Module 3 · Lesson 2

Import & Match Your Bank

12 min read

The Problem

Your bank has every transaction you made. Getting that history into a budget usually means one of two bad options: type it all by hand, or hand your bank login to a sync service and hope it keeps up. Neither is how this app works. You export a CSV file from your bank, you import it, and you stay in control of what comes in.

Coming From Mint or Another Sync App?

Good news: you already have the habit of looking at categorized transactions. The only change is how they arrive. Instead of a sync you cannot see, you download a CSV from your bank (or the export your old app gave you), and the app reads it. Nothing arrives that you did not upload. Nothing is categorized by a rule you did not write.

Every bank can export a CSV. Look for "Export" or "Download" on the account activity page and pick CSV (some banks call it "Excel" or "Spreadsheet"). Grab the last 2 or 3 months.

Two Steps, One-Time Setup

Importing takes two steps. The first one you do once per account.

Step 1: Tell the app how to read your bank's file. Every bank lays out its CSV a little differently. An Import Map tells the app which column is the date, which is the description, and which is the amount. Set it once and it is reused for every future import.

Step 2: Upload the file. Pick the account, choose the file, and go. The app maps the columns, skips duplicates, and applies your TagMatcher rules to every new transaction.

Try It: Create an Import Map

The fastest path is a template.

  1. Navigate: user menu → Settings → Import Maps
  2. Click: "New Import Map"
  3. Click: "Use a Template"
  4. Select: Account — Primary Checking
  5. Click: "Use This Template" under Checking Account (Debit/Credit)
  6. Type: Import Map Name — My Bank Checking
  7. Click: "Save Import Map"
  8. Verify: "My Bank Checking" is listed under Primary Checking on the Import Maps page

Creating an import map from the checking template

If your bank's file does not match a template, choose "Upload CSV File" instead. Upload a sample file from your bank, then match each CSV column to a field: your date column to Transaction Date, your description column to Description, and your amount column to Amount. If your bank splits money into separate Debit and Credit columns, map both to Amount, with Debit set to Decrement (-) and Credit set to Increment (+). Skip any balance column. The app calculates balances itself.

Try It: Import a CSV

Use any CSV export from your bank.

  1. Navigate: Transactions → Import
  2. Select: Account — Primary Checking
  3. Upload: your bank's CSV file in the CSV File field
  4. Type: Starting at — the first date you want imported (leave blank to import the whole file)
  5. Click: "Upload"
  6. Navigate: Transactions → List
  7. Verify: the new transactions appear with the dates, descriptions, and amounts from your file
  8. Verify: transactions that matched a TagMatcher rule already have a tag; the rest show as Unassigned

Importing a bank CSV and seeing the rules applied

No CSV? Paste from a spreadsheet instead. The same page has a "Paste spreadsheet" tab. Pick the account first — its Import Map supplies the header row — then copy rows straight out of Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets and paste them in. Remove or reorder any header column that does not match what you pasted, then click "Import transactions". Everything after that is identical: duplicates are skipped and your TagMatcher rules run exactly as they do for a file upload.

After the Import

Take five minutes and scan what came in. Check that amounts match your bank. Look for anything the rules missed. That quick review is the whole reason to import by hand: you see every line before it becomes part of your budget. Module 4 shows you how to make the rules catch more next time.

Two habits keep imports painless. Import on a schedule, weekly or every payday, so nothing piles up. And keep the CSV files. They are your backup.

Key Takeaway: Set up an Import Map once per account, then import a CSV whenever you like. The app reads the file, skips duplicates, and applies your rules. You review the result. Your bank login never leaves your hands.

Check Your Understanding

  1. What does an Import Map do?

    Answer: It tells the app which CSV column holds the date, the description, and the amount for a specific bank's file format. You set it once per account.

  2. Where do you upload a CSV to import transactions?

    Answer: The Import Transactions page, under Transactions → Import. Pick the account, choose the file, and click Upload.

  3. What happens to duplicate transactions when you import the same file twice?

    Answer: The app detects them and skips them.

  4. Why does this app use CSV import instead of a bank connection?

    Answer: Nothing arrives that you did not upload, your bank password stays with you, and you review every transaction before it shapes your budget.