---
title: Import Accounting Data Via CSV Trial Balance
description: You can now connect a company through a .CSV Trial Balance file. When you create multiple companies using the CSV upload, you can also use Consolidations within Reach Reporting. After upload all financial statements will be automatically created.
---

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3. [CSV Trial Balance](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/integrations?hsLang=en#csv-trial-balance)

# Import Accounting Data Via CSV Trial Balance

## Connect a company through a CSV Trial Balance file to create financial statements automatically

### In this article:

- [Overview](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#overview)
- [Getting Started](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#getting-started)
- [Required Formatting Rules](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#required-formatting-rules) 
    - [Mandatory Columns](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#mandatory-columns)
    - [Accepted Account Types](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#accepted-account-types)
    - [Data Entry Guidelines](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#data-entry-guidelines) 
          - [Header Row](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#header-row)
          - [Account Structure](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#account-structure)
          - [Date Formatting](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#date-formatting)
          - [Cumulative Balances](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#cumulative-balances)
          - [Quarterly or Annual Data](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#quarterly-or-annual-data)
          - [Debits and Credits](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#debits-and-credits)
          - [Number Formatting](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#number-formatting)
          - [File Type](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#file-type)
          - [Delimiter](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#delimiter)
- [Uploading Your CSV File](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#updating-your-csv-company)
- [Error Handling](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#error-handling)
- [Updating Your CSV Company](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#updating-your-csv-company)
- [After Upload](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#after-upload)
- [Important Limitations](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#important-limitations)
- [Best Practices](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#best-practices)
- [Troubleshooting](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/import-accounting-data-via-csv-trial-balance#troubleshooting)

---

### Overview

You can connect a company to Reach Reporting by uploading a CSV Trial Balance file. You can include up to 60 months (5 full years) of data within the CSV upload. This is an excellent option if your bookkeeping is stored in a general ledger that isn't currently supported by[Reach's direct integrations](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/integrations?hsLang=en#main-content). When you upload multiple companies using the CSV method, you can also use [Consolidations](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/consolidations?hsLang=en)within Reach Reporting to combine data from multiple entities.

---

### **Getting Started**

#### **Download the CSV Template**

To begin uploading your trial balance data:

1. Navigate to your workspace and select **"Add Company"**
2. Choose **"Upload CSV Trial Balance"**
3. Click to [download a CSV template](https://app.reachreporting.com/CSV%20Trial%20Balance%20Import%20Sample..xlsx?v=3)

You can either:

- Copy and paste your trial balance data directly into the template, or
- Create a new tab in an existing spreadsheet using the same data structure

**Note:** When adding new monthly data to an existing CSV company, you can update the original imported file that you have stored on your computer, or download the previously uploaded CSV, add the new month column, and re-upload using the **Update** function. 

---

### **Required Formatting Rules**

To ensure your data imports properly, follow these formatting requirements carefully:

#### **Mandatory Columns**

![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-05-9116-PM.png?width=670&height=103&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-05-9116-PM.png)

**Column A - Account ID**  
General ledger account numbers. Every account must have a unique identifier.

**Column B - Account Name**  
The name of each account in your chart of accounts.

**Important:** Account names in your CSV **must be unique**. Even if each row has a unique account ID, duplicate account names will cause disruptions during consolidation. Reach Reporting relies solely on account names (not IDs) when consolidating CSV data. 

**Column C - Parent Account**   
Used to establish parent and sub-account relationships. This creates the account hierarchy in your financial statements. This column can optionally be left blank.

**Tip:** You can map accounts in the CSV file by creating custom accounts with no data, and then use the Account Parent ID column to create groupings. Be sure that your custom account has an Account ID, Account Name, and Account Type, and that the corresponding sub-accounts follow the same Account Type as the parent account.

For example, Cash and Cash Equivalents is a custom parent account with no data. Reach will show the totals of rows 3-8 for Cash and Cash Equivalents:

![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-03-8477-PM.png?width=670&height=124&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-03-8477-PM.png)

![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-07-50-08-1860-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-07-50-08-1860-PM.png)

**Column D - Account Type**  
The general ledger account type must match one of Reach Reporting's account types exactly. See the Account Types table below for accepted values.

**Column E and Beyond - Monthly Data**  
Starting with Column E, enter your monthly trial balance data. You can begin with any fiscal period and continue with subsequent months across the row.

#### **Accepted Account Types**

Your Account Type entries in Column D must match these exact values:

![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-04-1513-PM.png?width=670&height=227&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-04-1513-PM.png)

#### **Data Entry Guidelines**

##### **Header Row**

- Keep your header row intact—this tells Reach how to map your fields
- The first row should contain: Account ID, Account Name, Account Parent ID, Account Type, and then your date columns.

##### **Account Structure**

- Every account must start on its own line
- No duplicate Account IDs are allowed

- Each row needs a corresponding unique Account ID

##### **Date Formatting**

- Date columns should be labeled with the month, last day of the month, and year (e.g., "1/31/2025")
- Dates must be formatted as "Date" within your spreadsheet application
- The dates must also be formatted with the Locale as "English (United States)"
- There must not be duplicate date columns

![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-03-2348-PM.png?width=670&height=623&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-03-2348-PM.png)

##### **Cumulative Balances**

- **This is critical:** Your data must show **actual cumulative fiscal ending balances**, not monthly changes or activity.
- **Profit & Loss Accounts:** Should show year-to-date cumulative totals. For example, if a company is profitable, income should continue increasing month over month because you're showing the year-to-date balance, not just the monthly change.
- **Balance Sheet Accounts:** Should show the ending balance as of that period's date.

