Help · Transactions
Import transactions
Any CSV with a date and an amount works. It adds past spending, and you can remove it later.
A CSV is a spreadsheet saved as plain text. Most banks and budgeting apps can export one. Start from Settings → Import Transactions.
What files work
A file needs a date and an amount on every row. Polaris finds each column by the name in the top row, in any order, and ignores columns it has no use for.
| Column | Also recognised as |
|---|---|
| Date (needed) | Transaction Date, Posted Date, Posting Date |
| Amount (needed) | Or a pair: Outflow and Inflow, Debit and Credit, Withdrawal and Deposit |
| Account | Account Name |
| Payee | Merchant, Description, Name |
| Category | Subcategory, and Category Group beside it |
| Memo | Notes, Note, Comment |
| Tags | Tag, Labels |
One file can hold many accounts. A file with no Account column is one account, named after the file.
Download a sample file to fill in — the same one the app offers. It is a starting point for a file you build by hand, not a format your file has to match.
Exporting from another app
If the export arrives as a .zip, tap it in the Files app to open it, then pick the CSV inside. If it holds two files — a plan and a register — pick the register. The plan lists your budget, not your transactions.
How dates and amounts are read
- Dates like 2026-01-31, 01/31/2026 or 1/31/26, with slashes, dots or dashes. When every date in the file could be read either way — 03/04/2026 — Polaris asks whether the month or the day comes first.
- Amounts like $1,234.56, -45.00, (45.00) or 45.00-. In a single Amount column, a minus means money out.
- US dollars only, for now. A currency sign is dropped, not converted, and 1.234 reads as $1.23, not one thousand.
- A payee written like Transfer : Savings is a move to your Savings account, so it isn’t counted as spending — as long as Savings is in the file or already in Polaris.
- A row with the payee Starting Balance sets a new account’s balance. It isn’t added as a transaction.
- A row that can’t be read — no date, or no number in the amount — is listed and left out. The rest come in.
What the import asks
- The file. Read on this device. The file is never uploaded.
- Where each account goes. Match it to an account you have, add it as a new one, leave it out, or link the bank first. If you leave to link a bank, the import waits: open Import Transactions again and it picks up where you were, even if you closed the app.
- Your categories. You’re asked only about categories with transactions coming in. Each one is matched to a Polaris category or kept as a new one, and you can switch either way. Transactions with no category come in without one; you can file them later from Transactions.
- Review. The count of what comes in, and what is left out and why: your bank already sent it, it’s from a month you’re budgeting, it came in with an earlier import, or it’s dated after today.
How category matching works
The suggestions come from Apple Intelligence on your device. Your payees and categories stay on your devices and in your iCloud. That needs iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 models or later, or iPhone Air; iPad mini (A17 Pro) or iPad models with M1 or later; or MacBook Neo or a Mac with M1 or later. On iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 or later, with Apple Intelligence turned on in a supported language. On any other device, a category with the same name as one of yours is matched, and you choose the rest. More in on-device intelligence.
What it changes
If you budget with envelopes: past spending fills in your reports and averages. It doesn’t touch any month you’ve budgeted. To budget older months, move Budget Start Month in Settings.
If you track spending against targets: past spending fills in your months, reports and averages.
Importing the same file again adds nothing new.
Removing an import
Settings → Import Transactions, tap the import, then Remove This Import. Its transactions go, and so do any changes you made to them since. Accounts it added are removed and categories it added are hidden. Polaris saves a backup first.
Import the file again and those hidden categories come back — you won’t get a second copy of each.
Still stuck? Write to support — the form goes to us, not a public inbox.