Managing categories imported from bank files

This user guide explains how categories are imported with bank files. It also explains why sometimes categories are not imported with bank files.

QIF files and categories

Some online banking services include categories in their exported QIF files, and others do not. It just depends on what the preferences are at that bank. If your bank file does include transaction categories, they will automatically be imported into PocketSmith. 

Identifying categories in my file

If you are curious to find out whether your bank includes categories in the QIF file, open your bank file with a plain text editor (e.g. Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on OS X, gedit on most Linux distributions). You should be able to spot categories easily if they are there.

A single transaction in a bank file will include

  • Date of purchase
  • Merchant name 
  • Location
  • Transaction total amount 
  • Possibly a category

Here's an example of a QIF file, with and without categories so you can see the difference.

Note

Sub-categories that are nested under their parent categories can be imported with QIF files too!


CSV files and categories

When importing a CSV file, PocketSmith will ask you to review all the columns of your file. If categories are present in your data, simply assign that column as Categories from the drop-down menu. Doing this will ensure your categories are imported with your bank file. Easy peasy!

Note

You may need to scroll to the right of the file to see all of the available columns.



OFX files and categories

Alert

Categories cannot be included in OFX files

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