Template Bill Import Guide

📋 Overview

Expense Tracker: Koala (“Koala”) supports importing bills from external files, which is useful when you migrate historical records. Supported import sources:

• Template file import: import a standard CSV file
• WeChat bill import: import a bill file exported from WeChat
• Alipay bill import: import a bill file exported from Alipay
• Pixiu bill import: import a CSV file exported from Pixiu
• iCost bill import: import an Excel file exported from iCost

📁 Supported File Formats

• CSV (.csv): Alipay, Pixiu, Template
• Excel (.xlsx, .xls): WeChat, iCost

🚀 Quick Start

Step 1: Open the import page

1. Open Expense Tracker: Koala
2. Tap Settings
3. Find Bill Import
4. Enter the bill import page

Step 2: Choose the import source

• Template file: standard-format CSV
• WeChat: WeChat-exported bill file
• Alipay: Alipay-exported bill file
• Pixiu: Pixiu-exported bill file
• iCost: iCost-exported bill file

⚠️ Important: Choose the correct source, otherwise parsing may fail.

Step 3: Pick a file

1. Tap File path
2. Select the file in the file picker
3. Confirm the file name is shown

📝 Note:

• The file must be stored locally on the device (accessible via the file manager)
• Make sure the file format is correct (CSV or xlsx)
• Make sure the file is not corrupted

Step 4: Link a ledger

1. Tap Linked ledger
2. Choose the ledger you want to import into
3. Confirm the ledger selection

💡 Tip: If you only have one ledger, it will be automatically selected as the default.

Step 5: Parse the file

1. Tap the Parse button in the top-right corner
2. Wait for the system to parse the file (this may take a few seconds)
3. After parsing succeeds, you will be automatically taken to the preview page

⚠️ If parsing fails:

• Check that the file format is correct
• Check that you selected the correct import source
• Check that the file is not corrupted
• Try re-exporting the file

Step 6: Preview and edit

After parsing succeeds, you can do the following on the preview page:

• View all bill records: displayed grouped by date
• Edit a single record: tap a record to modify its category, amount, time, etc.
• Batch operations: long-press any record to enter multi-select mode, then use the bottom action bar (Select all / Delete) to delete records in bulk
• Invalid data: when you tap Import and invalid data exists, you will be prompted to import valid data only or go back and edit

📝 Recommendation: Before importing, preview the data first and make sure it is correct.

Step 7: Import data

1. After confirming the data on the preview page is correct
2. Tap the Import button
3. Wait for the import to complete (this may take a few seconds)
4. After a successful import, the result will be displayed

✅ Import successful: All valid records have been imported into the ledger. You can view them in the bill list.

📝 Template CSV Format

To import via template file, prepare a CSV in the format below.

CSV requirements

1. Encoding: UTF-8 or GBK
2. Delimiter: comma ,
3. Header row: required in the first line

Example

Transaction Date,Transaction Type,Parent Category,Child Category,Income Amount,Expense Amount,Account,Tags,Remark
2026/01/01,Expense,Food,Lunch,,15.00,Default Account,Office Meal,Lunch with colleagues
2026/01/05,Income,Salary,Monthly Salary,5000.00,,Bank Card,,Monthly Salary

Field reference

Field	Description	Required	Example
Transaction date	Bill date, format: yyyy/MM/dd (also supports yyyy-MM-dd)	✅	2026/01/01
Transaction type	Expense or income	✅	Expense / Income
Parent category	Level-1 category name	❌	Food
Child category	Level-2 category name under the parent	❌	Breakfast
Inflow amount	Amount used when type is income	✅	100.00
Outflow amount	Amount used when type is expense	✅	15
Account	Account name (prefer an existing account)	❌	Default Account
Note	Bill note	❌	Lunch
Tags	Tag names, separated by commas	❌	Office Meal, Dining Out

Download the Template File

1. On the import page, tap Download Template File
2. The system generates a CSV template with only the header row in the current app language, then opens the system share/save sheet
3. Fill in your data row by row under the headers, then return to the import page and select the file to import

⚠️ Notes

1. Data Format Requirements

• Date format: YYYY/MM/DD is supported (e.g. 2026/01/01), and YYYY-MM-DD is also compatible
• Amount format: numeric, decimals supported (e.g. 100.00)
• Transaction type: must be "Expense" or "Income" (Chinese "支出" / "收入" is also supported)
• Category & account: categories/accounts that don't exist in the app are created automatically during import (it is recommended to create your common accounts in advance to avoid non-standard names)

2. Data Validation

Before import, the system automatically validates data:

• ✅ Valid records: correct format, can be imported normally
• ⚠️ Invalid records: format errors, must be corrected before import
• ❌ Skipped records: you can choose to skip invalid records and import only valid data

3. Duplicate Data Handling

• Check for duplicate data before importing

4. Importing Large Data Sets

• If the data volume is large (over 1000 records), import in batches
• Keep the app in the foreground during import
• After import, manually trigger a data sync

💡 Tip: Free users can store up to 300 bills in total across all ledgers; members have no limit. If you have a large data set, check your remaining bill quota before importing.

🔧 FAQ

Q1: Parsing failed?

A: Check the following:

1. Is the file format correct (CSV or xlsx)?
2. Did you select the correct import source?
3. Is the file corrupted?
4. Is the file encoding correct (UTF-8 recommended)?

Q2: Data is incomplete after import?

A: Possible reasons:

1. Some records had format errors and were skipped by the system
2. Categories or accounts don't exist — create them first
3. Check invalid records on the preview page

Q3: Can I import images?

A: Image import is not supported at this time.

Q4: Can I edit records after import?

A: Yes. After import, you can edit or delete any record in the bill list.

Q5: Can I import multiple files at once?

A: Not at this time. You can only import one file per session. If you need to import multiple files, do them one by one.

📚 Related Guides

• WeChat Bill Import
• Alipay Bill Import
• Multi-ledger

💡 Tips

• Back up existing data before importing
• Verify data correctness after import
• If you have questions, contact the developer via the "Feedback" feature

Last updated: September 2026