IIF import – journal example
If you are trying to import transactions through IIF for the first time, I would recommend the import of a journal as a first step. Intuit provides guidance in the Quickbooks help file and have templates for download.
If we look  at the template provided in the link below, we find a rather complex text file with plenty of column and row headers. The reason it is complex is because the template is designed to cater for all eventualities.
Download Intuit’s typical journal template
If you are a beginner, you might be put off. Therefore I have trimmed to template to basics only. My simplified template can be downloaded from the link  below. It will work on QB UK 2010 and 2012 .
Download my trimmed journal template
Steps are as follows :-
1)Extract zip file and open with excel
2)Substitute the nominal accounts with your own accounts which already exist on your Quickbooks . Make sure the spelling is exactly the same.
3)Put in your figures . Do not forget the minus sign for credit. Total must be nil
4)Save as a text delimited file, keeping the workbook in that format
5)Open Quickbooks and go to File – Utilities – Import – IIF Files and browse to the saved file. If QB cannot see it , change the file type to “all files”
6)Select the file and click ok . The data should be imported in a fraction of a second.
If successful, you can experiment with more rows, etc.