How to Sync and Categorise Bank Transactions

What this does

Brings your bank transactions into Relentify so you can match them against invoices, bills, and expenses. There are two ways to do this: automatic sync via open banking (TrueLayer), or manually uploading a bank statement file.

When to use it

Sync or import your transactions regularly — ideally daily or at least weekly — to stay on top of your bookkeeping. Do this before reconciling your accounts.

Option A — Automatic sync (connected bank)

If you have connected your bank via open banking:

1. Go to Banking from the main navigation
2. Select the bank account you want to sync
3. Click Sync Transactions to pull the latest data from your bank
4. New transactions appear in the list, marked as uncategorised
5. For each transaction, Relentify may suggest a match to an existing invoice, bill, or expense
6. If the suggestion is correct, click to confirm the match
7. If no match is suggested, select the correct account category from the dropdown
8. Repeat until all new transactions are categorised or matched

Option B — Import a bank statement file (CSV or Excel)

If you prefer to download a statement from your bank's website and upload it manually:

1. Log in to your online banking and download your statement as a CSV or Excel file
2. Go to Banking from the main navigation and click Import Bank Statement
3. Select your bank from the grid (HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Monzo, Starling, Revolut) — this helps Relentify auto-detect the column layout
4. Drop your CSV or Excel file into the upload area, or click to browse
5. If Relentify cannot auto-detect the format, a Map Your Columns screen appears — use the dropdowns to tell Relentify which column is the date, description, and amount; pick the correct date format (DD/MM/YYYY for UK statements)
6. Optionally tick Save as template for next time to skip the mapping step on future imports from the same bank
7. Review the transaction list — rows marked New will be imported; rows marked Already imported are duplicates and will be skipped; untick any row you want to exclude
8. Click Approve & Import to confirm
9. Imported transactions are now available for categorisation and reconciliation