---
title: Bank Import
description: Upload a bank or credit card file and match it to your books automatically.
url: "https://theasst.com/docs/bank-import/"
updated: "2026-10-08"
category: Accounting
---

# Bank Import

Bank Import saves you from ticking off transactions by hand. Download a transaction file from your bank or credit card company, upload it, and TBA matches each line to the entries already in your books.

## Uploading a File

1. Choose the **Account** the file belongs to.
2. Click **Upload & Match** and select your file. OFX, QFX, QBO, BAI2 and CSV files are supported.
3. Review the results on the three tabs: **Needs Review**, **Verified**, and **Ignored**.

Transactions you have already imported are skipped, so uploading overlapping files will not create duplicates.

## BAI2 Files

BAI2 is the cash-management format many business banks offer for download, usually with a .bai, .bai2 or .txt extension. TBA recognizes it from its contents, so upload it the same way as any other file.

- **Dates:** a BAI2 file gives one date for each group of transactions rather than one per transaction, so every transaction in a group is dated with that report date.
- **Statement balance:** the closing ledger balance in the file is shown after the upload, so you can compare it with your books.
- **Several accounts in one file:** business banks often put every account in a single file. If the file holds transactions for more than one account, TBA asks which account in the file to import. Choose the one that matches the account you selected. The account numbers are shown with only their last four digits. To import the other accounts, upload the same file again from each of those accounts.
- **Anything TBA can't read** is reported after the upload, not silently left out.

## CSV Files

CSV files have no standard layout, so TBA first tries to find the heading row on its own. If it can't, a mapping dialog asks which column holds the date, the amount (one signed column, or separate Debit and Credit columns), the description, memo, check number, and bank transaction ID. You can also choose the date format. The mapping is saved for that account, so next time the same file layout imports without asking.

## Matching

TBA matches each bank transaction to a journal entry in your books with the same amount, dated within a few weeks of the bank date. A check number in the bank's description makes the match stronger and allows a wider date range. Each match is shown next to the bank transaction under **Matched to (your books)**.

- **Confirm All High-Confidence** accepts every strong, unambiguous match at once.
- Anything uncertain stays on **Needs Review** for you to confirm, change, or ignore.
- **Re-run Matching** matches again, for example after you enter a missing payment.

## Verified Is Not the Same as Reconciled

A transaction the bank has reported is marked **verified**, with the date the bank reported it. Verifying does not need a statement and does not finish a reconciliation, so you can do it at any point in the month. If a verified entry is later voided, its bank transaction returns to Needs Review.

When you open [Reconciliation](https://theasst.com/docs/reconciliation/), verified transactions are badged and pre-checked up to your statement date, so most of the work is already done.

## Computer Recommended

Bank Import works with long lists of transactions, so it always shows the regular desktop layout, even on a phone. Use a computer or tablet for it. See [Using TBA on Your Phone](https://theasst.com/docs/using-tba-on-your-phone/).