Import transactions from a CSV or spreadsheet

If you keep your books in a spreadsheet or can download a bank statement, CSV import is the fastest way to get everything in. A short four-step wizard reads your file, maps the columns, and writes each line in as its own transaction. This is the sanctioned alternative to manual entry: the records live in the app, so your quarterly figures are built automatically from them.

What this is

CSV import is the bulk way to get your income and expenses into the app. You upload a CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file (a spreadsheet you keep, or a statement you download from your bank), tell the app which columns are which, and it writes each line in as an individual transaction. It works for both UK property and self-employment.

Importantly, every imported line becomes a real transaction stored in the app, exactly as if you had typed it in. Your records do not stay in the spreadsheet, and the app never just sends totals. Once the transactions are in, your quarterly figures are built automatically from them.

Note: If you only have a handful of entries, you can add them by hand instead. See Recording income and expenses.

Before you start

• You need to be signed in and have at least one property (or, in self-employment mode, a self-employment business) to import against.
• CSV import is available on Free and MTD Lite.
• Self-employment import works too: on Free when self-employment is your single income type, or on MTD Lite if you have both property and self-employment income.
• Have your file ready as .csv or .xlsx, up to 2MB and 10,000 rows.

Import step by step

1. Open Transactions (or, for a sole trader, your self-employment transactions page) and click Import CSV or Excel in the top action area. This opens the four-step wizard.
2. Select the property or business. On step Select Property (or Select Business) choose where the transactions belong. This step is skipped when you launch the import from a single property's page, because the property is already known.
3. Upload your file. On Upload File, drag and drop or browse to your .csv or .xlsx file. The app reads it and shows how many rows it found. If you do not have a file yet, you can use Download CSV Templates to start from a ready-made layout.
4. Map the columns. On Map Columns, confirm which columns are Date, Amount, and Description. If the app is confident it shows a compact Columns detected successfully summary; click Looks wrong? Adjust mapping to open the full editor. In the editor, set each column's Map To value. Instead of a single Amount column you can map a Debit (Money Out) and a Credit (Money In) pair. A Category column is optional. You can pick your bank under Bank Format (or accept the detected suggestion), and click Save Mapping to reuse the same layout next time.
5. Preview and import. On Preview & Import, review the rows. The app pre-fills a category for each one and flags anything that needs attention (duplicates, blank descriptions, categories to check). Fix what you need to, then click Import N Transactions.
6. Check the result. A confirmation toast shows the import succeeded. If it was a mistake, click Undo on that toast to reverse it.

Tip: You do not have to map a category column. If you leave categories out, the app works out a sensible HMRC category for each row from its description, and you can adjust any of them in the preview. See Transaction categories.

How categories are filled in

You never have to type a category during import. As the app builds the preview it assigns an HMRC category to each row:

• The direction (income or expense) comes from the amount sign and is not changed: positive is income, negative is an expense.
• The category is then chosen within that direction, mainly from the description.
• Rows it cannot place get a generic category and a prompt to review them. Use the per-row Category dropdown or the bulk Assign category action to correct them.
• Your corrections are remembered per payee, so the next time the same recurring line appears it is pre-filled with your choice.

Duplicates

The app checks every row against what you already have and flags possible duplicates in the preview:

• Exact duplicates are skipped by default, so re-importing an overlapping statement will not double up your records.
• If a flagged row is genuinely new (a false positive), toggle Keep anyway on that row to import it.
• Repeats within the same file are flagged too.

Undoing an import

If an import went wrong, click Undo on the confirmation toast shown straight after it. That removes everything the import just added.

Important: The toast is the only way to undo. There is no separate undo or history screen, so do it while the toast is on screen. Undo works only if none of the imported rows have been edited since, and it is available for a limited time after the import. After that, remove any unwanted rows by deleting them on the Transactions page.

If something goes wrong

• The Import CSV or Excel button is missing. Add at least one property (or, for self-employment, at least one self-employment business) to import against. CSV import is included on both Free and MTD Lite.
• "File too large. Maximum size is 2MB." Split the export into smaller files, or remove columns and rows you do not need, then upload each part.
• "Too many rows (max 10,000)." Split the file into imports of 10,000 rows or fewer.
• "Too many imports. Please wait an hour before importing again." You have run more than 20 imports in the last hour. Wait a little and try again.
• Continue is disabled on Map Columns. A required column is not mapped, or you mapped both a single Amount column and a Debit/Credit pair. Map exactly one Date, one Description, and either one Amount column or one Debit plus one Credit column. Set any extras to Skip.
• Rows show "Description is required". Those rows have a blank cell in the mapped description column. Fill it in the source file, or edit the row in the preview before importing.
• Income landed as expenses (or the reverse). Direction comes from the amount sign. A statement where everything is positive, refunds, or swapped Debit/Credit columns can mis-direct rows. Heed the No category column detected banner, review the categories in the preview, or remap the Debit and Credit columns.
• "This may not be a landlord account." A category column was mapped but most rows fell to a generic category, which can mean it is a personal account. Review the categories and confirm you want to import anyway, or go back if it is the wrong account.
• Genuine transactions are skipped as duplicates. Toggle Keep anyway on those rows so they import.
• Undo no longer works. A row from the import has been edited, too much time has passed, or the toast was dismissed. Delete the unwanted transactions manually instead.

What happens next

Once your transactions are in, they behave exactly like ones you typed by hand. Nothing has gone to HMRC yet: your quarterly figures are built automatically from these transactions when you submit a quarterly update. The app shows your due dates (from HMRC) on the Filing Calendar.

Frequently asked questions

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