Smart Import: Drop a File, Get a Ledger
If you've used Beancount for any length of time, you know the routine: download a bank statement, open a spreadsheet, manually type or copy-paste transactions into your ledger, fix the formatting, categorize each line. It works, but it's tedious — and it's the number one reason people fall behind on their books.
We built Smart Import to take that grunt work off your plate.
What it does
Smart Import reads your financial documents — bank statements, receipts, spreadsheets — and converts them into structured Beancount transactions. You review and confirm; it handles the extraction and formatting.
It supports a wide range of inputs:
- Bank statements — PDF, scanned images, or downloaded files
- Receipts and invoices — photos from your phone work fine
- Spreadsheets — CSV, Excel, OFX, QFX from other apps or exports
How it works
1. Drop your file
Drag a file into the import area — image, PDF, or spreadsheet. The system detects the format and extracts headers, dates, and amounts automatically.
2. Review the results
Your document gets converted into a clean, editable table of transactions. Instead of transcribing data, you're just checking that it looks right.
3. Categorize with AI suggestions
The AI reads the context of each transaction and suggests account categories based on your existing chart of accounts.
- A grocery store charge? It suggests
Expenses:Food:Groceries. - A client payment? It suggests
Income:Revenue.
You can accept, change, or override any suggestion. The system picks up on your corrections over time.
4. Import
One click, and the transactions land in your ledger — properly formatted and categorized. No copy-paste errors, no wrestling with date formats.
Why we built it this way
You stay in control. The AI suggests categories, but nothing gets written to your ledger until you approve it. Your books, your call.
It reads documents, not just CSVs. Traditional importers parse comma-separated values. Smart Import uses multimodal AI to understand PDFs and images — so when your bank changes its statement layout, things don't break.
It's fast for real workloads. During testing, we've seen users import a full quarter of bank transactions (200+ lines) in about 5 minutes. Most of that time is spent reviewing, not waiting.
Who it's useful for
- Freelancers and founders who'd rather spend time on their work than on data entry
- People migrating to Beancount from another tool — export your history and import it in one go
- Anyone juggling multiple accounts — checking, savings, credit cards, investments — who wants everything in one ledger without the copy-paste marathon
Pricing
Smart Import's AI-powered processing (PDFs, images, and complex formats) is free during early access. We plan to move it to a paid tier as the feature matures, since the AI processing has real infrastructure costs. Basic CSV imports will always be free.
Get started
Smart Import is available now for all Beancount.io users.
- Log in to your ledger.
- Navigate to Import.
- Drop your first file.
FAQ
What file types are supported? PDF, JPG, PNG, CSV, Excel (.xlsx), OFX, and QFX.
Is my data secure? Files are processed over encrypted channels and are not used to train any public models. We don't retain original documents after processing.
How accurate is the AI categorization? It varies by document quality and how well your chart of accounts is set up, but most users find that the majority of suggestions are correct out of the box. We always recommend a quick review before importing.
Can I still import CSVs manually? Yes. Basic CSV import remains free and doesn't require the AI processing. Smart Import is an additional option for more complex formats.
