What FreshBooks Needs in the CSV
FreshBooks lets you add bank transactions to a bank account in its bank reconciliation feature by importing a CSV file. According to FreshBooks’ help article, the file needs one of two header sets:
• Option 1: Date and Amount.
• Option 2: Date, Amount Spent and Amount Earned.
Description and Category are optional headers. For Category, the article says to use only Operating Expense parent categories; if a category does not exist, those expenses are placed under Uncategorized Expenses.
Date and Sign Rules
The help article states these rules:
• Use the same date format for every row, and keep transactions in chronological order.
• Dates must use dashes or slashes between the numbers, for example 01/17/2020 or 01-17-2020.
• With one Amount column, use positive numbers for money in and negative numbers for money out.
• With Amount Spent and Amount Earned, use positive numbers only in both columns, and do not put a negative number in either.
• Amount columns may contain only numbers, with no letters or special characters.
During the import you also choose the Amount Format (1 Column or 2 Columns) and the Date Format, so those selections need to match the file you built.
Sample Files
A one-column layout, with money in positive and money out negative:
Date,Description,Amount
10/02/2026,CLIENT PAYMENT,1500.00
10/05/2026,OFFICE SUPPLIES,-84.20
10/11/2026,SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION,-49.00The same transactions in the two-column layout, with positive numbers only:
Date,Description,Amount Spent,Amount Earned
10/02/2026,CLIENT PAYMENT,,1500.00
10/05/2026,OFFICE SUPPLIES,84.20,
10/11/2026,SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION,49.00,The dates above are written month/day/year; choose the matching Date Format when importing.
File Limits and Import Behaviour
FreshBooks states a maximum of 500 transactions per file. Its FAQ also says files fail if they are larger than 5 MB, have more than 500 transactions, or have more than 1000 rows, and that large files should be split into two or more CSVs. If your workbook has multiple sheet tabs, save each as its own CSV.
After you select Import from File and choose your CSV, you match each field to a column using dropdowns, pick the formats and click Import Transactions. FreshBooks says to stay logged in while it imports, and that the import can take up to 15 minutes.
Transactions dated before the account’s Opening Balance Start Date will not appear for matching until that start date is reset.
Quick Pre-Import Checklist
Confirm the headers match one of the two sets above, the dates share one format, amounts hold numbers only, and the file is under the transaction and size limits. Split anything larger by date range. If you are starting from PDF statements, PDFtoRow converts statement PDFs to Excel/CSV, with a free 10-row preview.
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Frequently Asked Questions
FreshBooks states a maximum of 500 transactions per file, and its FAQ says files over 5 MB or with more than 1000 rows also fail. Split larger statements into several CSVs.
With a single Amount column, yes: positive for money in and negative for money out. With separate Amount Spent and Amount Earned columns, use positive numbers only in both.
Primary Evidence & Official References
- FreshBooks Help: How do I add, edit, or delete manual transactions in bank reconciliation? — support.freshbooks.com (Verified 2026-10-29). Official source documentation →