If Wave cannot read your CSV file due to an error not listed in this article, try importing your transactions with Wave’s CSV template, or use Wave Connect.
Common error messages
The CSV file must contain an amount, date and description column
Wave is having difficulty reading the file you uploaded
Wave can’t find any transactions in your file
Wave is having difficulty reading the dates of your transactions
Wave is having difficulty reading the amounts of your transactions
Wave can’t find a description of your transactions
The file you provided doesn't match any format we support
File contains transactions in multiple currencies or File contains an unknown currency code
The CSV file must contain an amount, date and description column
To import properly, your CSV file must have three or four columns:
- date
- amount of the transaction - all in one column, or one column each for deposits and withdrawals
- description
If your CSV file is not uploading when you have separate deposit and withdrawal columns, move the amounts into a single column.
When uploading credit card transactions, purchases must be a positive amount, while payments must be negative.
Wave is having difficulty reading the file you uploaded
This error can occur for two reasons:
- Your CSV file has more than four columns with inconsistent information. To resolve this error, ensure you only have columns for the transaction's date, amounts, and description. Delete any other columns.
- Your CSV file name is too long. To resolve this error, rename your file something like month-year-account.csv or monthyear.csv, then re-upload it.
Wave can't find any transactions in your file
This error can occur for two reasons:
- Your file contains no data. To resolve this error, ensure your file has at least one transaction.
- Column titles are at the bottom of the table. To resolve this error, delete any columns without transaction information and move column titles to the top of the table.
Wave is having difficulty reading the dates of your transactions
This error can occur for three reasons:
- There are two or more date columns, such as a transaction date and an approval date. Delete one of the columns.
- There are rows with commas or blank spaces. If you have a row without relevant transaction information, delete it, then re-upload the file.
- Wave cannot recognize the date’s format. The date cannot be in the future and must use this formatting:
- YYYY/MM/DD or YYYY-MM-DD
- Use numerical values, full month names, or 3-letter month names. For example, 2025/Jan/01
- Can have 'st','nd','rd' or 'th' after day numbers. For example, 2025/January/20th
Wave is having difficulty reading the amounts of your transactions
This error can occur for three reasons:
- Amounts are written in words instead of numerical values
The currency symbol in your file does not determine transaction currency. The currency will match the payment account chosen when uploading your file.
- There is incorrect punctuation. Use spaces, commas, apostrophes, or decimals to indicate number values. Use brackets or the minus sign to indicate negative amounts. For example, 1 000,54 or 1.00,54
- There are symbols other than the currency symbol, or the currency symbol is after the amount
If you continue to see this error, format the amount column as currency. Then, re-upload the file.
Wave can't find a description for your transactions
Your statement must have a column for the transaction’s description. The column can be empty. There are no limits to the content of this column. To resolve this error, open your file and add a description column.
The file you provided doesn't match any format we support
Wave supports the following file formats:
- .OFX
- .QBO
- .QFX
- .ASO
- .CSV
If your file is not a CSV file, see What to do if Wave can’t read your OFX, QBO, QFX, or ASO file.
If your file has been saved as an .XLS file, re-save it as a .CSV (comma delimited) file instead.
Wave does not support PDF files for transaction uploads.
File contains transactions in multiple currencies or File contains an unknown currency code
This error can occur for two reasons:
- There are multiple currencies in your file. To resolve this, create and upload a CSV file for each currency separately.
- There is an unknown currency. To resolve this, remove any currency symbols in your file and ensure you upload to the correct currency account in Wave.
Other errors
You may receive a generic error if you have account balance totals in your file. To resolve this, remove the row that shows the balance totals.