{"id":70804,"date":"2025-11-13T09:53:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T08:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/help\/non-knowledgebase\/uncategorized\/how-do-i-prepare-my-chart-of-accounts-file-for-import-into-churchtools\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T13:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:04:19","password":"","slug":"how-to-prepare-my-chart-of-accounts-file-for-import-into-churchtools","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/import-and-export-finances-en\/how-to-prepare-my-chart-of-accounts-file-for-import-into-churchtools\/","title":{"rendered":"How to prepare my chart of accounts file for import into ChurchTools?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To obtain a chart of accounts file in a format that ChurchTools can read, you can download an <em>import template<\/em> from ChurchTools Finances, which you can use as a basis for importing your data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Download the account import template<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In ChurchTools, navigate to the <em>Finances module<\/em>. Open <em>Accounts<\/em> (2) in <em>Master Data<\/em> (1). From the <em>context menu<\/em> (3), select <em>Import Accounts from CSV File<\/em> (4).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2398\" height=\"898\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file.png\" alt=\"Screenshot Finances Master data Import accounts from CSV file\" class=\"wp-image-70812\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file.png 2398w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file-300x112.png 300w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file-1024x383.png 1024w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file-768x288.png 768w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file-1536x575.png 1536w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file-2048x767.png 2048w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file-360x135.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2398px) 100vw, 2398px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here, you can download an <em>import template<\/em> (5) that is tailored to the general master data that has already been created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file_Download-Import-template.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1296\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file_Download-Import-template.png\" alt=\"Screenshot Finances Master data Import accounts from CSV file Download Import template\" class=\"wp-image-70815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file_Download-Import-template.png 1296w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file_Download-Import-template-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file_Download-Import-template-1024x442.png 1024w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file_Download-Import-template-768x332.png 768w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Master-data_Import-accounts-from-CSV-file_Download-Import-template-360x156.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1296px) 100vw, 1296px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Customize the account import template<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Copy all the data from your export file, paste it into the account import template, and customize it to suit your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group ct-box ct-box-blue has-background is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-1ccdadb1 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-radius:8px;border-left-color:#22c55e;border-left-width:0.5rem;background-color:#dcfce7;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0.5rem;margin-right:0.5rem;margin-bottom:0rem;margin-left:0.5rem\"><strong>Tip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0rem;margin-right:0.5rem;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-left:0.5rem\">We recommend that you <strong>compare<\/strong> the <strong>account groups in your chart of accounts file and in ChurchTools one last time<\/strong> and reconcile them if necessary. Only entries that match 100% can be imported. <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Save the import file<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Save your customized chart of accounts file by selecting <em>File<\/em> &gt; <em>Save As&#8230;<\/em> in <em>CSV UTF-8 (comma-separated values)<\/em> format as a CSV file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Import-file-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"954\" height=\"1382\" src=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Import-file-1.png\" alt=\"Screenshot Finances Import file\" class=\"wp-image-70863\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.569442315639401;width:381px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Import-file-1.png 954w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Import-file-1-207x300.png 207w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Import-file-1-707x1024.png 707w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Import-file-1-768x1113.png 768w, https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Finances_Import-file-1-353x512.png 353w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 954px) 100vw, 954px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To learn how to import your chart of accounts into ChurchTools, see our guide <a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/import-and-export-finances-en\/how-to-import-account-data-from-a-file\/\">&#8220;How to import account data from a file?&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group ct-artikel-zum-weiterlesen has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-79a8db7e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:8px;background-color:#f9fafb;margin-top:24px;margin-bottom:24px;padding-top:32px;padding-right:24px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:24px\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Read more<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/import-and-export-finances-en\/how-to-import-account-data-from-a-file\/\">How to import account data from a file?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To obtain a chart of accounts file in a format that ChurchTools can read, you can download an import template from ChurchTools Finances, which you can use as a basis for importing your data. 1. Download the account import template In ChurchTools, navigate to the Finances module. Open Accounts (2) in Master Data (1). From [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[670],"doc_tag":[],"knowledge_base":[224],"class_list":["post-70804","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry","doc_category-import-and-export-finances-en","knowledge_base-churchtools-modules"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"year_month":"2026-07","word_count":167,"total_views":"4","reactions":{"happy":"0","normal":"0","sad":"0"},"author_info":{"name":"Hans-Helge B\u00fcrger","author_nicename":"hhbuerger","author_url":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/author\/hhbuerger\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"Import and export","term_url":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/non-knowledgebase\/import-and-export-finances-en\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"knowledge_base_info":[{"term_name":"Modules","term_url":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/help\/churchtools-modules\/","term_slug":"churchtools-modules"}],"knowledge_base_slug":["churchtools-modules"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/70804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70804"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/70804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70865,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/70804\/revisions\/70865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=70804"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=70804"},{"taxonomy":"knowledge_base","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchtools.academy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/knowledge_base?post=70804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}