A bank download made for QuickBooks
QBO is the file extension used for QuickBooks Web Connect downloads. Banks generate the file from your account activity so QuickBooks can import it, as an alternative to a live bank-feed connection. Each file covers one account over the date range you chose when downloading.
Built on OFX
Technically, a QBO file is an OFX file. It uses the same headers, the same <STMTTRN> transaction blocks and the same fields for posted date, amount, payee, memo and a unique transaction ID (FITID). Web Connect files typically also include an Intuit-specific <INTU.BID> value that identifies the bank to Intuit's software. Quicken's QFX files carry it too, which is why QBO, QFX and OFX are so hard to tell apart from their content alone.
QBO is not a QuickBooks company file
A QBO bank download is easy to confuse with the files QuickBooks itself creates: .qbw is a QuickBooks Desktop company file, .qbb a backup and .qbm a portable company file. Those hold an entire set of books. A .qbo file holds only bank or credit-card transactions — no invoices, chart of accounts or settings.
How QuickBooks uses it
QuickBooks Desktop imports Web Connect files and matches the transactions against what's already in your register, and QuickBooks Online accepts them through its manual bank transaction upload. In both cases the FITID on each transaction helps QuickBooks recognize transactions it has already imported.
Opening a QBO file without QuickBooks
Because it's plain structured text, you don't need QuickBooks to see what's inside. Converting it to CSV or Excel lays out each transaction as a spreadsheet row with its date, amount, payee and reference. Bankfile's QBO converters do this in your browser without a QuickBooks login, and the file never leaves your device.