CSV import

[eneskaya]

Most banks in Germany export account statements in the CSV format, would be nice to have an importer for CSV files

[lorenzopalaia]

This would be a really great feature in my opinion. I'm currently tracking my accounts using spreadsheets and I think I'm not the only one. Would certainly nullify the time spent on manually importing account statements (took me about half an hour or even more). Definitely a must-have feature.

[iloabn]

It would definitely feel like a fairly "neutral" and simple way to get started. No dependencies on any banks and doesn't even need a network setup that can receive data from "the outside".
However, I feel like it can't really force a particular order or naming of columns. I initially feel like the import / setup for such a feature might be a bit more advanced than "Log in here and we'll handle everything.". But for those already using spreadsheets, or have a bank that isn't yet supported, I think it would be a fantastic plan B 🙂

[eneskaya]

Implementation won't be trivial definitely. There are probably as many formats as there are banks 😄

[iloabn]

Which is why this is such a nice Plan B imo for anyone wanting to use it, since a CSV import wouldn't/shouldn't be dependent on banks internal format 🙂
(sorry if that intention wasn't clear enough)

[lorenzopalaia]

A good tradeoff might be adding an in-app table editor that fits the db scheme. It's not like importing a csv file directly but it speeds up the addition/modification of your data which I personally found quite slow.

It might be trivial but a feature I would add would be to set the cursor in the box where the date is entered after pressing the button to add a new transaction of an asset. I wasted too much time moving the cursor manually into the date box or spamming tab when I wanted to add a new transaction. Could it be appropriate to open a new issue for this small feature?

[iloabn]

@lorenzopalaia I think a separate issue might be appropriate (but I'm not a contributor yet so weigh my words lightly) 🙂
It might even be small enough for me to give a try ^^

[lorenzopalaia]

I will wait for a confirmation from a contributor. If it comes I will open an issue and try to do something.

[Shpigford]

Would you want to import balances or transactions? And are you wanting this for cash/checking/savings accounts? Or investment accounts?

Presumably "yes" to all of that. 🙂

All that to say, I'm fully on board with having a CSV/spreadsheet importer of some sort. But just want to add some color to the discussion that it's a pretty complex UX issue to solve.

[iloabn]

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuch a complex UX issue! But it would be a nice workaround if a specific bank integration is missing, someone would like to try it out without giving away their bank details or someone just wants to keep track of their physical money ^^

[eneskaya]

For me, the most interesting part would be the import of my transactions in my savings account and the transactions on my brokerage account, so the stocks/ETFs I buy to build my wealth.

I actually have a service where I upload PDFs on a regular schedule, because they don't have a sync service. It's a minor inconvenience but it gets the job done.

But ultimately, for Maybe, it's a "yes" to everything you listed 😄

[SvbZ3r0]

I want to point out that this is also a great way to enable people to migrate from other finance management apps. I currently use Firefly. If I wanted to test out or fully migrate to Maybe, it should be trivial to export data from my Firefly install as a csv and upload it here.

For reference on how Firefly handles csv imports, you can look at Firefly III Data Importer.

OTOH, as much as a csv import feature is needed, so too will a csv export feature. I get that more companies prefer not to do this becasue it allows people to easily migrate away, but for an app where we are "in full control" of our data, this is very necessary.

[zachgoll]

The V1 implementation of CSV Imports (checking account transactions) has been completed and is available for self-hosted apps!

There are likely several subflows and "specializations" (i.e. Mint import) that we will still need to implement, but I think they should belong in their own dedicated feature request discussions.

So if you have a specific CSV import flow or "migration" that you think would benefit a large number of users, please open a new feature request so others can vote on it.

[schloege]

Thanks, that is great news! Could you advise where the setup is documented? best regards

[zachgoll]

It's under your "Settings" nav menu

[schloege]

@zachgoll , thanks for the hint. I was looking for a cli or api based import function though. Rather not be drag-n-dropping all day long :) Any options for that?

[zachgoll]

@schloege that would be covered in the API, but we're not quite ready for that yet. It's being tracked here:

#630