Import transactions from a file
Add transactions to one account from a CSV, TSV, OFX, QFX or QIF file, and see how duplicates and categories are handled.
Updated November 4, 2026
Import a file from your bank or another program to add its transactions to one account. To bring in a whole budget instead, see Import a backup or a Good Steward Local export.
Steps
- Open the account's transactions: select the account's name on Accounts, or choose the account from the menu at the top left of Transactions.
- Select Import file…. On a phone, select More actions (three dots), then Import file….
- Choose a
.csv,.tsv,.ofx,.qfxor.qiffile.
An OFX, QFX or QIF file imports at once. A CSV or TSV file opens the Import transactions (CSV) dialog.
Map a CSV or TSV file
- Set Delimiter and File has header row. A TSV file starts on tab. Changing either option resets your column choices, date format and amount options.
- Check the preview. A date shown as "Invalid" doesn't fit the Date format.
- Under CSV fields, choose the column for each field. The app guesses the columns the first time, then reuses your choices for this account. A field left on Choose field... is not imported.
- Change the other options if the preview looks wrong.
- Select Import N transactions.
The preview shows 100 rows, but the import includes every readable row. If the app can't read the date or amount of a row, it skips the row and the button reads Import N · skip M unreadable.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Date format | Sets the order of year, month and day. The app picks it from the first row and reads an ambiguous date month first. |
| Flip amount | Reverses every sign. Use it when your file shows spending as positive. |
| Split amount into separate inflow/outflow columns | Choose an Outflow and an Inflow column instead of Amount. |
| Select column to specify if amount goes in/out | Choose an In/Out column, then enter the text that marks money out in Value for out rows, i.e. Debit. Rows with that exact text are money out. All other rows are money in. |
The last three options exclude each other. With a single Amount column, positive is money in, negative is money out, and an amount in brackets, such as (45.00), is negative.
OFX, QFX and QIF files
These files have no options. The app reads the date, amount, payee and memo (as notes). It skips rows it can't read and rows with an amount of zero. QIF dates must be month/day/year or YYYY-MM-DD. If no message appears after you choose the file, nothing was imported.
Duplicates
The app skips rows already in the account and counts them as "already in this account". Importing the same file twice adds nothing.
- CSV, TSV, QIF: skipped when an earlier import added a row with the same date, amount and payee, or when the account has a transaction with the same amount within 7 days. Bank-synced transactions and earlier CSV, TSV or QIF imports don't count for the second test.
- OFX, QFX: skipped when you imported the same transaction ID before, or when the account has a Cleared transaction with the same amount within 7 days.
A matching transaction keeps its date, amount and category, and is marked Cleared. A Reconciled one is not changed. A real purchase with the same amount as another within 7 days is skipped too. Add it by hand. See Missing or duplicate transactions.
An OFX or QFX transaction you deleted is not added again when you import the same file, unless its amount in the file changed. The message does not count these rows. CSV, TSV and QIF rows have no transaction ID, so a deleted row is added again.
After the import
A message such as "Imported 10 · 2 categorized by your rules · 3 already in this account" appears on the Transactions page. The "categorized by your rules" count also includes transactions that got a category from your payee history or the Category column.
- Imported transactions start as Cleared and To review. In a Balance-only account they start Cleared and reviewed. See Transactions or Balance only for a bank account. To start them as Uncleared, turn off Transactions imported from a file (CSV/OFX) start as Cleared under New transaction defaults in Settings, then select Save. This also covers QIF files.
- Your rules always run first. A rule with a cleared condition sees the status the setting above gives the transaction. See Rule conditions and actions.
- After your rules, a category comes from your payee history. For a CSV or TSV file, it then comes from the column you chose for Category, if its text matches one of your category names. If Auto categorization is off in Settings, the payee history and the Category column are not used.
- Undo does not reverse an import. To remove imported transactions, select and delete them.