.iif (Quickbooks) Format

[shadow9449]

Does anyone know of a module that will take the results of an Access query and convert them for export into a .iif file that can easily be imported into Quickbooks?

I would imagine that if someone developed something like this, that it would be very useful to any Access developer who creates applications that involve invoicing.

Thanks in advance

SHADOW

 

[namliam]

What is the layout of an iif file? Maybe you can create it using the "normal" text export?

 

[shadow9449]

What is the layout of an iif file? Maybe you can create it using the "normal" text export?

Hallo, Namliam

Aangenaam.

The layout is actually a text export, but it has the column headings preceded by an exclamation mark and some other data definition in each row. I'm sure that I could develop something that iteratively reads the query, and inserts the appropriate data while outputting each line to a text file. I was just wondering if anyone has seen a function that has been developed (and tested!) for this purpose.

Tot later.

SHADOW

 

[namliam]

Morge Shadow...

Seeing as I didnt even know what the layout was, you can guess that I most certainlly havent.... Sorry...

I did find some seemingly intresting links on Google

Succes...

 

[shadow9449]

Morge Shadow...

Seeing as I didnt even know what the layout was, you can guess that I most certainlly havent.... Sorry...

I did find some seemingly intresting links on Google

Succes...

A bit of digging around shows that Quickbooks actually is trying to steer away from .iif in favour of using their XML-based SDK. Their SDK has some VB samples so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. I'll probably play with it one day. My original post was based on the probability that someone has created an export feature for Access/VB/VBA.

Dank je en tot ziens.

SHADOW

 

[Pat Hartman]

I was in .iif hell a few weeks ago. That's when I discovered how buggy Quickbooks is. It was the first time that I'd tried to do more than a simple customer/vendor import. The documentation for the .iif formats is inconsistant and QB simply ignores some fields on input that the .iif documentation says it will import. Many fields simply cannot be input with .iif. For example, the employee file input will not take BirthDate, HireDate, or Termination date! How stupid is that?

I found several products that will create .iif files. Just use Google to find them. I didn't purchase any or try them since what I was doing was a one time thing.

 

[shadow9449]

I was in .iif hell a few weeks ago. That's when I discovered how buggy Quickbooks is. It was the first time that I'd tried to do more than a simple customer/vendor import. The documentation for the .iif formats is inconsistant and QB simply ignores some fields on input that the .iif documentation says it will import. Many fields simply cannot be input with .iif. For example, the employee file input will not take BirthDate, HireDate, or Termination date! How stupid is that?

I found several products that will create .iif files. Just use Google to find them. I didn't purchase any or try them since what I was doing was a one time thing.

I have no experience with Quickbooks, and I don't expect in the near term to become familiar. I just know that for any application that does invoicing (like many of my Access apps) there is a "demand" to get the invoices into Quickbooks so the user can run their business they way that they are used to.

Products that create .iif sound interesting, but I am looking for some code that will turn an Access query into one and export it.

SHADOW

 

[Pat Hartman]

There is no .iif input format that will work for what you want (at least not that I found).

Since my situation was a one-time event, I did a lot of manual work. I created a spreadsheet with the header fields that I needed and exported the data table part of the .iif file after the fixed portion. I'm using the Office 12 Beta and I couldn't figure out how to get Excel to export a comma, delimited file. So, I re-imported the final spreadsheet into a temp table and then exported it from Access as a comma-delimited file. I had to rename the exported file since for security reasons (stupid ones if you ask me) Access will not read or write files unless they have certain file extensions. So I had to manually change .txt to .iif although you can do that via code if you need to automate the whole thing.