Importing bank statements (camt.053)

This guide covers the file import of bank statements in the ISO 20022 camt.053 format through an import template: what to download, how to set up the template, and what the import creates. The API details are in Bank & payment imports. For a live connection to the bank instead of files, see Bank connections.

1. Download the statement from your bank

In your online bank open the statement export and choose the ISO 20022 camt.053 (XML) format. Lithuanian banks list it as "ISO 20022 XML" or "camt.053"; most EU banks offer it under business banking. Choose the date range and download the file. One file may contain several statements (for example one per currency account); statements whose IBAN does not match the chosen bank account are skipped.

Only booked entries (Ntry/Sts = BOOK) are imported. Pending entries are ignored.

2. Create the bank account

Every import lands on a bank account. Create one under Bank with the account's IBAN and currency. When the IBAN is set, the import checks that the statement is for that account and rejects a file for a different IBAN.

3. Create the import template

Under Bank → Import templates press New import template, choose type ISO 20022 camt.053, and give it a name.

Fields. Every statement element the importer reads is a row. The Required in file box says the element must be present in the uploaded file; a file missing a required element is rejected and the missing names are shown. The elements every statement carries (Stmt/Id, Stmt/Acct/Id/IBAN, balances, Ntry/Amt, Ntry/CdtDbtInd, Ntry/Sts, Ntry/BookgDt) are ticked by default. The optional ones — the bank name, the transaction code, the debtor and creditor names and IBANs, the remittance text and the references — are unticked because not every bank fills them; tick the ones your bank delivers.

Ledger account. The rows that carry money can be assigned to a ledger account, either an existing one or a new one created from the same row. Every movement produced from an assigned row is posted at import time: money in debits the bank account's ledger account and credits the assigned account, money out does the opposite, and the bank transaction is marked as matched to that journal entry. Besides the plain amount row Ntry/Amt there are rule rows that pick entries by their bank transaction code or direction:

Row	Picks	Typical account
Bank charges (BkTxCd CHRG)	entries whose transaction code family is CHRG	bank fee expense (6800 in the standard chart)
Interest (BkTxCd INTR)	entries whose family is INTR	interest income or expense
Taxes (BkTxCd TAXE)	entries whose family is TAXE	tax payments
Other money out	any other debit entry	leave "Not posted" so payments are matched to purchase invoices
Other money in	any other credit entry	leave "Not posted" so receipts are matched to sale invoices
Ntry/Amt	every entry no rule picked	usually "Not posted"

An entry is posted to the account of the first row it matches: its transaction code family, then its direction, then the plain amount row. Rule rows are not checked against the file. The transaction code comes from Ntry/BkTxCd/Domn/Fmly/Cd; a bank that does not send it leaves the code rows without matches.

Create missing customers / suppliers. Tick Create missing customers on the debtor name row (…/RltdPties/Dbtr/Nm) to create a customer for every unknown payer of incoming money, and Create missing suppliers on the creditor name row (…/RltdPties/Cdtr/Nm) for every unknown payee of outgoing money. Partners are recognised by IBAN first (the IBAN is stored on the partner's bank accounts), then by exact name; a partner found by name gets the IBAN added, so the next import recognises it by IBAN. A new partner is a company when its name carries a legal form (UAB, MB, AB, VšĮ, SIA, OÜ, GmbH, Ltd, …) and a person otherwise.

Create partner for the bank. Tick this on the Bank charges rule row. The import creates a supplier named after the bank (Stmt/Acct/Svcr/FinInstnId/Nm, or the bank account name when the statement has no bank name) once, and records every charge in the journal with that partner.

Link invoices by this field. Tick this on the remittance row (…/RmtInf/Ustrd), the structured reference row (…/RmtInf/Strd/CdtrRefInf/Ref) or the end-to-end reference row (…/Refs/EndToEndId). Only one row can carry it; the import reads all three texts regardless of which row is ticked. Two further options appear:

• Create advance invoices for unmatched incoming payments — an incoming payment that matches no invoice and comes from a known partner gets an issued advance invoice (series AV) for the amount, dated on the payment, and the payment is matched to it. The partner must be known, so tick Create missing customers as well.
• VAT rate and Catalog item for those advance invoices. When an item is chosen its account and, if the rate is empty, its VAT rate are used.

Save the template.

4. Import the file

On Bank choose the bank account, the template, and the file, then press Import. The result line reports how many transactions were imported, how many already existed, how many movements were posted, how many partners were created, and how many invoices were linked or created. Warnings list the payments that could not be matched and why.

Importing the same file again is safe: entries are recognised by the bank's entry reference (NtryRef, AcctSvcrRef, or the end-to-end id), partners by IBAN and name.

5. What "Link invoices by this field" does

Every new bank entry is checked against the open documents:

• money in against issued sale invoices that are not fully paid, by the invoice number (for example SF-123) found in the remittance text, the structured reference or the end-to-end reference;
• money out against registered purchase invoices that are not fully paid, by the supplier's document number.

A match records the payment against the invoice and posts the receipt or payment; the entry shows as matched on Bank → Transactions with a link to the invoice. Entries without a recognisable number stay unmatched and can be matched by hand from the transactions list, or — for incoming money from a known customer — turned into an advance invoice when that option is on.

6. Where to look afterwards

• Bank → Transactions — every imported entry; matched ones link to the invoice or journal entry.
• Invoices — advance invoices created for unmatched receipts.
• Partners — created customers and suppliers, each with the IBAN under bank accounts.
• Ledger → Journal — the postings for charges (with the bank as partner), interest, taxes and payments.

Billing

Files up to 10 MB and 50,000 entries. Every 10 imported entries count as one API request.