What an OFX file actually is
An OFX file is plain text with tags, similar in appearance to HTML or XML. Inside, you will find account details, a date range, and a list of transactions with dates, amounts, and descriptions. Related extensions include .qfx (Quicken's OFX variant), .qbo (QuickBooks Web Connect, also OFX-based), and .qif (an older, different format).
Because it is text, you can open an OFX file in any text editor to inspect it. But reading raw tags is tedious and does not give you a clean transaction table. To do anything useful with the data, you import it into software that understands the format.
The important point: OFX is a delivery format for machines. If you just want to see your transactions in rows and columns, importing or converting is the right path, not manual reading.
How to view the contents
To peek inside without any special software, right-click the file and choose Open With, then pick a text editor. On Windows that is Notepad; on Mac it is TextEdit. You will see tags like STMTTRN, DTPOSTED, TRNAMT, and NAME wrapped around each value.
If you want a readable spreadsheet instead of tags, you need to convert the OFX into CSV or Excel. A converter reads the transaction tags and lays them out as columns for date, description, and amount, which is far easier to scan and reconcile.
Do not rename the file to .txt or .csv and expect it to open cleanly. Renaming changes the extension but not the internal structure, so a spreadsheet program will still show the raw tags rather than tidy columns.
How to import it into accounting software
QuickBooks Online supports OFX-style bank feeds through file upload. Go to the Transactions or Banking area, choose to upload transactions, select your account, and pick the file. Note that QuickBooks Web Connect specifically expects the .qbo variant; a plain .ofx may need conversion or the .qbo format from your bank.
Xero accepts imported bank statements as well. In the bank account, look for the option to import a statement, then follow the prompts to map and confirm the transactions before they post to the ledger.
Personal-finance tools like Quicken and GnuCash open OFX and QFX directly through their File, Import menus. In each case, review the account and date range on import so you do not create duplicate entries against transactions you already have.
If your software rejects the file, the usual causes are a format mismatch (it wants .qbo or .qfx, not .ofx), a bank identifier issue, or a slightly malformed file from the bank's export. Converting to CSV and importing that instead is a reliable fallback.
When to convert instead of import
Sometimes importing is more trouble than it is worth. If you only need the numbers for a spreadsheet, a tax schedule, or a one-off review, converting the OFX to Excel or CSV gets you a clean table in seconds without wrestling with bank feeds or duplicate matching.
Conversion is also the answer when your accounting software will not accept the exact OFX variant your bank produced. You convert the transactions to CSV, adjust column headers if needed, and use your software's generic CSV import.
Statement to Sheets converts OFX, QFX, and QBO files into Excel and CSV, and can also produce accounting-ready imports. That said, the plain steps above work regardless of which tool you use: view the file to confirm the data, then either import the native format or convert to a spreadsheet.