Import Data

Import your transactions from CSV or Excel files to populate your budget. Go to Import Data to get started.

What It Does

The import wizard reads your transaction files and creates budget items organized by Maslow’s hierarchy:

  • Monthly expenses - recurring spending added to your Monthly Budget
  • Periodic expenses - irregular or annual spending added to your Periodic Budget
  • Income - added to your monthly income

Supported Files

  • CSV (.csv)
  • Excel (.xlsx, .xls)

Works with exports from banks, credit cards, and budgeting apps like Actual Budget.

The Import Process

Step 1: Upload

Drag and drop or select your file at /import.

If you’re importing from Actual Budget, the app auto-detects the format and skips column mapping.

For other files, you’ll map columns manually.

Step 2: Map Columns

Tell the app which columns contain:

  • Category - expense/income category names (required)
  • Amount - dollar values (required)
  • Type - “Income” or “Expense” (optional)
  • Date - transaction date (optional, enables smart categorization)

If your file has dates, the app analyzes patterns to separate regular monthly expenses from one-off periodic expenses.

Step 3: Assign Categories to Maslow Levels

Drag each expense category to the appropriate level:

Level What Goes Here
Physiological Food, housing, utilities, transportation
Safety Insurance, emergency fund, debt payments
Love & Belonging Social activities, dining out, gifts
Esteem Personal development, fitness, education
Self-Actualization Charitable giving, hobbies, creative pursuits

Saved mappings: Your category assignments are stored in your browser. Next time you import, categories you’ve mapped before will auto-assign.

Moving items around: You can:

  • Toggle categories between Monthly and Periodic
  • Move income items to expenses (and vice versa)
  • Classify transfers as savings contributions or debt payments

Step 4: Review and Import

See a summary of what will be imported:

  • Monthly expenses by Maslow level
  • Periodic expenses (annual items)
  • Income categories

Click Import to add everything to your budget. You’ll be redirected to your Monthly Budget to see the results.

Income Detection

The app identifies income automatically by:

  1. Amount sign - Positive amounts are income, negative are expenses
  2. Type column - If present, uses explicit Income/Expense labels
  3. Category names - Recognizes “Salary”, “Paycheck”, “Freelance”, “Dividend”, etc.

Transfers

When importing from Actual Budget, inter-account transfers are detected separately. You can:

  • Ignore - Skip transfers entirely (they move money but aren’t income or expense)
  • Classify as Savings - Track as a savings contribution expense
  • Classify as Debt Payment - Track as a debt payment expense

Tips

One month at a time: Import single months for cleaner categorization.

Add a Category column: Bank exports often lack categories. Add one in Excel before importing.

Category mappings persist: Set them up once, reuse on future imports.

Amounts are merged: If you import the same category twice, amounts add together.

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