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This is the reference for what a CSV needs to import cleanly. For the step-by-step flow, see Import a CSV.
You do not have to rename your bank’s columns. The importer lets you map any column to the right field, and auto-detects the common ones. This page tells you what each field expects.

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Required fields

A CSV must provide:
  • A Date column, and
  • Either an Amount column, or an Inflow and Outflow pair.
Without both, the import cannot proceed.

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Fields you can map

FieldRequiredNotes
DateYesOne date per transaction.
AmountOne of Amount or Inflow/OutflowSingle signed column. Negative is spending.
Inflow (credit)—Money in. Use with Outflow when your bank splits the two.
Outflow (debit)—Money out.
Payee / DescriptionNoMerchant or description.
Memo / NotesNoExtra text.
CategoryNoA category name if your file has one.
Reference IDNoA bank-supplied unique ID; improves duplicate matching.
Skip—Mark columns you do not want imported.
You cannot map both a single Amount column and an Inflow/Outflow pair — choose one approach. The importer disables the conflicting options for you.

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Date formats

Leave the date format on Auto-detect unless the sample looks wrong. The supported explicit formats are:
  • MM/DD/YYYY
  • DD/MM/YYYY
  • YYYY-MM-DD
  • M/D/YY
  • M/D/YYYY
  • DD-MM-YYYY
If your dates are ambiguous (for example 03/04/2026), pick the exact format so day and month are not swapped.

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Amounts

  • A single Amount column should be negative for spending and positive for money in.
  • If your bank reports spending as positive numbers, tick Invert amounts to flip every sign.
  • If you map Inflow only, every row imports positive. Outflow only, every row imports negative.
  • Currency symbols and thousands separators (like $1,250.00) are handled.

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Duplicate matching

A Reference ID column, where your bank provides one, gives the most reliable duplicate detection — exact ID matches are caught precisely. Without it, Budget Bandit falls back to matching on date, amount, and payee within a few days. See duplicate handling in Import a CSV.

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A minimal example

Date,Description,Amount
2026-06-01,Coffee Shop,-4.75
2026-06-02,Paycheck,2200.00
2026-06-03,Grocery Store,-86.20
That file imports cleanly: map Date to Date, Description to Payee / Description, and Amount to Amount.

Import a CSV

The full import flow.

Why rows did not import

Diagnose skipped or dropped rows.