Wells Fargo CSV to QBO, without uploading it.
A Wells Fargo download has no heading row, so there is nothing to tell a converter which column is the date and which is the amount. Plainsum works it out from the data, shows you its guess beside each column, and writes a QBO file for QuickBooks. Nothing leaves this tab.
Your file is never uploaded. Columns, dates and signs are detected and can be fixed, every export carries stable transaction IDs, and it is free for 30 transactions per file.
CSV and Excel converter
Drop your CSV or Excel file here
The file your bank or card issuer lets you download (.csv, .tsv, .txt, .xlsx, .xlsm and .xls). It is read inside this page and goes nowhere else.
Add another fileNo upload. This page's security policy forbids network connections, so your file cannot leave it. See how to check that yourself.
1Check how your file was read
2Preview and totals
3Account settings
4Download
Free: every format, the first 30 transactions of each file. Pro ($19, once, the same key as Plainsum Statements Pro): no limit, several files at once, saved column mappings.
How it works
Drop the headerless file
Five quoted columns and no heading row. Plainsum reads the first line as a transaction and detects the columns from the values.
Check the three columns it picked
Under "How the columns were read", the date, amount and description each say "guessed from the data". Open the lists to confirm or choose another column.
Download QBO
There is no balance column, so compare the totals with your account first. Then pick the account type and download.
Download the CSV from Wells Fargo
In Wells Fargo's online banking, open the account you want, find the option to download or export account activity, choose CSV as the file type, pick a date range and save the file. Where that option sits and what it is called changes with the bank's website and app, so this page does not give menu names that might be out of date. If you cannot find it, search the Wells Fargo help for "download transactions".
A Wells Fargo file without a heading row is normal for this kind of download, so do not add a heading to it. Download the date range you need, keep the file as it is and drop it here.
If Wells Fargo also offers a QuickBooks or Quicken download for your account, that file can be imported without any conversion. This page is for the common case where the CSV is the only thing you have.
How Plainsum reads a Wells Fargo CSV with no header
The layout used for testing has five quoted fields on every line and no headings: a date, an amount, an asterisk, a field that is empty on ordinary transactions, and the description. For example "01/25/2025","-99.24","*","","PURCHASE AUTHORIZED ON 01/15 RIVERBEND CINEMA S5849 CARD 9876".
| Column in the file | What Plainsum does with it |
|---|---|
| Field 1: date | Detected as the date column from its values. Read month first; 01/25/2025 can only be read one way. |
| Field 2: amount | Detected as the amount from its values. Negative is money out, positive is money in. Used as signed. |
| Field 3: asterisk | Not used. |
| Field 4: empty on ordinary lines | Not used. In the test file it is empty, and a check number placed in it is not picked up automatically on a file with no headings. If your file has check numbers there, choose that column under Check number in "Which column is what" and they are carried into the QBO file. |
| Field 5: description | Detected as the description, and becomes the payee and the memo. |
Because there are no headings, there is also no balance column in the file. The stamp therefore says Not checked, and the check against a running balance that the Chase and Bank of America pages show is not available here. In the 20-row test file the preview shows 1,807.84 money in, 1,275.16 money out and a net of 532.68. Compare those three figures and the transaction count with Wells Fargo for the same dates. Free downloads include the first 30 transactions of each file, in every format. Pro is a one-time $19, the same key as Plainsum Statements Pro, and removes the limit.
What to check before you download
- The three "guessed from the data" columns. They sit under "How the columns were read". Date, Amount and Description should each point at the column you expect. If one is wrong, pick the right column from its list, and the preview updates at once.
- Heading row. The Heading row list should say "Automatic (no heading row found)". If your file did have a heading line that was read as data, choose that row there.
- The first row. With no headings, a wrong guess would swallow the first line. Make sure the first transaction in your original file is the first one in the preview.
- Totals and count. Without a balance column, the Transactions, Money in and Money out figures are the check. Compare them with your account for the same dates before you import anything.
- The payee column in QuickBooks. The payee in a QBO file is the first 32 characters of the description. In the test file the descriptions begin with a long phrase, PURCHASE AUTHORIZED ON followed by a date, so the payee is mostly that phrase. The full description is in the memo.
Import the .qbo file into QuickBooks Online
- Sign in to QuickBooks Online and open Transactions, then Bank transactions.
- Open the Link account menu (the arrow next to it) and choose Upload from file. In some versions the same option sits under the Update button of an account you have already added.
- Drag the .qbo file into the window or choose Browse, then select Continue.
- Pick the QuickBooks account the transactions belong to. For a Wells Fargo checking or savings file that is your bank account in QuickBooks, either an existing one or a new one. Select Continue.
- Choose which transactions to import and finish with Import. They arrive on the For review tab, where you categorize and accept them.
Menu names change between QuickBooks versions and countries. If you do not see these, search the QuickBooks help for "upload bank transactions from a file".
QuickBooks Desktop and Quicken
The QBO file uses a generic bank ID, not the one Intuit assigns to Wells Fargo. QuickBooks Online accepts a file like that through Upload from file. QuickBooks Desktop may ask you to pick a bank or may refuse it. The same screen also gives you a QFX file for Quicken. Quicken, like QuickBooks Desktop, can be stricter than QuickBooks Online about which institution issued a file, so import a few rows first. In Quicken, look for its option to import a downloaded bank file and search its help for "import a QFX file", because the menu names differ between versions and between Windows and Mac. If a program asks for a bank ID, you can enter one in Advanced settings below the preview.
Import a small file into a test company or a spare account first and compare the transaction count and totals with Wells Fargo. Imported transactions wait on the For review tab and change nothing in your books until you accept them.
Questions
How do I convert a Wells Fargo CSV to a QBO file?
Drop the CSV on the box at the top. Plainsum detects the date, amount and description columns from the values, shows what it chose, and you press Download QBO after checking the totals. The file is built in your browser and saved to your computer.
My file has no headings. Will it still work?
Yes. The test layout has no heading row and is read from the data alone: a column of dates, a column of signed amounts and a column of text. The page labels these columns "guessed from the data" so you can see that they were not read from headings, and you can choose different ones.
What are the asterisk and the empty column for?
Plainsum does not use them. In the test file the asterisk is a constant and the fourth field is empty on ordinary lines, so neither carries a date, amount or description. A check number in that fourth field is not picked up automatically when the file has no headings, but you can assign the column by hand.
Why is there no balance check?
The file has no balance column, so there is no running balance to compare the amounts with. The stamp says Not checked, and the count and the Money in and Money out totals are your check. Compare them with Wells Fargo for the same dates.
Why are the payees so long and so similar in QuickBooks?
A payee in a QBO file is limited to 32 characters, and descriptions that start with the same words before the merchant name, as in the test layout, fill it with those words. The complete description is stored in the memo, so the merchant is still there, but it may be more useful to read it from the memo.
Is the file uploaded, and what does it cost?
It is not uploaded; the page blocks every network connection. Free downloads include the first 30 transactions of each file, in every format. Pro is a one-time $19, the same key as Plainsum Statements Pro, and removes the limit.