BankImport Rescue / CSV preparation
Does 07/10 mean July 10 or October 7?
A bank download can have the right transactions but the wrong shape for an import. Decide the date order, map the amounts and review possible repeats before exporting a new CSV.
This is a fictional three-row exercise. It prepares data for review; it does not connect to a bank, import into an accounting account or reconcile transactions.
1. Read the original rows
Date,Description,Amount 07/10/2026,Sample credit,0.10 07/10/2026,Second credit,0.20 07/10/2026,Sample credit,0.10
The first and third rows match. That alone cannot tell you whether one is an accidental copy or a second real transaction. The date is also ambiguous. Neither decision should be guessed from these rows.
2. Make the mapping explicit
- Select the practice CSV. Use a comma delimiter and a header row.
- Map Date, Description and Amount to their matching columns.
- Use the signed-amount mode with positive amounts meaning money in.
- For this exercise choose DMY, a decimal point, no grouping separator and two decimal places.
- Run the review. Keep all three rows included.
DMY interprets the sample date as October 7, 2026. MDY would interpret it as July 10, 2026. For a real file, establish the convention from the bank’s export settings and statement, rather than copying the choice in this exercise.
3. Check the totals before exporting
| Check | Expected |
|---|---|
| Included rows | 3 |
| Possible-repeat groups | 1 |
| Excluded rows | 0 |
| Original net / selected net | 0.40 / 0.40 |
A possible-repeat flag keeps the rows available for review. If you manually exclude one 0.10 row, the selected net becomes 0.30. That is only correct if independent records establish that the row is unwanted. A smaller total is not automatically a cleaner file.
4. Compare the exported shape
The supplied expected outputs keep every row. These are reference files for this exercise, not statements to upload to a live account.
The QuickBooks output uses Date, Description and Amount. The Xero output uses Date, Amount and Description, with dates written as 2026/10/07. Compare all three rows and the net total after export.
QuickBooks documents three-column and four-column CSV formats. Check its current format guidance. Xero describes its date and amount mappings and prompts for ambiguous date formats. Check Xero’s current import guide. Account region, product and import options can differ; a prepared file is not a guarantee of acceptance.
Before using a real statement
- Keep the original download and work on a copy for one account and period.
- Confirm date order, decimal convention and whether positive means money in.
- Check row counts, inflows, outflows and net totals.
- Review repeats against independent records; do not automatically discard identical rows.
- Check the destination’s preview and existing transactions before completing an import.
Processing is local in the browser. You do not need to share bank details to try this exercise. This guide is about CSV preparation, not financial or accounting advice.