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Uploading Projections via Excel

Written by Raul Piedy

Overview

Got more than a handful of projections to set up — a full-year budget, a seasonal plan, or payroll across multiple pay dates? The Excel import lets you build or paste everything into one spreadsheet and upload it all at once.

Step 1 — Download the template

Always start from our official template. Building your own columns from scratch won’t work — the import rejects files with missing or mislabeled columns.

  1. Click Add Projections on your main dashboard.

  1. Switch to the Import Excel tab and click Download Template.

Step 2 — Fill in the template

Open the template and complete each row. Here’s what goes in each field:

Mandatory fields

  • Amount — numbers only. No formulas, no commas, no currency symbols. For an expense, add a minus sign in front (e.g. -500).

  • From / To / For — use the dropdown. This is the customer name for projected sales, or the vendor name for projected bills. A list of valid options sits on the right side of the sheet — feel free to copy and paste from there.

  • Account — use the dropdown, or copy and paste from the list in column K (it’s faster). This is the account name, like Bank charges, Rental expenses, Sales, or Utilities.

  • Date — the start date of your projection. Must be a future date — tomorrow, next week, or next month all work.

Optional fields

  • Details — a quick note on what the projection is for. Handy, but not required.

  • Repeat — how often the projection recurs: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.

  • End date — the last day of the projection. Leave it blank and Cash Flow Frog will treat it as running indefinitely.

  • Class — optional. This is your tracking category — for example, Class in QuickBooks or Tracking Categories in Xero — handy if you group projections by department, location, or project.

Quick rules: use only this template, enter real numbers (never formulas), and fill in every mandatory field.

Step 3 — Upload and review

  1. Head back to the Add Projections > Import tab.

  1. Click Upload File and select your completed template.

  2. Cash Flow Frog parses the file and shows you a preview before saving. Review the list — check the amounts, dates, types, and accounts all look right.

  1. Click Add Projections.

Troubleshooting common import issues

Most import hiccups come down to a formatting mismatch with the template. Run through this list before reaching out to support:

  • Blank rows at the top — the first row must be the header, with data starting right below it.

  • Blank rows at the bottom — delete any empty rows below your last entry.

  • Wrong date format — use YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2025-09-01). Plain text in this format is safest; avoid formatted date cells with slashes or dots if your regional format isn’t being detected correctly.

  • Past dates — projections must be future-dated, so past-dated rows get rejected. (Historical data is imported separately, as transactions.)

  • Formulas — every cell needs a plain value, not a formula like =A1*12 or =SUM(...).

  • Zero values — 0.00 isn’t accepted. Remove those rows, or replace the zero with a negligible placeholder amount and note it in Details.

  • Hidden rows or columns — unhide everything and check the full data range before uploading; stale hidden data can confuse the import.

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