Import options
Files Squirrel can import are not always using the same formatting standards, even for a same file type. Amounts and dates are stored as text, and the way they're written can differ according to their source (depending on the country of the bank institution or the finance application they're from). To make it possible to handle as many files as possible, the importer has a few options that can be configured.
All files can be opened with a text editor (for instance TextEdit) so you can read their contents. Identify the line containing the amounts or date data, so you can see which formatting standard is used.
Number formats
Amounts formats are specified via two items: the thousands separator and the decimal separator. Make sure they're set correctly.
An amount written as 1,200 may be interpreted as
1200 if the thousands separator is ","
1.2 if the decimal separator is ","
Date formats
Dates can also be stored using many different formats. Squirrel uses a "date format", which is a series of characters that is used to interpret the text containing the date.
Format | Description |
---|---|
yy | Year |
yyyy | Year using four digits |
MM | Month |
dd | Day |
HH | Hour |
mm | Minute |
ss | Second |
A date stored as 06/12/12 may be interpreted as
June 12th, 2012 with the date format "MM/dd/yy"
December 6th, 2012 with the date format "dd/MM/yy"
December 12th, 2006 with the date format "yy/MM/dd"
Fields Mapping
All files contain transactions data specified through different fields, that differ according to the standard. Squirrel maps thoses fields to its own data structure. For example, QIF files usually contain a PAYEE and MEMO fields, and Squirrel will map them by default to the "Description" and "Notes" fields. However, the mapping can be customized in the importer's options.