Imports

Arthalekha allows you to import your financial data from CSV files. This is useful for bulk data entry, migrating from other tools, or restoring data from exports.

Why Import Data?

Bulk Data Entry

Import multiple transactions at once:

• Historical transactions
• Bank statement data
• Data from other financial tools

Migration

Move your data from:

• Spreadsheets you've been maintaining
• Other expense tracking apps
• Exported data from other systems

Backup Restoration

Restore data from:

• Previous exports
• Backup files
• Shared family data

What Can Be Imported?

Incomes

Import income records including:

• Date
• Description
• Account
• Person (optional)
• Tags (optional)
• Amount

Expenses

Import expense records including:

• Date
• Description
• Account
• Person (optional)
• Tags (optional)
• Amount

CSV Format Requirements

Headers

Your CSV file must have these exact headers in this order:

Date,Description,Account,Person,Tags,Amount

Column Details

Column	Required	Format	Example
Date	Yes	YYYY-MM-DD	2024-01-15
Description	Yes	Text (max 255 chars)	Monthly Salary
Account	Yes	Account name (must exist)	Savings Account
Person	No	Person name (must exist if provided)	John Doe
Tags	No	Comma or pipe separated	Food, Travel
Amount	Yes	Decimal (0.01 - 999999999999)	5000.00

Sample CSV Files

Incomes Example:

Date,Description,Account,Person,Tags,Amount
2024-01-01,Monthly Salary,HDFC Savings,,Salary,75000.00
2024-01-15,Freelance Project,HDFC Savings,Dad,"Freelance, Work",15000.00
2024-01-20,Interest,Savings Account,,Interest,500.00

Expenses Example:

Date,Description,Account,Person,Tags,Amount
2024-01-05,Grocery Shopping,HDFC Savings,,Food,2500.00
2024-01-10,Electricity Bill,HDFC Savings,,"Bills, Utilities",1500.00
2024-01-15,Restaurant Dinner,Cash Wallet,Mom,"Food, Entertainment",1200.00

How to Import

Step 1: Prepare Your CSV

1. Create a CSV file with the required headers
2. Ensure all account names match existing accounts
3. Ensure all person names match existing people (if used)
4. Ensure all tag names match existing tags (if used)
5. Use the correct date format (YYYY-MM-DD)

Step 2: Navigate to Import

1. Go to Incomes or Expenses list
2. Click the "Import CSV" button

Step 3: Upload File

1. Select your CSV file
2. Click "Import"
3. Wait for processing

Step 4: Check Status

After uploading:

• You'll be redirected to the import status page
• The import is processed asynchronously
• Refresh the page to see updated status

Import Processing

Validation

Before any data is imported, the system validates ALL rows:

• Date format is correct
• Description is not empty
• Account exists and belongs to you
• Person exists (if provided)
• Tags exist (if provided)
• Amount is valid

All-or-Nothing

Important: If ANY row fails validation, the ENTIRE import fails. No partial imports occur.

This ensures data integrity - you either get all your data imported or none of it, allowing you to fix issues and retry.

Status Types

Status	Meaning
Pending	Import queued for processing
Validating	System is checking all rows
Processing	Importing valid data
Completed	All rows imported successfully
Failed	Validation errors found, nothing imported

Handling Errors

Viewing Errors

If an import fails:

1. The status page shows "Failed"
2. All validation errors are listed
3. Each error shows the row number and issue

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Fix
Invalid date format	Date not in YYYY-MM-DD	Change "15-01-2024" to "2024-01-15"
Account does not exist	Account name not found	Check spelling, create account first
Person does not exist	Person name not found	Check spelling, create person first
Tag does not exist	Tag name not found	Check spelling, create tag first
Amount must be greater than zero	Zero or negative amount	Use positive amounts
Description is required	Empty description	Add a description

Fixing and Retrying

1. Download or edit your original CSV
2. Fix the errors listed
3. Re-upload the corrected file

Tags in CSV

Comma-Separated Tags

"Food, Travel, Entertainment"

Pipe-Separated Tags

"Food|Travel|Entertainment"

Both formats are supported. Use quotes if tags contain commas.

Best Practices

Prepare Data Carefully

Before importing:

• Create all needed accounts first
• Create all needed people first
• Create all needed tags first
• Verify spelling matches exactly

Start Small

For first-time imports:

• Test with a small file (5-10 rows)
• Verify the import worked correctly
• Then import larger batches

Check Account Names

Account names must match exactly:

• "HDFC Savings" is different from "hdfc savings"
• "Savings Account" is different from "SavingsAccount"

Use Consistent Formats

Maintain consistency:

• Same date format throughout
• Same account names as in the app
• Same tag names as in the app

Keep Original Files

After importing:

• Keep your original CSV files
• Note which files were imported
• Useful for reference and troubleshooting

Limitations

What You Cannot Import

Currently, imports don't support:

• Transfers (import as incomes/expenses separately)
• Recurring transactions
• Account balances directly

File Size

• Maximum file size: 10MB
• For very large imports, split into multiple files

Processing Time

Large imports may take time:

• Import is processed asynchronously
• Refresh the status page to check progress
• Don't upload the same file multiple times

Related Features

• Exports - Export data to CSV
• Incomes - Income transactions
• Expenses - Expense transactions
• Accounts - Create accounts before importing
• Tags - Create tags before importing