How to import bank transactions into Koody from PDF and CSV files

Not everyone wants to link their bank to a budgeting app. Some people prefer to download statements, work with CSV files, or bring in data from an older budgeting tool they are leaving behind.

Koody is built for exactly that.

Instead of forcing live bank connections, Koody gives you a powerful import system that lets you:

• Upload PDF bank and credit card statements or transaction CSV files.
• Import transaction exports from other budgeting apps.
• Automatically clean, categorize, and detect recurring transactions.
• Fix anything you do not like with bulk edit tools.
• Ask Koody AI for help when you get stuck.

Importing lets you keep your history, move off older tools, and decide when and how your data enters your budget.

Where you can import from

Koody's importer is designed to handle a variety of sources. In practice, most people import from one of three places.

Bank and card statements

Most banks and card providers let you download transaction history as a CSV or a statement as a PDF. Koody supports both for:

• Checking and savings accounts.
• Credit cards.
• Online banks and digital wallets.
• Payment services such as PayPal or similar tools.

Use an original CSV when your provider offers one, or upload the PDF statement when that is the record you have. Either way, Koody organizes the transactions for you to review. For more detail, read our guide to importing PDF bank statements into Koody.

Other budgeting apps

If you are leaving another budgeting app, you can often export your transaction history there, too. Typical cases include:

• Exports from Mint or similar tools.
• CSV exports from zero-based budgeting apps.
• Transaction downloads from envelope-based budgeting apps.

Your old app may not say "Export for Koody," but as long as you get a CSV, Koody's importer can take a shot at cleaning and categorizing it.

Your own spreadsheets

Maybe you have been tracking spending in a spreadsheet for years. In that case, you can:

• Save or export the sheet as a CSV file.
• Upload it to Koody just like a bank statement.

You do not need to rewrite everything. Koody will look at your headers and values and try to make sense of them for you.

Step 1: Download a PDF or CSV statement file

Here is a sample CSV file:

The first step in any import is getting your data into a file.

From your bank or card provider:

1. Sign in to online banking.
2. Go to your transactions or statements area.
3. Look for an option such as "Download," "Export," or "Export transactions."
4. Choose the original CSV transaction export when it is available, or download the PDF bank or credit card statement you want to import. If you receive an Excel file, save or export it as CSV first.

From another budgeting app:

1. Open the app's settings or account area.
2. Look for "Export," "Download data," or "Download transactions."
3. Export as CSV if you can.

From your own spreadsheet:

1. Open the sheet in your spreadsheet tool.
2. Use "Download as CSV" or "Save As → CSV."

You do not need a perfect CSV. Koody is designed to handle typical messy exports, including extra columns, unusual date formats, missing headings, and bank-specific quirks. For PDF import, use the original bank or credit card statement rather than a converted copy when possible.

Step 2: Upload your file to Koody

Once you have your file, you are ready to bring it into Koody:

1. Open Koody and go to the Overview or Transactions tab.
2. Click the New button in the top right corner.
3. Look for the option to Import Bank Transactions.
4. From the drop-down menu, select the account you want to import into.
5. Click or drag and drop your downloaded PDF or CSV file to upload it.
6. Click Import.

As soon as you click Import, Koody brings the transactions into the account you selected, cleans the descriptions, auto-categorizes them, checks for possible duplicates, and identifies recurring activity. You can review the results and change anything that looks wrong.

Some CSVs need one extra step. If Koody asks you to Map Your Columns, choose the Date, Amount, Description, and any other fields you want to bring in, then continue the import.

Step 3: Let Koody clean and categorize your import

This is where Koody's importer earns its keep.

After you upload the file, Koody:

• Organizes the transaction details. It brings each date, description, and amount into the account you selected.
• Cleans up descriptions. It turns hard-to-read bank text into more useful merchant names.
• Normalizes merchants. It tidies up messy descriptions so similar transactions are grouped together under a recognizable merchant name.
• Automatically categorizes transactions. Based on merchant names, amounts, and patterns, Koody assigns categories so you get a meaningful breakdown right away.
• Detects recurring transactions. It looks for regular patterns, such as monthly subscriptions, rent, or recurring transfers, and flags them as likely recurring.
• Checks against previous imports. This helps prevent the same imported history from being counted twice when you upload on a steady schedule.

The importer is designed around real-world PDF statements and CSV exports, including files from banks, cards, spreadsheets, and older budgeting apps.

That means the import step is not just about getting rows into Koody. It is also about shortening the cleanup loop you have to repeat next week or next month so automatic expense import feels practical instead of messy.

Step 4: Review and fix with bulk edit

Once Koody finishes processing, it gives you a quick summary and an easy way to review the imported transactions right away. If something does not look right, you can continue reviewing there or navigate to the Transactions tab.

On the Transactions tab, you can:

• See a list of imported transactions, their descriptions, and the categories Koody assigned.
• Filter or group by description, category, account, or date range.
• Use bulk edit tools to change many transactions at once.

Bulk edit is how you fix things quickly:

• Change the category for a group of similar transactions in a single action.
• Reassign a recurring payment from a generic category to a specific goal.
• Clean up edge cases without touching the rest of your file.

This turns what used to be a long, line-by-line cleanup into a short review session. Most people can tidy an import in minutes, not hours.

Note: Bulk editing is only available on large screens, such as tablets, laptops, and desktop devices.

Step 5: Teach Koody your preferences

The importer is not meant to stay static. Over time, Koody can learn from how you correct its guesses.

