Smart Budget Importer
Drop a bank statement. Get a categorized budget with weekly→yearly projections — no typing, no bank login.
Data & disclaimer ▸
Your statement is parsed and categorized entirely on your device — nothing is uploaded, and there's no AI step. If optional AI categorization is added later it'll be opt-in, and this local-only mode always stays.
Informational only — not financial advice. Category guesses are heuristic; review & correct them.
▶ How do I export my statement as a CSV?
Log in to online banking, open an account, and look for Download / Export (often near the transaction list). Choose CSV (or "Spreadsheet" / "Excel"). Quick paths:
- 🇨🇦 RBC / TD / Scotiabank / BMO / CIBC / Tangerine: account → Download/Export Transactions → CSV.
- 🇺🇸 Chase / Bank of America / Amex / Wells Fargo: Activity → Download → CSV / Spreadsheet.
- 🇳🇱 ING / Rabobank / ABN AMRO / bunq: Transactions → Download / Exporteren → CSV (semicolon is fine).
- 🇬🇧 Monzo / Starling: app or web → Statements → Export CSV.
No file handy? Click "Try with sample data" above, or paste a few rows into the paste box.
📂 Recent imports (saved on this device)
Stored only in this browser (localStorage) — never uploaded. Clearing your browser data or clicking “Clear all” removes them.
Columns look wrong? Re-map them →
Tell the tool which column is which. Amounts can be one signed column (negatives = money out) or separate debit/credit columns.
Top 5 spending categories
Needs · Wants · Savings
Projections
At this pace, your income and spending extrapolate to: · Income = net take-home (taxes already deducted by your employer).
| Weekly | Monthly | Quarterly | Yearly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income net | ||||
| Spending | ||||
| Surplus |
See all categories
Where you could cut back
discretionary, above typicalWhere should your surplus go?
safety net → debt → TFSA → RRSP Review & correct categories
Tap a category to fix it — the tool updates every matching merchant and remembers the change. ⚠ = low-confidence, worth double-checking.
| Date | Description | Amount | Category |
|---|
▶ How does this work?
1. Parse on device — your CSV is read in the browser. Bank layout is auto-detected; an unknown format falls back to a column-mapping guess.
2. Categorize — a Canadian merchant lexicon files most transactions instantly. (The opt-in AI upgrade handles the unusual ones.)
3. Project — your covered period is normalized to weekly / monthly / quarterly / yearly so you see the trajectory, not just the past.
4. Act — the top-5 categories, cut-back ideas, and surplus routing turn the picture into a plan. Everything stays on your device.
About the Smart Budget Importer
The gap between "link your bank" and "type it all in"
Most budgeting tools make you either connect your bank account (high friction, a real trust barrier) or enter every transaction by hand (most people quit). The Smart Budget Importer sits in the middle: you already have your statements — drop one in and get a budget. No bank login, no account, and in this release nothing leaves your browser.
Built for Canadians
Categories, merchant patterns, and the surplus routing (emergency fund → high-interest debt → TFSA → RRSP → non-registered) are Canadian-aware, and it ties into the same budget engine as the Budget & Monthly Surplus Router.
Not financial advice. Estimates for informational purposes only. Category detection is heuristic — always review it. All calculations happen in your browser.
Related tools
- Budget & Monthly Surplus Router — fine-tune categories and routing by hand.
- Emergency Fund Calculator — size your safety net.
- Income Tax Calculator — find your real take-home.
- Net Worth Tracker — the whole picture.
Use AI to categorize?
Per OpenAI's API terms this data isn't used to train models, and our server stores nothing. You can always decline and keep working locally.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to connect my bank account?
No. There is no bank login and no Plaid/Flinks connection. You drop in a CSV you export from online banking (or paste the text), and the tool reads it. That is the entire integration.
Is my financial data uploaded anywhere?
In this version, no — parsing and categorization run entirely in your browser; nothing is sent to any server. The optional AI categorization upgrade (GPT-4o mini) will send only transaction descriptions and amounts, and only after you explicitly opt in. A fully local mode always remains available.
Which files and banks work?
CSV/TSV exports from major Canadian (RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC), US (Chase, Bank of America), and Dutch (ING, Rabobank) banks are auto-detected, plus a generic column-mapping fallback for anything else — including European number formats (1.234,56) and currencies ($/€/£). Text-based PDF statements and pasted text also work. Scanned (image-only) PDF statements need the AI reader, which is coming soon.
What if a category is wrong?
Every transaction is editable. Change a category and the tool re-files every matching merchant and remembers the correction for next time — stored on your device only.