##### **Quarterly or Annual Data**

- You can upload quarterly or annual data instead of monthly. Simply enter the total trial balance for the applicable period. For example, put Q1 data as of 3/31/2025 in the quarterly column.

**Important Note:** If you want an accurate Cash Flow Statement, include the month prior to your reporting period, since cash flow is calculated based on balance sheet changes month to month.

##### **Debits and Credits**

- Keep your debits and credits formatted with the correct sign. Reach Reporting will automatically transform these so they work correctly in financial statements and metrics.

For example:

- **Income accounts** should be entered as negative numbers - Reach will multiply by -1, so it displays as a positive number on your Profit & Loss statement (credits)
- **Asset and Expense accounts** should be entered as positive numbers (debits)
- **Each column must balance to zero** (total debits must equal total credits)

![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-05-0261-PM.png?width=670&height=323&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-05-0261-PM.png)

##### **Number Formatting**

- Use dot (.) as a decimal separator
- Use comma (,) as a thousand separator
- The enclosing character (double quotes) must be used when the delimiter appears in the field

##### **File Type**

- Save your file as **CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)**

##### **Delimiter**

- Use commas (,) to separate data. Depending on your regional settings, the default delimiter may be different (usually semicolon or commas). Check out this Knowledge Center article for more information on the [Regional Settings Workaround - CSV Trial Balance](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/regional-settings-workaround-csv-trial-balance?hsLang=en).

---

#### **Uploading Your CSV File**

Once your CSV file is properly formatted:

1. From your workspace, click **"Add Company"**
2. Select **"Upload CSV Trial Balance"**
3. Click “Choose File” to attach your saved CSV file
4. Reach will automatically create your financial statements from the uploaded data

![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-03-5276-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-03-5276-PM.png)

---

### **Error Handling**

If anything is incorrect in your file, Reach will flag the errors and let you know exactly what needs to be fixed before you try uploading again. Common errors include:

- Unbalanced trial balance (debits ≠ credits) 
    - **Note:** Sometimes an error will show that the trial balance is out of balance by a small amount, even though the column may sum to 0 in Excel. This is often due to small, fractional penny balances within some of the accounts. You can use the ROUND function in Excel, or overwrite the accounts with these values to 0 to help clear the error.
- Invalid account types
- Missing required columns
- Duplicate account names
- Duplicate date columns
- Incorrect date formatting

---

### **Updating Your CSV Company**

When you need to add new monthly data to an existing CSV company:

1. Open the workspace in Reach Reporting
2. Click the arrow to drop down the CSV company
3. Select **“Download CSV”** to download the previously uploaded CSV file, or use the original imported file that you have stored on your computer
4. Add the new month column(s) to the file
5. Save and upload the updated file using the **“Update CSV”** option

The new month's data will be added to your existing company without affecting your reports, dashboards, or other configurations.

![](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-05-4501-PM.png?width=670&height=303&name=undefined-Dec-19-2025-03-12-05-4501-PM.png)

---

### **After Upload**

Once your CSV Trial Balance is successfully uploaded:

- All three main financial statements (Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement) will be automatically created
- You can access all Reach Reporting templates and features
- You can create consolidations with other CSV companies
- **Tip:** You can use the Account Parent ID column to create parent accounts with the same names in each CSV file to map and consolidate the accounts

**Note:** CSV companies do not auto-sync like integrated companies. You must manually upload updated files when your data changes.

---

### **Important Limitations**

- **No AR/AP Aging Statements:** [Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable aging statements](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/ar/ap-statements?hsLang=en) are not available for CSV uploads
- **No Budget Import:** Budgets cannot be imported via CSV (you can create budgets in [Reach Reporting's Budgets Pro tool](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/mastering-budgeting-with-reach-reportings-3-way-planning-tool?hsLang=en)or upload an [Excel Budget](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/how-to-create-an-excel-budget-in-reach-reporting?hsLang=en))
- **No Classes/Departments:** [Class and department](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/classes-departments-and-locations?hsLang=en) tracking is not supported for CSV companies
- **No Top Vendors/Customers:** [Special metrics](https://knowledge.reachreporting.com/special-metrics?hsLang=en) for top vendors and customers are not available
- **Manual Updates Required:** Unlike integrated companies, CSV companies don't automatically sync when your bookkeeping changes
- **Years of Data:** Reach can report up to the last 60 months (5 full years) of data from your CSV file

---

### **Best Practices**

1. **Keep a Master File:** Maintain a master CSV file that you update monthly and keep properly formatted
2. **Validate Before Upload:** Always check that your trial balance balances (debits = credits) before uploading
3. **Test with a Small Dataset:** If this is your first upload, try a test company with a few months of data first
4. **Document Your Account Types:** Keep a reference of which account type you've assigned to each account for consistency
5. **Use the Template:** Always start with the Reach Reporting template to ensure proper formatting
6. **Check Parent/Sub Relationships:** Verify your parent account hierarchy displays correctly after upload

---

### **Troubleshooting**

**Problem:** The trial balance will not upload  
**Solution:** Ensure you are following the template format and that each column balances to zero. Use your spreadsheet's SUM function to verify.

**Problem:** Accounts appear in the wrong category  
**Solution:** Check that your Account Type entries exactly match one of the accepted values (not case-sensitive).

**Problem:** Financial statements look incorrect  
**Solution:** Verify you're using cumulative balances (year-to-date for P&L, ending balances for Balance Sheet), not monthly changes.

**Problem:** Cash Flow Statement is missing data  
**Solution:** Make sure you've included at least two periods (months) of Balance Sheet data, as Cash Flow is calculated from changes between periods.

---

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