When you:

• Re-categorize a group of transactions from one category to another, or
• Regularly rename or retag the same type of merchant,

Koody can use those corrections as training signals so future imports get smarter. The more you teach it what looks right for you, the less you need to adjust in later uploads.

You can think of this as building your own rules without having to write rules. You use bulk or individual transaction edit tools to make changes, and Koody quietly learns the patterns.

This learning layer is especially helpful when you import the same account every week or month. As it grows, future imports will feel more and more tailored to the way you personally budget and categorize your spending.

Step 6: Get help from Koody AI

Importing is not just about getting data in. It is also about understanding what you imported and how it fits into your budget.

If you reach a point in the review where you are unsure what to do, you can open Koody AI right inside the app and ask questions such as:

• "What is the simplest way to group these transactions?"
• "Which of these look like subscriptions?"
• "How should I categorize these transfers?"
• "What changed the most compared to my last import?"

Because Koody AI can see your imported transactions and your existing categories and budgets, it can give you answers that match your actual situation, not generic advice from a template.

You stay in control, but you do not have to figure everything out on your own.

Importing without linking your bank

One of the biggest reasons people look for CSV import and file-based import is that they do not want to link their bank accounts at all.

Koody is designed to work well in that mode:

• You download a PDF statement or transaction CSV from your bank whenever you are ready.
• You import them into Koody using the flow described above.
• Koody cleans, categorizes, and highlights recurring payments.
• You adjust anything with bulk edit and Koody AI.

You get the benefits of a modern budgeting app without handing over your bank login details or waiting for live sync. If you prefer a more offline, manual-first approach, this is the best of both worlds.

It also works well when your bank is unsupported by sync providers, or when you would rather work from posted statement data than chase changing pending transactions.

For more on this philosophy, see our article on using Koody without bank linking and how manual-first budgeting can work better than you might think.

How often should you import?

There is no single right answer for how often you should import, but a few patterns work well for most people.

Weekly imports

Weekly imports are great if you like to check in regularly and keep your budget very current. You download statements or recent activity once a week, import them into Koody, review with bulk edit, and move on.

Twice a month

Importing twice a month works well if you want to match pay cycles. You might import after each paycheck so that your budget and transaction view reflect the latest changes when you plan the next two weeks.

Monthly imports

Monthly imports are a good fit if you prefer a single "money day" each month. You pull statements for all your accounts, import them into Koody, review them, and then adjust your budget for the next month.

You can mix and match by account. For example, you might import card transactions weekly but only import savings account activity once a month. Koody cares more about bringing everything into the same place than about the exact schedule you choose.

If you are backfilling years of old history, work in chunks. One account and one clear date range at a time is much easier to verify than one giant upload.

FAQs

1. I imported my file successfully in Koody, but I can't find the transactions. Where did they go?

Most of the time, this happens because you're viewing the wrong date range. Go to the Transactions tab and find the date range button (top right on desktop, middle on mobile). Select a range that matches the dates in your PDF or CSV, then your imported transactions should appear.

2. Can I import transactions without linking my bank?

Yes. You can upload transaction CSV files or PDF bank and credit card statements without linking a bank account. You choose when to download the file from your provider, when to upload it into Koody, and what to keep.

3. How do I avoid duplicates when I import again later?

Koody checks new imports against previous imports, so repeat weekly or monthly uploads should not double-count old imported history. The main thing to review is overlap with transactions you entered manually or brought in from another source.

4. What file types does Koody support?

Koody imports transaction CSV files and PDF bank and credit card statements. If your bank or another app gives you an Excel file, save or export it as CSV before uploading. PDF and CSV statement imports require the Plus plan.

5. Will Koody automatically categorize imported transactions?

Yes. Koody will try to automatically categorize imported transactions based on merchants, amounts, and patterns. After that, you can use bulk edit to fix anything that does not match how you think about your money. Over time, Koody can learn from your edits so it can make better guesses on future imports.

6. What if my CSV import fails?

A CSV can fail when the file is empty, contains only headers, or has a structure Koody cannot read automatically. Confirm that it contains real transaction rows and try downloading it again from the source. If the structure is ambiguous, Koody will prompt you to map the columns before completing the import. If your download is a PDF statement, upload the original PDF instead of trying to save it as CSV.

7. Can Koody automatically track my finances from credit and debit card statements?

Yes. Download your credit or debit card activity as a transaction CSV or PDF statement, import it into Koody, and review the cleaned, auto-categorized transactions and likely recurring charges. You can update your records from statement files without a live bank connection.

8. Can I import data from multiple financial institutions?

Yes. You can import statements from multiple banks and cards into Koody. Each time you import, you choose the Koody account the file should go into, so your transaction history stays organized across institutions.

9. Can I import a CSV with spending insights or categories already included?

If your CSV includes transaction-level rows, Koody can import it even if it already contains categories, notes, or labels. If the CSV is only a summary report or “insights” table (totals by category, charts, scores), it is better to export the underlying transaction list instead, since Koody builds insights from transactions.

10. Can I import retirement or investment data from a CSV export?

If your retirement or investment export includes transactions (contributions, buys, sells, dividends, fees), you can import that transaction history into Koody. If your export is only a calculator output or holdings snapshot, Koody will not treat it as transactions, so the best approach is to import the transaction activity and set your starting balances manually.

11. Can I undo an import if I uploaded to the wrong account?

Yes. If you imported into the wrong Koody account, you can bulk delete up to 500 transactions in one go and re-import to the correct account. You can also use bulk edit to quickly fix descriptions, categories, notes, and other fields if the import results are not what you expected.