Importing a file

Once you have downloaded the OFX, QFX or CSV file from your online banking, navigate to the Banking tab and then the Bank Statement Import tab. Click the Import New Bank Statement button.

Import Bank Statement

  • Bank account: Select the appropriate bank account for the statement being imported.
  • File to import: Click on the Browse button and select the OFX, QFX or CSV file that you previously downloaded and saved on your computer.

 

Once you have made your selections, click the Import button to read the transactions in the selected file.

 

If you selected a CSV file for import, you will need to assign each of the fields in the file to an appropriate system field by selecting the available system fields in the column combo boxes provided.

Import Bank Statement

  • Don't Import: use this option to ignore the values in a particular field.
  • Transaction Date: must be assigned.
  • Amount: must be assigned.
  • Payee: represents the payee or payer and is the key field for creating an Import Rule.
  • Transaction Memo: the values in this field will appear in the Memo field in the saved bank transaction.
  • Reference: the values in this field will appear in the Reference field in the saved bank transaction.
  • Item Description: the values in this field will appear in the line item Description field in the saved bank transaction.


  • First row contains headings: use this option to prevent a row containing headings from being imported.
  • Date format: this will be automatically determined if possible and must match the date format in the file. 

 

Cell values can be edited before the Bank Statement is saved. It is not advisabe to edit dates or amounts but the functionality can be useful to add text or comments.

Click the Save button to create the bank statement. You will be transferred to the Bank Satement Detail screen from where you can process the bank statement.

 

If you selected an OFX or QFX file for import, the fields will appear similar to the image below:

Import OFX

  • Transaction Date: will be used in the transaction date field of bank transaction.
  • Amount: the amount to be used in the bank transaction.
  • Payee: represents the payee or payer and is the key field for creating an Import Rule.
  • Description: the values in this field will appear in the Memo field in the saved bank transaction.

 

Cell values can be edited before the Bank Statement is saved. It is not advisabe to edit dates or amounts but the functionality can be useful to add text or comments.

Click the Save button to create the bank statement. You will be transferred to the Bank Satement Detail screen from where you can process the bank statement.

 

NOTE

When importing a bank statement, timing differences can arise between the actual transaction date and the value appearing on your bank statement. Time taken for cheques to clear is a good example of this. This is especially relevant if you are registered for Cash Accounting VAT, which has special rules regarding receipt date and does not consider the relevant date to be the date the cash clears in your bank statement (see HMRC website for further details) In some cases, it is therefore more appropriate to make use of Receive Money or Spend Money options to initially record the entry followed by a 'matching' activity when the values clear on the bank statement which has been imported.

 

Tip for users who cannot download Bank Statements

You can create a bank statement import file from scratch by entering a record for each bank transaction in your favourite spreadsheet program and saving the file as a CSV type. This is helpful if you cannot download a statement from your bank but wish to use the Import Bank Statement tool and would like an online record of statements in AccountsPortal.

File preparation:

  • Open spreadsheet program.
  • Create rows of information representing bank transactions.
  • Enter at least 4 columns of information.
  • Amount: positive amounts create Receive Money and negative amounts create Spend Money.
    Date: date transaction clears in bank account. Use format DD/MM/YYYY, YYYY/MM/DD, YYYY-MM-DD or DD-MM-YYYY.
    Payer/Payee: the text entered here is matched against the search term of Import Rules.
    Description: the text entered here can be inserted into the Reference, Memo or Description field of the bank transaction.
  • Save the file as file type CSV.
  • If any text or numbers contain commas, then they should be delimited with quotation marks as follows (the spreadsheet program should do this automatically):

10/06/2009,"1,000.21",Endcorp,INV39
11/06/2009,"-1,250.20",Telco Ltd,Telephone Charges
15/06/2009,-25.50,Charges,"Bank Charges, May09"

Go back to the top of this page and process the file as a CSV type.