Importing Transactions

Import contributions or expenses from a CSV file, match them to categories and members, and resume an unfinished import later.

You can import contributions or expenses in bulk from a CSV file, such as an export from a previous system. Importing requires the Manage Financial Records permission.

Preparing Your File

• The file must be a .csv file of up to 10 MB, with a header row.

• Amount and Posted Date are required for every row.

• Optional columns: Category, Contributor Name (User Name for expenses) or First Name and Last Name, Title, Notes, Source, and Check Number.

• Amounts may include $ and commas. Contributions must be positive. Expenses may be negative or in parentheses and are saved as positive amounts. Zero amounts are not allowed.

• Source values such as Check, Cash, Card, Bank Account, or Online are recognized. Anything else is imported as Other.

Import Steps

1. Go to Finance, open the Contributions or Expenses list, and click Import.

2. Upload — drop in your CSV file.

3. Columns — match each column in your file to a Lightpost field. Columns are matched automatically by header name; review the preview and adjust as needed.

4. Categories — category values are matched to your Finance Categories by name or accounting code. Use Apply category to unmatched rows to fill in any rows without a match. Every row needs a category.

5. Users (optional) — contributor names are matched to people in Lightpost:

   • Matched — exactly one person was found.

   • Multiple — more than one person matched; choose the right person or leave it blank.

   • No match — choose a person or leave it blank.

6. Click Import all to finish.

Imports are all-or-nothing. If any row has a problem, nothing is imported and Lightpost takes you to the row that needs fixing.

Resuming an Import

Your progress is saved automatically. To pick up where you left off, open Import again and choose Resume import on the unfinished import (or Discard it).

• Unfinished imports can be resumed for 48 hours after the last save.

• Only the admin who started an import can resume it.

Uploading the same file again creates duplicate transactions. Resume an unfinished import instead of starting over.