Supported file formats

The statement formats Pentos imports, and the files it exports.

Import

Pentos reads four statement formats.

Format	Extension	Setup needed	Notes
CSV	`.csv`	Column mapping, once per account	No agreed layout, so you say which column is which
OFX	`.ofx`	None	Names its own fields
QFX	`.qfx`	None	Quicken’s OFX variant, read the same way
QIF	`.qif`	None	Older format, still offered by many banks

Prefer OFX or QFX when your bank offers them. They carry their own field names, so there is nothing to map and nothing to get wrong.

A CSV needs four things settled the first time you import one into an account:

Setting	Options
Date column	Any column in the file
Date format	Day first, month first, or year first
Payee column	Any column in the file
Amount style	One Amount column, or separate Inflow / Outflow columns

Flip sign handles files that write outgoing money as positive.

The mapping is remembered per account, so only the first statement from each bank asks.

Another budgeting app’s own file format. Most of them export to CSV, and that is the file to bring across.

Export	File	Contains	Restores into Pentos
Export Backup	One backup file	The entire budget	Yes
Export Transactions CSV	`Pentos Transactions.csv`	Transactions only	No

A backup carries accounts, transactions, categories, assignments, holds, rules, schedules, goals, payees, and settings.

A CSV carries transactions and nothing else. It is the right file for a spreadsheet and the wrong file for a backup.

Something wrong or missing on this page? Write to supportpentosbudget.com.