Import debts from a CSV file

If your debts live in a spreadsheet, Tavala can read them from a CSV file. There are three imports, each with a preview, so nothing is created until you tap the last button: a list of debts, one loan's amortization schedule, and the past payments of a debt you already track. Tavala does not import transactions from a file, only debts.

CSV is the only format. Excel files (.xlsx) are not supported yet: in your spreadsheet, choose Save as or Export and pick CSV.

Import a list of debts

1. Open the Money tab, tap + at the top right, then tap Import debts from CSV.

2. Tap Choose a CSV file and pick your file.

3. On Match your columns, check that each Tavala field points at the right column of your file. Tavala guesses from the column names, and you can change any guess under Column in your file, or pick - Not in file -.

   Field	Needed	What it holds
   Debt name	Yes	What you owe, for example "Visa card"
   Balance owed	Yes	The amount owed, as a positive number
   Interest rate (APR %)	No	The yearly rate, for example 19.99
   Min. payment	No	The monthly minimum

4. Set Currency of these amounts. If the balances come through with the wrong sign, turn on Flip amount signs.

5. Tap Preview debts.

6. Read the summary, for example "3 debts ready, 1 needs attention". Untick any debt you do not want. A row that cannot be used stays in the list with its row number and the reason.

7. Tap Create 3 debts.

A file that works without any mapping looks like this:

name,balance,apr,min_payment
Visa card,2400,19.99,60
Car loan,8400,6.5,250

If a debt in the file has the same name as one you already track, Tavala asks "A debt with this name exists": Update replaces that debt's amount owed, monthly payment and rate with the file's figures, Add separately creates a second debt, Skip leaves it alone, and Cancel goes back. The result is announced as, for example, "Created 3 debts, updated 1, skipped 2."

Import a loan's amortization schedule

Use this when your lender or a mortgage calculator gave you the full month-by-month table. Tavala reads the loan's terms from it instead of storing the rows.

1. On the Import debts screen, tap Have a full loan amortization schedule instead?
2. Choose your CSV file and match the columns: Payment # and Payment date are optional, Payment amount can be left out, and Principal, Interest and Balance are required. The balance should be what remains after each payment.
3. Type the Debt name, check Currency of these amounts, and tap Check the fit.
4. Read the result. Matches your schedule means Tavala's own projection reproduces the file; Close, with a small difference shows how far apart they are, usually a rounding or day-count difference. What we’ll save lists the balance owed, monthly payment, start, term and rate.
5. Tap Create this debt.

The rows themselves are not stored. A schedule goes out of date the first time a payment is early, late or a different amount, so Tavala keeps the terms and recomputes the plan from your real balance as you record payments.

Import past payments

Use this for a debt you already track, to bring in payments you made before you started using Tavala.

1. Open the debt's ⋯ menu on the Money tab and tap Import payment history.
2. Tap Choose a CSV file. The file needs a Payment date and either a Payment amount, or Interest and Principal columns. With both a total and the split you get the true interest and principal. A file with only a total records every payment as paying the debt down.
3. Match the columns and tap Preview payments.
4. If the dates could be day-first or month-first, choose Day / month or Month / day.
5. Check the preview. "7 payments ready" lists what will be saved. Rows that look like a payment already recorded are unticked under Already recorded?; tick them to import anyway. Rows that need a look are left out and listed with the reason.
6. Choose the wallet under Paid from, then tap Record 7 payments.

Each row is saved as a real payment, the same as recording one by hand: an interest expense and a principal transfer. The principal lowers what you owe on the debt, and the payment amounts leave the Paid from wallet.

Importing the same file twice is safe: each payment gets a fixed identity from its date, so a second import records nothing new.

Plan limits

The first debt and everything on it is free. Importing a list of debts, or a schedule, is open while your space has no debts, and needs Tavala Plus once you have one. Import payment history is free on your first debt and needs Plus on others, like the other debt tools in track a loan or a credit line. The free plan's limit of 2 currencies per space also applies: a file whose debts would take the space past it is refused whole, and nothing is created.

Good to know

• Nothing is created until the last button. Back out at any step and no debt is added.
• Wrong file. If you pick something that is not a .csv, Tavala says "That doesn’t look like a CSV file. Pick a .csv exported from your spreadsheet." An empty file is "That file looks empty - nothing to import."
• Currencies. The currency pickers on these screens offer regular currencies such as EUR and USD, not cryptocurrencies.