Import Double-entry transactions in CSV format

For details about importing double-entry transactions, see Import Double-entry accounting transactions.

Go to the Actions menu > Import into accounting

The file type to use is "Text file with column headers".

File format and main columns for import

For double-entry accounting files 

• You can use any column available in the Transactions table
  (see: Transactions table for double-entry accounting), and you can view the available columns in the Columns setup list.
• Main columns for double-entry accounting
  • Date of the transaction (2014-12-31).
  • Description a short description.
  • AccountDebit the customer's account number or the general customer account.
  • AccountCredit the revenue account number.
  • Amount the amount in the accounting currency.
  • VatCode the VAT code to use.
  • AmountCurrency for multi-currency accounting, the invoice amount in the original currency, which must be the currency of the AccountDebit account.
• Field headers must be included in the first line of the file.
  Field names are case-sensitive and must correspond to the NameXml (English) values found in the Settings tab of the Columns setup.
• Field headers and field data must use the tab character as the separator "\t".
• Each line (after a "\n") is a new record.
• The format for Date fields is yyyy-mm-dd.
• Character encoding should preferably be UTF-8; otherwise, use the local encoding.

Example double-entry file format

In the example, the values are shown in an Excel document.

Options

• Import using clipboard data uses the contents of the clipboard instead of a file.
• Autocomplete values: Some transaction fields are completed automatically (see "Importing transactions for multi-currency double-entry accounting").
• Unicode (UTF-8): The file content is encoded in Unicode UTF-8, which supports any character set. 

Importing other transaction columns

You can import any other field defined in the Transactions table.
We also suggest importing the following values, if available:

• DateDocument the date of the original document (for example, the invoice date).
• DocInvoice the invoice number.
• DocOriginal the document number, for example the invoice number.
• DocLink the address of the file that links to a scanned document (PDF, JPG, etc.).
  You can use a path relative to the accounting file.
• DateExpiration the invoice due date.
• ExternalReference information that helps identify each transaction as unique.
  In a future version of Banana, it will be used (together with the date) to warn the user if the transaction has already been imported.
  This should be an external reference generated by the software that creates the transactions to be imported.
  We suggest using the program name and a number that is unique for the accounting period.
  For example, "invoice-2013-00001.001", with the year, invoice number, and a progressive number related to the invoice if multiple transaction lines are required for the same invoice.

Importing transactions for multi-currency double-entry accounting

When importing multi-currency data, rounding or calculation differences may occur because different development tools are used. To avoid these differences, provide only certain fields. During import, the program will calculate the missing field values (with the "Autocomplete values" option).

• If you provide only "AmountCurrency", the program will use the default exchange rate and calculate the "Amount".
• To avoid errors, always provide the "ExchangeCurrency" value.
• If you provide "AmountCurrency" and both "ExchangeRate" and "Amount" are 0 or not present, the program will calculate the exchange rate based on the "Amount" and "AmountCurrency" columns.

Importing invoice data

Data from your invoicing software can be imported into Banana.
There are two ways to do this:

1. Have your invoicing software generate a file for Banana as described in "Import Double-entry transactions in txt format".
2. Use the data exported by your existing invoicing software.
   To import data from a proprietary format into Banana, you need to create a JavaScript Banana Extension  that converts the data into a format accepted by Banana.
   The script takes the contents of a file as input and creates a tab-separated text file with column headers as output.
   See also the GitHub repository.

Invoices on multiple rows

Most invoices contain different items that need to be recorded in different revenue accounts or have different VAT rates.
In this case, each invoice requires multiple import rows.
Date, DateDocument, and DocInvoice always have the same values.

• The first row contains:
  • AccountDebit: the customer account number.
  • AccountCredit is empty.
  • Amount: the total amount of the invoice, which is the amount due from the customer.
  • VatCode is empty.
• For each item with a different revenue account or VAT rate, you should add another row:
  • AccountDebit is empty.
  • AccountCredit: the revenue account for this item.
  • Amount: the total amount to be recorded in this account.
    If you use a VatCode, it may be convenient to use the amount excluding VAT.
  • VatCode: the VatCode that applies to this item.
    If the Amount is net of VAT, define a VAT code that is calculated on the net amount.

Group transactions by invoice number

If the imported data contains the "DocInvoice" column, when Banana Accounting displays a second dialog box, you can choose to have Banana group the transactions by DocInvoice.
In this case, Banana Accounting automatically creates a transaction for any rounding differences, if necessary.

Use a cost center instead of a customer account

If you want to keep track of registered invoices but do not want them to be recorded in individual accounts, you can use the Cost center (CC3).  See also the Clients/Suppliers register.