Use Patriot's Manage Imported Transactions page to review, categorize, and post bank transactions as journal entries in your accounting software. Transactions can be imported automatically through a connected bank account or manually via a CSV file upload.
Note: The Attach files and documents feature on the Manage Imported Transactions page is available to Accounting Premium customers only.
Video Walkthrough
The video above covers how to import, review, and accept or dismiss imported bank transactions. The written steps below cover the same process in full.
How to Import Bank Transactions
There are two ways to import your bank transactions into Patriot Accounting:
Connect your bank account to automatically check for new transactions. For details, see Connecting Your Bank Accounts for Accounting Journal Entries.
Upload a CSV file manually from your bank. For details, see Manually Importing Your Bank Transactions.
Once transactions are imported:
Go to Accounting > Financial Tasks > Manage Imported Transactions in the left navigation menu, or click the View Transactions link in the notification alert on your Accounting Home page.
Important Notes About Importing Transactions
After your bank account is connected, Patriot will begin pulling in transactions from your bank account or credit card account. Review the following before getting started:
When you connect your bank account for the first time, transactions will be imported back to the date you select, up to two years ago.
Most banks send transaction data once daily, so a transaction posted to your bank may not appear in Patriot until the next day. Some banks send data up to four times a day.
Only transactions that have fully posted to your bank will appear in Patriot. Transactions that are still pending at your bank will not appear.
Exception: some smaller regional banks may show a duplicate pending transaction alongside the same posted transaction in Patriot.
If the word "pending" appears in the transaction description, you can dismiss the duplicate. This should be rare.
When checking for duplicates, look for matching amounts near the same date, but matching amounts do not always mean the transactions are duplicates.
Payroll integration and duplicate transactions: If you have both the accounting integration enabled (Settings > Payroll Settings > Payroll Integration Options) and bank transactions connected, the same payroll transaction could be posted twice to your general ledger.
Patriot recommends dismissing the imported bank transactions for payroll activity, since the accounting integration breaks down payroll into the appropriate accounts more accurately.
Contractor payments and duplicate transactions: If you enter a contractor payment directly in Patriot Accounting and that same payment is also imported from your bank, the payment could be posted twice to your general ledger.
In this case, delete the imported bank transaction and keep the payment entered directly in the software. Do not delete the payment entered in the software — doing so could affect the contractor's 1099 information.
Payments applied to invoices, bank transfers, and liability payments can create similar duplicate situations.
Keep the transaction entered directly in the software and dismiss the imported bank version.
How to Review and Categorize Bank Transactions
On the Manage Imported Transactions page, you can categorize or dismiss each imported transaction before posting it to your general ledger.
Patriot's Smart Suggestion feature uses machine learning to automatically suggest expense account categorizations based on your transaction history. You can turn off the Smart Suggestion Feature in Settings > Tranaction Settings
Tip: If you have many transactions and the page is slow to load, use the Filter Transactions by Month feature to view fewer transactions at a time.
Here is a breakdown of each field and feature on the Manage Imported Transactions page:
Checkbox (far left) — Click the checkbox to select a transaction for acceptance.
Details — Shows the date the transaction posted to your bank and the account it posted to (for example, "Checking" or "Savings").
Description — The transaction description pulled from your bank or credit card. Click a description to expand the transaction and access these options:
Assign to a vendor (withdrawals) — Click + Add New to add a new vendor on the fly.
Assign to a customer (deposits) — Click + Add New to add a new customer on the fly.
Select a department — Only appears if you have departments set up. See Managing Accounting Departments for more information.
Select transaction options:
Edit existing rules — See Setting Up Rules for Imported Transactions for more information.
Split transactions — See Split Imported Bank Transactions for more information.
Dismiss transaction — Click the trash can icon to dismiss the transaction. Dismissing a transaction means a journal entry will not post to your general ledger. If you dismiss a transaction and later decide you need it, you will need to enter it manually. See Recording a Journal Entry for more information.
Mark unpaid bills and invoices as paid — If any outstanding bills or invoices match the transaction total, you can mark them paid directly from this page.
Attach files and documents — (Available on Accounting Premium only) Click Add an Attachment to attach supporting documents to the transaction.
To upgrade, go to Settings > Company Settings > Add or Cancel Software.
Icons (right side of Post to account) — These icons indicate how Patriot has automatically categorized the imported transaction. Hover over an icon to see the categorization detail.
Post to Account — Select the account from your Chart of Accounts that this transaction represents. This account will be the offsetting side of the journal entry (the asset or liability account for your bank or credit card was set when you first connected that account). Once you have recurring transactions, Patriot will recognize the description and pre-select the account you used previously. You can change the account at any time.
To set up rules that automatically select the correct account, see Setting Up Rules for Imported Transactions.
To create a new account on the fly, click + Add New next to the Post to Account column.
Amount — The dollar amount of the transaction.
Gear icon — Click the gear icon for quick access to transaction options without expanding the transaction. Available options:
Assign to Vendor/Department (withdrawals)
Assign to Customer/Department (deposits)
Add an Attachment (Accounting Premium only)
Edit an Existing Rule
Split Transaction
Dismiss Transaction
How to Accept or Dismiss Transactions
After reviewing and categorizing your transactions, you can accept or dismiss each one.
To accept a transaction: Click the checkbox on the far left of the transaction row. When you click Post Transactions, a Transactions Summary page will appear showing the date, description, debits, and credits for each transaction. You can void a journal entry immediately from this page if needed.
To dismiss a transaction: Select the Dismiss Transactions link. Dismiss any transaction that has already been posted elsewhere in the software so it is not recorded twice in your general ledger.
Save your progress: You can save your progress at any time and return to the Manage Imported Transactions page later to finish posting.
Duplicate transaction warning: If a new imported transaction matches a transaction already posted in your account, Patriot will display a possible duplicate warning — even if the descriptions differ.
The duplicate warning appears when two transactions share the same external account (for example, Savings, Checking, or Credit Card), the same dollar amount, and a transaction date within seven days of the posted transaction.
If the transaction is a duplicate, dismiss it. If it is not a duplicate, assign it to an account and accept it as usual.
How to View Posted Transactions
To view imported bank transactions after they have been posted as journal entries, go to Reports > Accounting > Financial Reports > General Ledger.
How to Void Posted Transactions
If you need to void a journal entry that was previously accepted from an imported transaction:
Go to Reports > Accounting > Financial Reports > General Ledger.
Click the gear icon next to the transaction.
Select Edit or Void.
For more information on the difference between voiding, deleting, and editing transactions, see Void, Delete or Edit Transactions: What's the Difference?