Source Profiles

A Source Profile describes one recurring export layout. It supports merchant recognition, duplicate screening, source-data retention, and profile revisions.

Where to manage Source Profiles #

Open Import Center from the Transactions page to manage Source Profiles and create one before an import. You can also start an everyday transaction import first: when no profile recognizes its CSV or TSV file, choose Set Up Source Profile in the workspace. The loaded file becomes the setup sample, and saving the profile returns you to that same staged import.

Profiles belong to the current Common Cents file. Create one from a representative CSV or TSV export; the sample helps Common Cents suggest headings and columns, but it is not imported or saved as transactions.

What a profile stores #

A profile records:

• CSV or tab-delimited format and expected column layout
• headings, when the export has them
• date and amount mappings, which are required
• optional payee or description, category, label, and bank transaction-ID columns
• the amount strategy for one amount column, debit/credit columns, or the first non-empty amount
• optional merchant-description cleanup steps
• whether mapped bank values are retained after a completed import

Map a stable bank transaction ID whenever the export has one. It lets Common Cents safely recognize rows imported before.

Create and test a profile #

1. Open Import Center and choose Create Source Profile.
2. Give the profile a source-specific name, such as “Checking CSV.”
3. Choose Load Sample Data to load a representative export and suggest its format, headings, and columns.
4. Confirm the required date and amount columns. Add optional columns only when they are useful.
5. Review the sample data in the expanded editor workspace and save the profile.

When you edit an existing profile, Common Cents saves the layout as a new revision. That preserves the revision used by earlier imports. A profile that has never been used by an import can be permanently deleted from its edit panel; its profile-specific recognition rules are deleted with it. Once an import uses a profile, archive it instead so that import’s provenance remains available. Restore an archived profile if you need it again.

Each profile card also shows its active, profile-specific payee recognition-rule count. Choose Edit Payee Recognition Rules to manage those rules in a separate side panel.

Retain only the source data you need #

Choose Retain until I purge them when you want completed imports to keep their mapped source values for later review. Choose Do not retain after import when you prefer not to keep those values.

Even without retaining mapped values, Common Cents can keep compact duplicate-detection fingerprints rather than the original bank data.

A profile must match exactly #

The Transaction Import Workspace stages an export only when one active Source Profile matches it exactly. If a bank changes its headings or layout, the workspace offers Set Up New Source Profile using the file you already loaded. Common Cents never guesses between weak or ambiguous matches.