Import a Generic CSV File

How to import transactions from any CSV file into Forbidden Finance using the column mapping tool, including date format tips, amount handling, and saving mapping profiles.

Overview

The generic CSV and JSON importer handles any CSV file that does not match the YNAB, Mint, or Monarch formats. This is ideal for bank exports, credit card statement downloads, spreadsheet exports, or data from finance apps that Forbidden Finance does not have a dedicated importer for. You tell Forbidden Finance which columns in your file correspond to which transaction fields, and it handles the rest.

When to Use Generic Import

Use the generic CSV and JSON importer when:

Your bank's website lets you download transactions as CSV
You have a spreadsheet of expenses you want to import
You exported data from a finance app other than YNAB, Mint, or Monarch
Forbidden Finance did not auto-detect your file format

How to Import a Generic CSV

Open the import screen

Go to Transactions > Import in Forbidden Finance.

Select your CSV file

Choose the file from your device. If the format is not auto-detected as YNAB, Mint, or Monarch, Forbidden Finance opens the column mapping tool.

Map your columns

You see a dropdown for each Forbidden Finance field. For each one, select the corresponding column from your CSV file.

Field	Required	What to Map
Date	Yes	The column containing transaction dates
Amount	Yes	The column with dollar amounts
Merchant	No	Payee, vendor, or description column
Category	No	Category or type column, if your file has one
Description	No	Memo, notes, or additional info column

The mapping tool shows a preview of the first few rows with your selected mappings so you can verify the result before importing.

Confirm the date format

Forbidden Finance samples your date column to auto-detect the format. If it finds ambiguity (for example, 01/02/2026 could be January 2 or February 1), you are asked to confirm. Select the correct format from the options provided.

Choose the target account

Select the account these transactions belong to.

Save a mapping profile (optional)

If you plan to import from this same source again, tap Save Mapping Profile and give it a name like "Chase Statement" or "Expense Report." Next time you upload a file with the same columns, select the saved profile to skip the mapping step.

Review and import

Check the preview for accuracy. Tap Import to start. The progress bar tracks batches of 100 rows, showing imported, skipped, and errored counts.

Date Format Tips

Forbidden Finance recognizes these date formats automatically:

Format	Example
MM/DD/YYYY	01/15/2026
YYYY-MM-DD	2026-01-15
DD/MM/YYYY	15/01/2026
MM/DD/YY	01/15/26
MM-DD-YYYY	01-15-2026
DD Mon YYYY	15 Jan 2026
Month DD, YYYY	January 15, 2026

If your file uses a less common format, try reformatting the date column in a spreadsheet app to one of the supported formats before importing.

Amount Format Tips

The importer handles a wide variety of amount formats:

Your File Shows	Imported As
`-50.00`	-50.00 (expense)
`50.00`	50.00 (income)
`(50.00)`	-50.00 (expense)
`$50.00`	50.00 (stripped symbol)
`1,234.56`	1234.56 (stripped separator)
`1.234,56`	1234.56 (European format)

Currency symbols and thousands separators are stripped automatically. If your file uses parentheses for negative amounts (common in accounting exports), those are converted to negative numbers.

If your file has separate columns for inflows and outflows (instead of positive/negative in one column), map the Amount field to the primary column. You may need to preprocess the file to combine the columns, or use the YNAB importer if the format matches.

Mapping Profiles

Saved mapping profiles remember:

Which CSV column maps to each Forbidden Finance field
The date format you confirmed
The profile name you chose

To use a saved profile, select it from the dropdown at the top of the mapping screen after choosing your file. The columns are mapped instantly. You can still adjust the mapping before importing if your file has changed slightly.

To manage profiles, go to Settings > Import > Mapping Profiles where you can rename or delete saved profiles.

Tips

Open your CSV in a spreadsheet app before importing to verify it has a header row and consistent data. Files without header rows may not import correctly.

If your bank export includes a "Balance" column, skip mapping it. Forbidden Finance calculates balances from transactions and does not need a balance column.

The amount column must contain numeric values. If your file has text like "Pending" in the amount column for some rows, those rows are rejected during import. Clean up the file beforehand or let them fail and review the error report.