A Free ProperSoft Alternative for Positive Pay Files
If you searched for a "ProperSoft alternative," it helps to first be clear about what ProperSoft actually does, because the answer changes depending on the job in front of you. ProperSoft sells a desktop app now called ProperConvert (the older products were named CSV2QBO, CSV2QFX, and similar). Its purpose is to take messy financial files and turn them into something accounting software can import. You feed it a bank statement PDF, a CSV, or an Excel export, and it produces a QBO, QFX, OFX, IIF, or clean CSV file that you then import into QuickBooks, Quicken, Xero, Sage, or Wave.
That is the opposite direction from a positive pay file. So before you pay for anything, decide which of these two tasks you actually have.
Two different jobs that sound similar
Importing transactions into your accounting software. Your bank gives you a download your accounting program will not read, and you need to get those transactions in. This is what ProperConvert is built for, and it is good at it. If this is your problem, a positive pay tool will not help you, and you should look at ProperConvert or a similar converter.
Sending a check-issue file to your bank. You wrote a batch of checks and your bank's fraud-prevention service wants a file listing every check number, amount, date, and sometimes the payee. The bank compares that list against checks presented for payment and flags anything that does not match. This is positive pay, and it runs the other way: data leaves your books and goes to the bank.
ProperConvert does not generate positive pay files. That is not a knock on the product; it simply is not what it was designed to do. If you have tried to coax a positive pay layout out of a QBO converter, you already know it does not fit. Positive pay is a separate workflow with its own file formats, and most of those formats are defined by each individual bank.
What ProperSoft costs and how it runs
ProperConvert is a Windows and Mac desktop application. Its pricing moved to a subscription model: as of 2026, individual plans are listed at $19.99 per month or $179.99 per year, with team plans (three users) at $49.98 per month or $449.97 per year, plus a custom enterprise tier. The standalone older converters such as CSV2QBO were historically sold as a one-time license around $59.95, and you may still see that price quoted in third-party listings. The free trial converts only a limited number of transactions per file, so real statements require a paid license. Pricing and packaging change, so confirm the current figures on ProperSoft's own purchase page before you buy.
For accountants who convert statements from dozens of banks every month, that subscription can be money well spent. The auto-detection of dates and amounts, the payee renaming rules, and the saved column mappings genuinely save time at volume. None of that applies to positive pay, though.
The free alternative for positive pay: PositivePayMaker
PositivePayMaker handles the job ProperConvert does not. It converts a check register (CSV or Excel) into the positive pay file your bank expects. It is free, and it runs entirely in your browser. Your check data, account numbers, payee names, and dollar amounts are processed locally on your own machine and are never uploaded to a server. That matters for a file that is essentially a list of who you paid and how much.
What you get:
- 11 bank layouts built in, 6 of them derived from published bank specifications, including Chase and Huntington.
- A custom format builder for any bank not on the list. You set the columns, order, date format, delimiter or fixed-width positions, and headers to match whatever spec your bank handed you.
- A file validator to check structure before you send it to the bank.
- No install, no subscription, no account. It is a web page that does the conversion on your device.
Because QuickBooks cannot export a positive pay file on its own, a bookkeeper running QuickBooks usually needs exactly this kind of tool. You export your check register, map the columns once, and generate the file your bank's treasury portal accepts.
A fair comparison
| ProperSoft / ProperConvert | PositivePayMaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Import bank data into accounting software | Export check-issue files to your bank |
| Makes positive pay files | No | Yes |
| Price | ~$19.99/mo or $179.99/yr (older one-time licenses ~$59.95) | Free |
| Platform | Installed app, Windows and Mac | Browser, any OS |
| Where your data goes | Processed on your computer (desktop app) | Processed in your browser, never uploaded |
| Custom layouts | Column mapping for import formats | Custom format builder for bank specs |
If your real need is getting statements into QuickBooks, ProperConvert is the right category of tool and the comparison ends there. If your need is positive pay, PositivePayMaker covers it at no cost.
Where your bank's exact format comes from
One important point that trips people up: there is no single national positive pay format. Each bank publishes its own. You will usually find the layout inside your bank's treasury management or business banking portal, often under positive pay or fraud services, or by asking your treasury contact. Many regional banks run their positive pay through third-party platforms such as Centrix CheckPositivePay, Q2, Fiserv, or FIS, and the file spec comes from that platform as configured for your bank.
So the workflow is: get the spec sheet from your bank, then match it. If your bank is one of the 11 built-in layouts, pick it. If not, the custom format builder lets you replicate the spec field by field, or you can start from a generic CSV or fixed-width preset and adjust.
One step you should never skip
Whatever tool you use, always verify the very first file you generate with your bank before relying on it. Upload a test batch, or send it to your treasury contact, and confirm the bank accepts it cleanly. Positive pay specs include details like header rows, date formats, and zero-padded amounts that are easy to get slightly wrong, and a rejected file can hold up check clearing. Once the first file is confirmed, the same mapping works every time after that.
If you also need to move data the other direction, into your accounting software, ProperSoft is a reasonable paid choice. For the positive pay side, you can start now for free.