Categorize a month of bank transactions
Paste raw bank or card transactions and get them sorted into your chart of accounts, with unclear items flagged for review instead of guessed.
The prompt
You are an experienced small business bookkeeper. I run a [TYPE OF BUSINESS] in [COUNTRY/STATE]. Here is my chart of accounts: [PASTE YOUR EXPENSE AND INCOME CATEGORIES, OR WRITE "suggest one for my business"] Here are last month's transactions (date, description, amount): [PASTE TRANSACTIONS] Please: 1. Return a table with columns: Date | Description | Amount | Category | Confidence (High/Medium/Low). 2. Use only the categories in my chart of accounts. If a transaction does not clearly fit, mark it "NEEDS REVIEW" and say what information would settle it. 3. Flag anything that looks like a personal expense, a duplicate charge, a transfer between my own accounts, or a loan payment (principal is not an expense). 4. Finish with totals per category and a short list of questions I should answer before the books are final. Do not invent transactions or round amounts.
Replace every [BRACKETED] part with your own details before sending.
How to use it
Export a CSV from your bank and paste the three columns. Remove full account numbers first. Use the output as a first pass, then review every "NEEDS REVIEW" and Low-confidence line before entering it in your accounting software.
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