wise-import

Wise Import

Overview

Import transaction data from Wise (formerly TransferWise) CSV statement exports. Handles multi-currency accounts, conversion fees, and international transfers. Maps Wise's transfer-centric format into Open Accountant transactions.

Wilson Tools Used

• transaction_search — check for existing Wise transactions to prevent duplicates
• categorize — assign categories to imported Wise transactions
• export_transactions — export reconciled Wise data

Column Mapping

Wise CSV Column	Open Accountant Field	Notes
TransferWise ID or ID	reference_id	Unique transfer ID for dedup
Date	date	Completion date
Description	description	Transfer description / recipient
Amount	amount	Transaction amount (signed)
Currency	currency	Source currency ISO code
Running Balance	—	Not stored
Exchange Rate	notes	Stored in notes for reference
Total fees	amount (separate row)	Wise fee (negative = expense)

Workflow

1. Ask the user for the Wise CSV file path and which currency account(s) to import.
2. Parse the CSV and validate Wise column headers.
3. Process each row:
   • Incoming transfers: positive amount, category "Income:Transfer"
   • Outgoing transfers: negative amount, category based on description
   • Conversion fees: separate negative entry, category "Fees:Currency Conversion"
   • Card payments: negative amount, categorize by vendor
4. For multi-currency transfers:
   • Record the transaction in the source currency
   • Store the exchange rate and target amount in notes
   • Create the fee entry separately (Wise charges a conversion fee distinct from the exchange rate)
5. Deduplicate using Wise transfer ID.
6. Preview import summary per currency: inflows, outflows, fees, net.
7. Insert transactions and confirm.

Without Wilson

To work with Wise exports manually:

Downloading from Wise

1. Log in at wise.com
2. Click on the relevant currency account (e.g., USD, EUR, GBP)
3. Go to Statements (right side or under account menu)
4. Select the date range
5. Choose CSV format (also available: PDF, XLSX)
6. Click Download
7. Repeat for each currency account you want to import

Manual Processing in a Spreadsheet

1. Open the CSV in Google Sheets or Excel.
2. Identify transaction types by the Description and Amount sign:
   • Positive amounts = money received (income, incoming transfers)
   • Negative amounts = money sent (expenses, outgoing transfers, card payments)
3. Separate fees: Wise embeds fees in certain rows. Look for rows with "fee" in the description or where the Description references a parent transfer.
   • Some Wise CSVs have a Total fees column — use this directly.
   • If not, fees appear as separate rows with descriptions like "Conversion fee" or "Transfer fee."
4. Multi-currency handling:
   • If you have multiple currency accounts, keep them in separate sheets or add a "Currency" filter.
   • Do NOT sum amounts across currencies without converting first.
   • To convert: =Amount * ExchangeRate (use the rate from the Wise statement, not a live rate).
5. Summary formulas (per currency):

   Total Inflows:     =SUMIFS(Amount, Amount, ">0", Currency, "USD")
   Total Outflows:    =ABS(SUMIFS(Amount, Amount, "<0", Currency, "USD"))
   Total Fees:        =ABS(SUMIFS(TotalFees, Currency, "USD"))
   Net:               =Inflows - Outflows
   

6. Reconcile: The running balance in the last row should match your Wise account balance.

Alternative: Wise API

For developers, Wise has a public API at api.transferwise.com that can pull statements programmatically. Requires an API key from your Wise business account settings.

Important Notes

• Wise CSV format varies slightly between personal and business accounts. Business accounts include additional columns like Batch ID and Reference.
• Multi-currency: each currency account exports separately. If you converted USD to EUR, the debit appears in your USD statement and the credit in your EUR statement.
• Wise fees are typically lower than traditional banks (0.3-2% depending on corridor) but they appear as separate line items, not embedded in the exchange rate.
• "Balance cashback" rows are small interest payments from Wise — import these as "Income:Interest".
• Wise card transactions may appear with temporary merchant descriptions that update after settlement. If you import early, descriptions may change.