Importing Bank Statements

Import transactions directly from your bank or payment platform to keep your books in sync. NP Ledger supports standard bank files (OFX, QFX, QBO) and provider-specific formats for PayPal, Venmo, Mercury, and Stripe.

Typing in every transaction from your bank statement is tedious and error-prone. Importing the statement file brings in all the transactions at once with the correct dates, amounts, and descriptions -- and NP Ledger automatically flags duplicates so you don't double-count anything.

• Set up the bank account in NP Ledger first. See Adding Your Bank Accounts. The import needs to know which account to record against.
• Download your statement from your bank's website. Most banks offer OFX, QFX, or QBO downloads. If yours only offers CSV or PDF, use the CSV option (PDF is not supported).

Step 1: Start a bank reconciliation

1. Go to Bank Reconciliation from the sidebar.
2. Select the bank account you want to import into.
3. Click Import Statement to open the import source selector.

Tip: You can also do a standalone import without starting a reconciliation. Go to Import > Standalone Import from the sidebar. This is useful when you just want to bring in transactions without matching them.

Step 2: Choose your import source

Select the format that matches your bank or payment platform:

Standard bank files: - OFX / QFX / QBO -- The most common bank download format. Works with nearly every bank and credit union. Download this from your bank's website under "Statements" or "Download Transactions."

Payment platform files: - PayPal -- Upload the PayPal activity CSV. Download it from PayPal > Activity > Download. - Venmo -- Upload the Venmo statement CSV. Download it from Venmo > Statements. - Mercury -- Upload Mercury's transaction export. (Mercury users can also set up a bank feed for automatic daily imports.) - Stripe -- Upload Stripe's payout or transaction export.

Generic: - CSV (standalone) -- For any bank that doesn't offer OFX. Requires column mapping (similar to spreadsheet import).

Step 3: Upload the file

1. Click Choose File or drag and drop your downloaded bank file.
2. NP Ledger reads the file and shows a preview of the transactions found: date, amount, description, and (for OFX files) the bank's transaction ID.

Step 4: Review duplicate detection

NP Ledger automatically checks each imported transaction against your existing records:

• New transactions appear normally -- ready to be added.
• Potential duplicates are flagged with a warning. These are transactions that match an existing record by date and amount.
• Review flagged items and skip any that are true duplicates.

Step 5: Match or create transactions

For each imported transaction, you can:

• Match it to an existing transaction already in NP Ledger (useful if you entered it manually or it came in through a donation connection)
• Create a new transaction in your books
• Skip it if it's a duplicate or doesn't belong

Step 6: Complete the import

After reviewing all transactions, confirm the import. If you started from the reconciliation flow, you'll return to the reconciliation dashboard to continue matching and balancing.

• Transaction count should match your statement. If you downloaded a March statement with 45 transactions, you should see close to 45 imported (some may be filtered as duplicates).
• Duplicate flags deserve attention -- review each one to make sure you're not skipping a genuine new transaction that happens to have the same amount and date as an existing one.
• New transactions should be assigned to the correct accounts. Imported transactions may need account assignment during or after import.

• Importing a statement for the wrong bank account. If you have multiple accounts (checking, savings, PayPal), make sure you selected the right one before importing. Transactions imported to the wrong account require manual correction.
• Not checking for duplicates. If you enter some transactions manually and then import the same month's statement, you'll have double entries. Always review the duplicate flags.
• Importing a partial statement and then the full statement. This creates duplicates for the overlapping period. Import each date range only once.
• Using a PDF statement. NP Ledger can't read PDF files. Download your statement in OFX, QFX, QBO, or CSV format.
• Forgetting to reconcile after importing. Importing is step one. Bank Reconciliation is where you verify everything matches your statement balance.

Tip: For the best workflow, import your bank statement monthly right after the statement period closes, then immediately reconcile. This keeps your books current and catches errors while the transactions are fresh in your mind.

Open the AI Help panel and try: - "How do I download my bank statement in OFX format?" - "Why are some transactions flagged as duplicates?" - "How do I import from PayPal?"