The short answer
The PayPal file has 41 columns, dates written as M/D/YYYY and one signed amount column. YNAB wants a CSV with the columns Date,Payee,Memo,Outflow,Inflow. So the date is rewritten as YYYY-MM-DD, the amount is split into Outflow and Inflow, and the text columns are moved as in the table below.
Paid pack. The PayPal profile is one of the 35 profiles unlocked by a licence (9 US dollars, paid once; see the terms). Without a licence you can still convert this file with the free manual column mapper, using the column table on this page, within the free limit of 25 rows per file.
The converter runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded.
What the PayPal CSV looks like
- Country: International.
- Account type: activity download (default columns).
- Header row: yes, one row before the first transaction.
- Columns: 41, separated by commas.
- Date format: M/D/YYYY, for example 3/4/2024 (the source writes it as %-m/%-d/%Y).
- Amounts: one signed amount column. Evidence for the direction: the source says it in words.
- Header text: the source prints it, so the columns below carry their real names.
Note kept with this layout in the profile data: Forty-one default columns as listed by the source for 2018. The user can choose which columns PayPal exports and the date format follows the account's region (a second rules file in the same repository uses day-month-year with dashes), so the converter must match columns by header name, not by position, and confirm the date order in the preview. Gross is used as the amount; Fee and Net are separate columns. The file can contain email addresses of the other party: the converter must not copy those columns to the output.
What YNAB accepts
- File type: CSV (the vendor calls it the recommended and preferred format); QFX, OFX and QIF are also accepted.
- Header row: optional; the import preview has a "No header row" option.
- Required columns: Date, Outflow, Inflow.
- Optional columns: Payee, Memo.
- Amounts: Two positive columns: money out in Outflow, money in in Inflow. A single signed amount column is also accepted: the user selects the same column for both Inflow and Outflow in the import preview, and YNAB reads positive and negative values from it. The preview has a "Swap Inflow and Outflow" option.
- Dates: not stated on the page; the columns and their reading are confirmed in the import preview.
| YNAB column | Required by YNAB | Filled from the PayPal file |
|---|---|---|
| Date | required | column 1 "Date" |
| Payee | optional | column 4 "Name" |
| Memo | optional | column 5 "Type" and column 16 "Item Title" |
| Outflow | required | column 8 "Gross", rows that are money out |
| Inflow | required | column 8 "Gross", rows that are money in |
From the vendor's help page: "Select that same Amount column for both the Inflow and Outflow fields in the import dropdowns. You don't need to reformat your file or split it into two columns first—YNAB reads positive and negative values from a single column."
Column-by-column mapping
Every column of the PayPal file, left to right, and where it ends up in the YNAB file.
| Column | Header text | What it holds | Where it goes in the YNAB file |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date | Transaction date | Date, rewritten as YYYY-MM-DD |
| 2 | Time | Not used | Not copied |
| 3 | TimeZone | Not used | Not copied |
| 4 | Name | Payee or counterparty | Payee |
| 5 | Type | Description | Memo (used as Payee on a row whose payee cell is empty) |
| 6 | Status | Not used | Not copied |
| 7 | Currency | Currency | Not copied |
| 8 | Gross | Amount, signed (negative is money out) | Outflow when the row is money out, Inflow when it is money in; always a positive number |
| 9 | Fee | Not used | Not copied |
| 10 | Net | Not used | Not copied |
| 11 | From Email Address | Not used | Not copied |
| 12 | To Email Address | Not used | Not copied |
| 13 | Transaction ID | Reference or check number | Not copied |
| 14 | Shipping Address | Not used | Not copied |
| 15 | Address Status | Not used | Not copied |
| 16 | Item Title | Memo or note | Memo |
| 17 | Item ID | Not used | Not copied |
| 18 | Shipping and Handling Amount | Not used | Not copied |
| 19 | Insurance Amount | Not used | Not copied |
| 20 | Sales Tax | Not used | Not copied |
| 21 | Option 1 Name | Not used | Not copied |
| 22 | Option 1 Value | Not used | Not copied |
| 23 | Option 2 Name | Not used | Not copied |
| 24 | Option 2 Value | Not used | Not copied |
| 25 | Reference Txn ID | Not used | Not copied |
| 26 | Invoice Number | Not used | Not copied |
| 27 | Custom Number | Not used | Not copied |
| 28 | Quantity | Not used | Not copied |
| 29 | Receipt ID | Not used | Not copied |
| 30 | Balance | Running balance | Not copied |
| 31 | Address Line 1 | Not used | Not copied |
| 32 | Address Line 2/District/Neighborhood | Not used | Not copied |
| 33 | Town/City | Not used | Not copied |
| 34 | State/Province/Region/County/Territory/Prefecture/Republic | Not used | Not copied |
| 35 | Zip/Postal Code | Not used | Not copied |
| 36 | Country | Not used | Not copied |
| 37 | Contact Phone Number | Not used | Not copied |
| 38 | Subject | Not used | Not copied |
| 39 | Note | Not used | Not copied |
| 40 | Country Code | Not used | Not copied |
| 41 | Balance Impact | Not used | Not copied |
Pitfalls for PayPal to YNAB
Dates
- The date must be reordered. The bank file is written month first, then day, then year (M/D/YYYY, for example 3/4/2024). The YNAB file is written year first, then month, then day (YYYY-MM-DD, for example 2024-03-04).
