
4. Import it. In QuickBooks Desktop, go to File → Utilities → Import → Web Connect Files and select the file. The transactions land in your bank feed ready to review and categorize.

Because the server, not the model, formats the output, you do not get a hallucinated file with the wrong header or a made-up account ID. The assistant supplies the data; the server guarantees the structure.

The Convert API for scripts and pipelines

You do not have to involve a chat assistant at all. The same Pro endpoint is a plain HTTP Convert API you can call from a script, a serverless function, or a scheduled job. Send transactions and account details, receive a .QBO, .QFX, or .OFX file back.

That is the right fit when you want conversion built into something that already runs, for example a nightly job that pulls each client's exports and produces import files automatically, or an internal tool your team triggers without opening a browser. For accountants running the same close every month, this turns a manual step into an unattended one. Our guide on CSV to QBO for bookkeepers describes the manual version of that same monthly pipeline.

Privacy, accuracy, and which path to pick

A few things worth being clear about. The free browser tool is local-only: your statement is parsed on your own device and never sent anywhere. The MCP server and Convert API are hosted services, so transaction data you pass to them is processed on the server side, which is the trade-off you accept in exchange for automation and agent access. Pick the local tool when you simply need a file and care most about keeping data on your machine; pick the hosted path when you want an assistant or a pipeline to do the work.

On accuracy, every path produces the same well-formed output with unique transaction IDs that QuickBooks uses for matching and de-duplication. You can confirm any file with the OFX/QBO validator before importing. If the conversion is a one-off, there is no reason to set up MCP at all, just use the free converter. If you are an AI-first user or you automate this monthly, the agent path is what makes QBO Maker different: it is the converter your assistant can drive.

Ready to try it? Convert your first CSV to QBO free in the browser, then upgrade to Pro when you want the MCP server and Convert API.

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