Evidence-first money workflow · Personal Money
Bank Transaction Category Review
Turn a bank CSV into a transparent category review queue with ordered text rules, uncategorized totals, signed amounts, and audit-ready exports.
- 1Prepare
- 2Analyze
- 3Review and export
Prepare the evidence
Paste the documented CSV schema or choose a local CSV file. Nothing is sent to Nirmion.
Review the analysis
Summary metrics lead back to the rows that support them.
Method and interpretation
How to use Bank Transaction Category Review
Use this page before budgeting, trend analysis, or a household review that depends on categorized transactions. Imported categories can be blank, inconsistent, or generated by rules you have not checked. The workflow separates accepted rows from suggestions so an automated match never becomes a silent accounting decision.
Prepare the input
Provide transaction date, description, signed amount, current category, and yes/no reviewed state. Existing categories are preserved. In the optional rules CSV, enter a case-insensitive text fragment and proposed category. Place narrower rules before broad ones because the first matching rule wins.
Check the worked example
In the example, payroll and rent arrive categorized and reviewed. “ACME MARKET 431” receives a Groceries suggestion from the market rule, fuel receives Transport, and an unknown purchase remains uncategorized. The totals table shows the current signed impact before final approval.
Read the evidence
The headline shows how much of the import was already reviewed, not how many rows merely received a suggestion. Inspect uncategorized count and amount, then review the queue. Suggested rows remain marked for review. Edit the transaction CSV or adjust rules and analyze again when a proposal is wrong.
Calculation method
For a blank category, the tool checks rules from first to last using case-insensitive contains matching on the description. It does not overwrite a non-empty category. Category totals sum signed transaction amounts. Coverage counts only rows whose reviewed value was yes in the imported evidence.
See how Copilot separates imported transactions into a review queue
Questions this workflow helps answer
Use these questions to confirm that this tool matches the task you need to complete.
- How can I categorize bank transactions from a CSV or Excel export?
- Which uncategorized bank transactions can a transparent rule suggest safely?
- Which category suggestions still need manual review before they enter a budget?
Limits and decision boundary
Text rules do not understand merchant identity, location, split transactions, tax treatment, or personal context. A description can match an unintended word fragment. The tool proposes one category per row and does not save learning between sessions.
Common mistake
Do not mark every imported row reviewed before checking suggestions. Keep reviewed=no for new rows and use narrow rule fragments such as a stable merchant phrase rather than generic words such as pay or shop.
Your pasted values and selected CSV files are processed in this browser tab. This workflow does not connect to a bank, save a budget, or provide financial, tax, legal, or investment advice.
Questions about this workflow
Will a rule change my uploaded file?
No. The original file is never modified. Suggestions appear in the result and export; update your source data deliberately after review.
What happens when two rules match?
The first matching rule in file order wins. Put specific merchant rules above general fragments and keep the rule file under version control if it is reused.
Should transfers receive a spending category?
Usually transfers between owned accounts should be handled separately so they do not inflate income or expense totals. Apply the policy used by the downstream budget.