How to map your CSV

Mapping tells Hostfolio which column in your CSV is the date, amount, description, and so on. Once mapped, Hostfolio can parse transactions, categorize them (with your rules), and compute KPIs.

Step 1: Prepare your CSV

• Where to get it — Export from your bank’s website or app (e.g. “Export to CSV”, “Download statements”, “Account history”). Some property management or accounting tools also export CSVs.
• Keep the header row — The first row should contain column names (Date, Amount, Description, etc.). Hostfolio uses these to suggest which column does what.
• One row per transaction — Each line after the header = one transaction.
• At least date and amount — You need a date column and either one amount column (positive/negative) or separate credit and debit columns.

Supported formats:

• Separator: Comma (,) or semicolon (;) — Hostfolio detects this automatically.
• Dates: Common formats like DD/MM/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, MM/DD/YYYY are supported. You can pick the format during mapping if asked.
• Amounts: Numbers with optional minus for expenses; decimal with . or ,. Or two columns: one for credits, one for debits.

Step 2: Import the file

1. In Manage properties, select the property this CSV belongs to.
2. Click Import CSV and choose your file.
3. If the property already has CSV(s), choose:
   • Import as new — Add this file as an extra CSV (Pro only if you already have one CSV).
   • Overwrite — Replace an existing CSV’s data with this file.
4. Hostfolio opens the column mapper and shows a preview of your file.

Step 3: Map columns

For each Hostfolio field, pick the CSV column that matches:

• Amount mode — Choose “One column (signed)”, “Credit and debit columns”, or “Credit only” (if the file has only income). The mapper tries to auto-detect this.
• Optional: Year — If your file is for a specific year, you can set it so Hostfolio can filter or label data correctly.
• Optional: Label — A short name for this CSV (e.g. “Bank X 2024”) to tell it apart from others.

Click Confirm (or Apply) to run the import. Hostfolio then parses all rows and applies your categorization rules.

Step 4: After import

• Transactions appear in the Transactions tab and in Categorization.
• Categorization — Assign categories by description; add rules in Configuration → Categories and rules so the next import is auto-categorized.
• Custom entries — You can add manual income or expenses (e.g. cash rent) in the Custom entries tab for that property/CSV.

Reusing a mapping

When you import another file from the same bank (same column layout), Hostfolio may offer to reuse the last mapping. You can then only adjust if something changed (e.g. different date format).

Common issues

• “No valid transactions” or empty list
  • Check that Date and Amount (or Credit/Debit) are mapped correctly.
  • Check the date format (e.g. DD/MM/YYYY vs MM/DD/YYYY).
  • If amounts are in two columns, use Credit and Debit instead of a single Amount column.
• Wrong amounts (all zero or doubled)
  • If you have both “Amount” and “Credit/Debit” set, Hostfolio might double-count. Use either one signed Amount column or Credit + Debit, not both.
  • Ensure the correct column is chosen for Credit vs Debit (some banks put income in “Debit” and expenses in “Credit” in the CSV header; pick the column that actually contains the values).
• Dates in wrong order or wrong year
  • Set the correct date format in the mapper.
  • If the file is for one year only, set the Year option if available.
• Semicolon vs comma
  • Hostfolio usually detects the separator from the first line. If detection is wrong, try saving the CSV again from your bank with a different separator, or use a spreadsheet to re-save as CSV (comma or semicolon).
• Encoding (weird characters)
  • Save the CSV as UTF-8 if possible (e.g. “CSV UTF-8” in Excel/Numbers). Hostfolio expects UTF-8.

Next: Categorization and Export.