Import a bank file

Bring in transactions from a CSV file, check them before you save, and let rules pick categories.

Most banks let you download your transactions as a CSV file. The app reads the file and shows you each row. Nothing changes in your budget until you select Import.

The first file from a bank needs a few minutes of setup. The app saves the setup as a mapping. The next file from that bank goes straight to the review.

Before you start

• Add an account in the app for each currency in the file.
• Give each of these accounts an opening balance. The opening balance must be the first transaction of an account.
• Download a CSV file from your bank. It can be up to 2 MiB and 10,000 rows.

1. Upload the file

1. Go to Transactions, and select Import file. You can also select Import file on an account page.
2. In CSV file, select the file.
3. In Mapping, select the mapping of your bank. For a new bank, keep New mapping.
4. Select Upload.

With a saved mapping, the review opens. With a new mapping, the mapping page opens first.

2. Tell the app which column is which

The mapping page shows the first rows of the file. Use them to find the correct columns. The Preview at the bottom shows how the first rows will read. It changes when you change a setting.

1. In Mapping name, type the name of the bank.
2. Select the account that the file fills. For a file with more than one currency, select one account for each currency.
3. Check File format. The app finds the separator for you. If the amounts use a comma for decimals, change Decimal separator.
4. Under Columns, select the Date column and its Date format. Then select the Payee column.
5. Optional: select Bank transaction ID. This helps the app find rows that you already imported.
6. Under Amounts, select how the file shows money in and money out. See the list below.
7. Optional: under Currency and filters, select Running balance. Then the app compares the bank's balance with yours.
8. Look at the Preview. Make sure that the dates, payees and amounts are correct.
9. Select Save and review rows.

Under Amounts, pick the option that fits your file:

One amount column with a sign

For example, -25.00 for a payment and 1500.00 for a salary.

Separate money-in and money-out columns

For example, a Credit column and a Debit column. A negative amount in either column counts as money out.

An amount and a column that says which way

For example, an Amount column and a Direction column with IN or OUT. Type the values that your bank uses. If a row can be a currency conversion, as in Wise files, also fill in Value meaning a conversion.

A file can also have a filter, for example to skip card payments that are still pending. Use Filter rows by and Filter values for this.

3. Review the rows

The review page shows a summary and every row of the file. Each row has a status:

New

The import adds this row as a new transaction.

Matched

You already entered this transaction: same account and amount, within four days. The import marks your transaction as cleared. It does not add it again. To add the row anyway, tick Import as new.

Already imported

The row came in with an earlier file. The import skips it.

Skipped

A filter or a currency with no account excludes the row.

Error

The app cannot read the row, for example because of a bad date. Correct the mapping, or skip the row.

Pick categories

Select a Category for each new row. The app suggests categories from your category rules. If no rule fits, it uses the category of the payee's last transaction.

• Keep Use the same category for other rows from the same payee selected to save time.
• To keep your choices, select Save categories. Do this before you go to the next page of rows.
• To see only the rows that still need a category, select Show only rows without a category.

A row without a category is Uncategorized: its money comes out of, or goes into, Ready to budget.

Read the balance check

If the file has a running balance, the Balance check compares it with your account, as it will be after the import. If they are different, the check tells you if the difference is older than the file or comes from rows in it. A difference does not stop the import.

4. Import

1. At the bottom of the page, select Import. The button shows how many rows it adds.
2. If some rows have errors, first tick Skip the rows with errors.

The new transactions are cleared, because the bank shows them. The import also saves the categories that you picked on the page.

Undo an import

1. Go to Transactions, and select Import file.
2. Under Recent uploads, select the file.
3. Tick Remove the transactions, and select Undo import.

Undo removes the transactions that the file added, and any changes that you made to them since. Account and category balances change back. After an undo, you can import the same file again.

Let rules pick categories

A category rule picks a category for imported rows. For example: when the payee contains tesco, use Groceries.

1. Go to Settings, and select Edit rules. On the review page, you can also select Category rules.
2. In When, select what the rule looks at: Payee, Note, Bank transaction ID or Bank's category.
3. In Comparison, select contains, is or starts with.
4. In Text, type the text. Upper and lower case are the same.
5. Select the Category.
6. Optional: limit the rule with Applies to (money in or money out) and Mapping (one bank).
7. Select Add rule.

The app checks rules from the top of the list. The first rule that matches wins. A rule comes before the payee's history. A category that you pick on the review page comes before both. To use new rules on a file that you are reviewing, select Save and apply rules again.

If your bank's file has its own category column, the review page can offer Add as rule. This makes a rule from your pick for every file from that bank.

Change a mapping

Go to Settings. Under Import mappings, select the mapping. On the review page, you can also select Change the mapping.