- YNAB on dates: not stated on the page; the columns and their reading are confirmed in the import preview. The converter writes year-month-day because it cannot be misread as day/month or month/day. The vendor page does not list accepted date formats, so the user must check the dates in YNAB's preview before importing.
Amounts and their direction
- The bank file has one signed amount column (negative is money out) and the YNAB layout used here has two positive columns. Each amount goes to Outflow or Inflow by its sign, and the minus sign is removed.
- YNAB's own rule: Two positive columns: money out in Outflow, money in in Inflow. A single signed amount column is also accepted: the user selects the same column for both Inflow and Outflow in the import preview, and YNAB reads positive and negative values from it. The preview has a "Swap Inflow and Outflow" option.
- How sure the direction is: the source says it in words.
Shape of the file
- Quoting: every field in double quotes (header shown quoted in the source).
Other YNAB import rules
- The vendor states it is no longer necessary to format a CSV file before uploading it; columns are matched to fields with dropdown menus after upload.
Before and after: an invented example
Invented sample data. These four rows were made up for this page. They are not from a real PayPal export and hold no real account, name or balance.
The column headings are the header text the source prints. The 33 unused columns of the file are left out of the table.
| 1: Date | 4: Name | 5: Type | 7: Currency | 8: Gross | 13: Transaction ID | 16: Item Title | 30: Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/4/2024 | Coffee Corner | COFFEE CORNER MAIN ST | EUR | -4.50 | S0001 | Card purchase | 995.50 |
| 3/5/2024 | Example Co | PAYROLL EXAMPLE CO | EUR | 2500.00 | S0002 | Salary March | 3495.50 |
| 3/7/2024 | Sample Landlord | RENT MARCH | EUR | -1234.56 | S0003 | Standing order | 2260.94 |
| 3/11/2024 | Example Shop | REFUND EXAMPLE SHOP | EUR | 15.25 | S0004 | Refund | 2276.19 |
| Date | Payee | Memo | Outflow | Inflow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-04 | Coffee Corner | COFFEE CORNER MAIN ST - Card purchase | 4.50 | |
| 2024-03-05 | Example Co | PAYROLL EXAMPLE CO - Salary March | 2500.00 | |
| 2024-03-07 | Sample Landlord | RENT MARCH - Standing order | 1234.56 | |
| 2024-03-11 | Example Shop | REFUND EXAMPLE SHOP - Refund | 15.25 |
Do it by hand in a spreadsheet, free
These steps need no tool from this site. The cell references follow the column positions of the profile above; if your spreadsheet uses semicolons between formula arguments, replace the commas.
- Open the PayPal CSV in a spreadsheet program through its import dialog. Set the date column (column 1 "Date") to Text so the program does not reinterpret it, and leave the amount columns as numbers.
- Row 1 is the header and the transactions start in row 2.
- Date: rewrite column A from M/D/YYYY to YYYY-MM-DD (3/4/2024 becomes 2024-03-04). This bank's dates do not have a fixed width, so a position formula is not reliable: split the column into its parts (Text to Columns, or the split function of your spreadsheet) and join them again in the new order.
- Amounts: split the signed column into two positive columns. Outflow:
=IF(H2<0,-H2,"")Inflow:=IF(H2<0,"",H2)YNAB's help page also says a single signed column can be selected for both Inflow and Outflow in its import preview, so this step can be skipped there. - Text columns: fill Payee (from column 4 "Name"); Memo (from column 5 "Type" and column 16 "Item Title"). Where several bank columns feed one column, join them with a separator such as " - ".
- Apply YNAB's own rules from its help page: The vendor states it is no longer necessary to format a CSV file before uploading it; columns are matched to fields with dropdown menus after upload.
- Keep only the new columns, put the header row Date,Payee,Memo,Outflow,Inflow on top, save the sheet as a comma-separated CSV, and compare the dates, the direction of the amounts and the number of rows with your statement in YNAB's import preview.
Or use the converter
Load the file, choose the PayPal profile in the bank list and the target YNAB, read the preview, then download. The conversion runs locally in your browser: the file is not uploaded, and only the licence key is sent for unlocking.
Paid pack. The PayPal profile is one of the 35 profiles unlocked by a licence (9 US dollars, paid once; see the terms). Without a licence you can still convert this file with the free manual column mapper, using the column table on this page, within the free limit of 25 rows per file.
Where this layout comes from
No bank supplied or approved this layout. It was copied on 5 October 2026 from a public open-source importer file kept by volunteers: simonmichael/hledger, file examples/csv/other/paypal-custom.csv.rules
Also read: simonmichael/hledger, file examples/csv/other/paypal-2023.rules
The lines used from the source: "Export CSV from Activity -> Statements -> Custom -> Activity download" ; "The default fields in 2018 were: ..." ; date-format %-m/%-d/%Y ; "(negative means leaving my account, in all amount fields)"
The YNAB rules come from the vendor's own help pages: support.ynab.com/en_us/file-based-import-a-guide-Bkj4Sszyo (named as text, not linked), support.ynab.com/en_us/formatting-a-csv-file-an-overview-BJvczkuRq (named as text, not linked). The official page was fetched and read on the checked date.
Bank formats change. Banks alter their CSV exports without notice and vendors change their import rules, so this mapping can be out of date. If the preview looks wrong, use the manual column mapper.