Import a bank statement and categorize each transaction

Open Bank transactions

In the engagement's left menu, under BOOKKEEPING, click Bank transactions. The page lists your bank accounts (the TB accounts that belong to the cash group). Each account shows the bank balance, the general ledger balance and a reconciliation indicator.

Drag and drop a statement

On the target account's card, drag the statement file (PDF, Excel or CSV) into the drop zone. You can also click to choose the file.

Or use the converter

In the engagement, the Statement → Excel converter tool (engagement menu, Tools section) reads a PDF statement: each transaction shows up with its date, amount and balance, and a green check confirms it agrees with the statement balance. The Submit to bookkeeping button then sends the transactions to the chosen account's bank transactions; each one goes to the fiscal year that contains its date. A checked transaction without a valid date (YYYY-MM-DD) is outlined in red: fill in its date or uncheck it, otherwise submitting and exporting stay blocked.

Rules apply on their own only to statements dropped in Bank transactions: for transactions sent by the converter, click Apply rules (step 6). Outside an engagement, the same tool (main menu, Tools › Converter) produces a clean .xlsx (Date, Description, Signed amount). It handles several statements at once, corrects signs by column position and reconciles by the running balance. Nothing leaves your browser.

Import wizard for Excel / CSV files

For a tabular file (Excel or CSV), Ledger opens a small two-step wizard:

1. Step 1: file format. Is the first row a header? How many amount columns (one signed, or two debit / credit)? What date format?
2. Step 2: map the columns. For each column, indicate its role: Date, Description, Amount, Debit, Credit, or Cheque number. For a credit card, map the columns as they appear on the statement: purchases to Debit, payments to Credit. A live preview shows the transactions read, each in its Money out or Money in column.

Click Import X transaction(s). Ledger tells you how many were imported, how many are in other fiscal years, how many duplicates were ignored, and how many were not imported (year closed, no date).

To review tab: categorize

Imported transactions land in To review. For each one, pick:

• The category (TB account, e.g. 5100 Rent, 5200 Advertising, 4000 Sales).
• The tax (the applicable code, e.g. GST + QST on purchases, No tax, GST + QST on sales). Outside Quebec, the default codes have no QST: “GST on purchases (5%)”, “GST on sales (5%)” and the Ontario HST codes, listed first for an Ontario client.

Click Add. Ledger posts an operation entry that feeds the TB. The transaction disappears from To review and shows up in Categorized.

Expenses first, revenue next: next to the search, Money out shows only expenses and Money in only deposits, each with its number of transactions; All brings back the full list. The filter follows the Money out and Money in columns: on a credit card, a purchase is money out and a payment is money in. It also works in Categorized and Excluded. Changing the direction clears the selection, so a bulk action never touches a hidden transaction.

Use suggestions and build rules

Ledger learns as you go:

• “Seen before” suggestion: when a description has already been categorized (in this engagement or the previous fiscal year), Ledger suggests “Seen before: {account} · {tax}”; hover over it to see how many transactions were already categorized that way. The Apply button prefills the fields.
• Suggested transfer: when an identical amount shows up as money out on one account and as money in on another on the same date, Ledger suggests “Possible transfer to account X”. With the Record as transfer button, the two transactions are linked automatically.

Missing account? Type its name in the category picker and choose ＋ Create account “fuel” at the bottom of the list. The creation dialog opens with the name prefilled: pick the number while seeing which nearby numbers are already taken in the chart, then find the grouping by search (word, code or GIFI). The account is created already classified (grouping, type and GIFI set), with a zero balance, and comes back selected right away.

To go faster on recurring transactions, use the Rules tab: add a rule “Description contains = Rogers → Category = 5320 Telecom, Tax = GST+QST”. Rules apply to each statement dropped in Bank transactions, and on demand through Apply rules.

Split, exclude, act on several transactions

Split: use the Split button on a transaction to distribute the amount across several accounts (for example an invoice that includes meals at 50% + supplies at 100%). The total must equal the amount. A negative amount (a cash back, a credit) is entered with a minus sign and reduces the total, taxes included. A line left blank is ignored.

Post a journal entry: in the same window, choose Journal entry (debit/credit) to enter free debits and credits. Typical case, a payroll: the bank only shows the net ($5,000); enter gross wages as a debit ($6,000) and withholdings payable as a credit ($1,000). The statement line is fixed at the exact transaction amount, and Post stays greyed out until the entry balances (the difference is shown).

Journal entry rule: tick Create a rule for similar transactions before posting (the suggested keyword is the description without its numbers). On the next transaction for the same amount, to the cent, the entry posts by itself, on import or through Apply rules. At a different amount (payroll with different hours), the transaction stays to review with a note about the rule: Complete the entry opens the prefilled entry, you enter the real amounts, and the Update the rule box keeps the new amounts (after a raise, for example). A journal entry rule can also be created without a transaction: Rules tab, Add a rule then Journal entry (debit/credit); enter the keyword, the statement account, the expected amount and its direction (money out or in), then the lines. The Edit button of a journal entry rule reopens its lines.

Memo: hover over a transaction and click Memo, under the description, to note whatever you want (“ask the client for the invoice”, “refund to John”). The note stays on the transaction, in all three tabs, and can also be typed in the split window. It is internal to the firm: the search finds it and the general ledger shows it under the description, but the files extracted for the client leave it out. Clear the text to delete it.

Exclude: use the Exclude button to ignore a transaction (for example a personal transfer that has nothing to do with the company). It stays visible in the Excluded tab, and no entry is posted.

Bulk actions: check several transactions in the table, then use the top bar: Supplier…, Category…, Tax…, Categorize (posts the entries), Exclude. The net total of the selection shows next to the count, and a supplier left blank changes nothing. Useful for categorizing a month of bank fees or deposits in one go.

Under each taxed amount, a chip (e.g. “GST+QST incl.”) shows on hover the base before tax, each tax with its chart account, and the statement total.

Mass reclassification (Categorized tab): Category / Tax / period filters appear above the table (“With tax” catches everything that carries a tax in one go). Select, then fill in Supplier, Category or Tax (blank = unchanged) and click “Reclassify N entries”: every linked entry is rebuilt, with the base and tax accounts recalculated, and you see the progress and a summary. Typical case: the client turns out not to be registered for GST/QST → filter “With tax”, select all, Tax = “No tax”, Reclassify. Split lines are skipped with a notice.

Verify in General ledger

Left menu → General ledger. This is the interactive trial balance: expand an account to see its operation entries, click a row to open the full entry. The account balance must match the TB.

Useful filters: “From date”, “To date” (period), and “Continuous (all years)” to view the general ledger for all of the client's fiscal years, bounded by the dates. The Export to Excel button gives you a complete .xlsx.