Import a backup or a Good Steward Local export

Importing creates a new budget file from a zip file. It accepts a Good Steward Money backup or an export from Good Steward Local, the previous app.

Before you start

• Get the zip file. For a backup, see Back up and export your data. In Good Steward Local, open Settings and select Export data. Do not unzip or edit the file.
• The file can be up to 100 MB. You can start 10 imports per hour.

Steps

1. Open the Budget files page. See Work with more than one budget file.
2. In the Import a budget file card, select the box that says "Choose which export zip file to import".
3. Choose the zip file.
4. Select Import.

The button shows the upload progress, then "Importing… this can take a minute". The page then shows "Import complete:" and a count for each kind of data.

The new file becomes the active file. It keeps the budget name stored in the zip, so importing the same zip twice creates two files with the same name.

What comes over

Good Steward Money backup: everything the backup contains, including the Balance from setting and bank balance figures of a Balance-only account. Imported accounts have no bank connection, so a restored Balance-only account offers Track by hand on its settings page. A backup made by an earlier version of the app comes in without its undo and redo history.

Good Steward Local export: accounts, category groups, categories, payees, notes, transactions (with splits, transfers, and Cleared, Reconciled and review marks), monthly budget amounts with Rollover choices, rules, schedules and budget template lines.

• Each split line keeps its own review mark. A split is To review while any of its lines is.
• Schedules come in without a category.
• Template lines become a budget template named "Imported plan".
• A transfer from an account to itself comes in as two ordinary transactions with no category. They cancel each other out.
• Goals, funding formulas, tags and bank connections are not created.

To sync an imported account, connect the bank. In Choose accounts to import, choose the account under Match to existing account. See Choose which bank accounts to bring in.

The "Import complete:" message for a Local export can also list what did not come over:

• "txn(s) skipped": transactions with an unknown account or an unreadable date, and split lines missing their split transaction.
• "rule(s) not translatable": rules with a condition or action Good Steward Money does not support. A rule comes in whole or not at all.
• "schedule(s) not translatable": schedules with no account or no readable next date.
• "split line(s) that are also transfers": split lines that came in as one side of a transfer.

A second message lists up to six schedules that did not copy exactly, with a note on each.

If the import fails

• "That file couldn’t be imported." The zip is damaged, or it is neither a Good Steward Money backup nor a Good Steward Local export. Nothing was changed.
• "That file couldn’t be imported because it’s too large." The contents are larger than the import accepts. Nothing was changed. Email support@goodsteward.io.
• "That file couldn’t be imported because it was made by a newer version of this app." The backup came from a newer version of Good Steward Money than the one importing it. Nothing was changed. Email support@goodsteward.io.
• "The upload didn’t finish. Please try again." Check your connection and select Import again. A file over 100 MB cannot upload. If it fails again, a browser extension can be stopping the upload. Try in a private window, where extensions are usually off, or in another browser.
• "The import didn’t finish…" Causes include more than 10 imports in the past hour and an edited backup. Wait up to an hour, then try again with the unedited zip. If it repeats, email support@goodsteward.io.