Importing Transactions into an Account Register

How to Import Transactions

Before getting started with importing transactions – make sure you have your needed income and expense accounts created in your chart of accounts. 

Step 1: Download the Import Template

Navigate to the “Registers” tab in Aplos. (Fund Accounting > Transactions > Registers) then click the Import” icon in the top right corner to go to the Manual Import page. Then click “Download the sample Aplos transaction file.” This excel spreadsheet will include a list of your available accounts and funds that are listed in your Aplos Chart of Accounts on separate tabs.

Step 2: Enter transaction data into the spreadsheet 

Columns Available for Transaction Import

• Date: The transaction date is required and should be formatted as MM/DD/YYYY (e.g., 01/01/2016).
• Note/Memo: Optional field for adding a note or memo to the transaction.
• Payee: This required field is for the contact who paid or received the specified amount. If the name doesn’t exactly match one in your database, a new contact record will be created.
• Check #: An optional field for recording the check number, if applicable. Only numeric values are allowed—no symbols or letters.
• Account: Optional field for specifying the Aplos account for this transaction. Select from available accounts in the import template’s Accounts tab. If left blank, the account will be automatically selected in the main BI screen to streamline importing.
• Format: The account can be entered by account number (e.g., 5000), account name (e.g., Salaries Expense), or account number and name (e.g., 5000 – Salaries Expense).
• Fund: Optional field for the name of the Aplos fund associated with this transaction. If left blank, this will be selected automatically in the main BI screen for quicker importing.
• Amount: Required numeric field. Enter payments with a negative sign (e.g., -100.00) and deposits as positive values (e.g., 100.00).

Tags: If Tags are enabled in your account, each tag dimension will appear as a column, allowing for detailed tracking. Additional tabs in the template will display the tags available for each dimension. If Tags are not enabled, this column won’t appear. How to use accounting tags

For example, if you have Location tags, you'll title the column 'Tags: Locations'. Please see the example below:

Note: Once you formatted your transactions, delete the legend in the import template.

Splitting a transaction in your Import

To split a transaction during import, enter the date, note/memo, payee, check number, and amount for the first split on one row. On the next row, enter only the amount, along with the account and fund for the second split. For additional splits, add more rows with the relevant amount, account, and fund, leaving out the date, note/memo, payee, and check number.

In the example below, a $150 payment from John Smith is split into two rows. Upon import, each row can be assigned different accounts, funds, or tags as needed.

Import Your Spreadsheet

Save your file to your desktop, then drag and drop it into the blue upload area on the Manual Import page to begin.

Once the file is loaded, you will see a list of the transactions.

Before importing any transactions, confirm that the account shown in the Account Register box is correct. You can change the account using the dropdown menu if needed. Then, review your imported transactions, make any necessary edits, and assign an account and fund for each transaction.