Troubleshooting bank file imports

Learn about the most common errors encountered when importing bank files and what you can do to resolve the issue. 

'Invalid date' error

This error usually happens when uploading a CSV file that has been previously opened in Excel.

When Excel opens or saves a file, it may automatically change the date format to be different to what was originally exported. For example, if you open a CSV file with New Zealand/Australia/Europe date format dd/mm/yyyy, it will automatically convert it to Excel's default US date format which is mm/dd/yyyy. For more information about this issue check out: Incorrect dates from an Excel file

The best way to get around this is to export your files from your bank again and ensure they are not opened in Excel before importing them into PocketSmith.

Import failed due to date detection error with a CSV file

PocketSmith will try to automatically detect the date format of your file, but if there are little transactions to compare, it may choose the wrong date format. For example: PocketSmith must choose between formats dd/mm/yy or mm/dd/yy. 01/02/2015 could mean January 2, or February 1. 

Please export transactions of a wider date range, and try the upload again. If you're still encountering an issue,  please get in touch with us.

Data is malformed

If you receive an error that 'Data is malformed', this indicates that the file is incorrectly formatted.

We would recommend re-exporting the file from your bank and ensure the file is not opened or edited before importing it into PocketSmith.

If you continue to experience the same issue, please get in touch with us and we can investigate further.

Import failed because there were no transactions to import

If you receive an error stating that the ' Import failed because there were no transactions to import' then this is likely due to overlapping transactions and the import options selected when importing the file.

If the option to ' Leave transactions on overlapping dates out' is selected any transactions with the same date as an existing transaction in the account will not be imported. For example, if you have this option selected and the transactions within the bank file occurred on the same dates as existing transactions, no new transactions will be imported as they are considered overlapping.

When exporting your transactions from your online banking,  we recommend choosing to export from the  date of the latest transaction in the related PocketSmith account. Then, when uploading to PocketSmith choose to Replace transactions on overlapping dates. 

This ensures that no transactions will be missing, however, you will lose any edits (such as labels or notes) made to previously posted transactions on overlapping dates.

If, for some reason, this option does not work for you, please get in touch with us and we'll do our best to help.

Expense transactions are showing as income after importing a bank file

If you've imported a bank file and notice that the transactions are showing expenses as income, and income as expenses, this is likely due to the way the bank has listed the transaction amounts in the bank file.

The good news is this is really easy to fix, and you can learn how to do so here: Expense transactions are showing as income (or vice versa) after importing a bank file

Transaction dates are incorrect after importing a bank file

When importing CSV and QIF bank files, PocketSmith will try to work out the date format that has been uploaded without asking you for additional input. Sometimes, PocketSmith will import transactions with the incorrect date format.

To learn why this might happen, and how to fix it, please see: Transaction dates are incorrect after importing a bank file