Import Your Books: Bringing Existing History In
A new client rarely starts from zero. They have years in QuickBooks, a Xero export, or a spreadsheet their previous bookkeeper maintained. This guide covers moving that history into DynaTax AI — what uploads cleanly, and the one setting that decides whether the data lands in the ledger or in a review queue first.
Where to Import
Importing is done from the firm side, per client: open the client, then Bookkeeping → Import Data. Everything you upload lands on that client's books, not on your firm's.
What You Can Upload
Drop a file onto the upload area or browse for it. These formats are accepted:
- QBO and QFX — the account-download format QuickBooks and most banks produce
- OFX — the open banking-download standard the two above are based on
- CSV — the common ground for every accounting package and every spreadsheet
- XLSX, XLS and XLSM — Excel workbooks, uploaded as they are
- JSON and NDJSON — for data coming out of a system that exports structured records
Choosing the Source Platform
Before confirming the upload you pick where the file came from. This matters: the same file extension means different things depending on who wrote it, and naming the source lets DynaTax AI read the columns correctly instead of guessing.
- QuickBooks — QBO / QFX files
- Xero — Xero exports
- FreshBooks — FreshBooks exports
- CSV / Excel — spreadsheets, whoever made them
- OFX / QFX — downloads straight from a bank
- Other — generic format, when none of the above describes it
Staged Review vs Immediate
This is the setting worth slowing down for. Two choices:
Staged for Review — the default, and the recommended one
The data is held and has to be reviewed before it enters the client's ledger. Nothing posts until you have looked at it.
Immediate — skip review
The data goes straight in. Faster, and appropriate for a file you have imported before from a source you trust.
Use staged review for a first import from any client. You are looking at somebody else's bookkeeping conventions for the first time, and an import is far easier to correct before it becomes ledger history than after.
After the Import
Three things are worth checking on any first import, in this order:
- The chart of accounts.Imported transactions have to land somewhere. If the client's old system used account names yours does not have, sort that out before you start categorizing — see the chart of accounts guide.
- Opening balances. An import of recent activity does not by itself give you the balances the account started from. See Opening Balance Entries.
- Overlap with the bank feed. If the bank is already connected and you import a file covering the same dates, you can end up with the same activity twice. Import history first, then let the live feed take over from where the file ends.
Import History
Every upload for the client is listed under Import History on the same page, so you can see what has already been brought in and when. Check it before uploading anything you are not certain is new — it is the quickest way to avoid importing the same period twice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my client import their own file?
Importing bookkeeping data is a firm-side action, done per client from the bookkeeping workspace. A client who has a file to bring in should send it to their firm.
Does importing replace what is already there?
No — an import adds to the books. That is why overlapping date ranges create duplicates rather than overwriting, and why Import History is worth a glance first.
My client is on a package that is not in the list.
Export to CSV from whatever they use and choose CSV / Excel, or choose Other. Nearly every accounting package can produce a CSV, which is why it is the reliable fallback.
Will the AI categorize imported transactions?
Imported transactions go through the same categorization as any other, and the corrections you make on them teach the same learned merchants list — so cleaning up an import also trains the ongoing bookkeeping.