Switching from another app

How does switching work?

1. Connect your banks in Pennyjay first (More → Accounts → “Connect an account”) and let them sync. Bank sync brings in up to two years, depending on your bank.
2. Export your transactions from your old app as a CSV (steps for each app are below).
3. In Pennyjay, go to More → Settings → “Import CSV” and pick the file. On the web, Settings → Import CSV, or drop the file on the page.
4. Pennyjay says which app the file came from. Under “Match accounts”, check where each account in the file goes. Accounts left on “Don’t import” are skipped.
5. Check the preview and tap Import.

Pennyjay maps the columns and the money-in and money-out signs for you, translates category names it knows (like “Dining Out” to Restaurants), and leaves the ones it can’t place for Jay to categorize from the merchant.

Will I get duplicates of transactions my bank already synced?

“Only add older history” is on when the file comes from another app. It leaves out every row dated on or after the first transaction your bank sync brought into that account, because those days are already covered. The preview shows the date for each account.

Anything else that matches a transaction already in the account (same amount, dates within a day, and a similar description or merchant) is marked “Already here” and skipped. Importing the same file twice doesn’t add anything the second time.

Switching from Monarch

1. In Monarch on the web, go to Settings → Data and download your transactions. To export one account instead, open it from Accounts, choose Edit, then Download transactions.
2. In Pennyjay, import the CSV from Settings → “Import CSV”.

Pennyjay uses Monarch’s Original Statement column to match against your bank and its Merchant column for the name. Monarch’s categories are close to Pennyjay’s, so most carry over as they are. Notes and tags come along too; tags are kept when you have a Pennyjay tag with the same name.

Monarch suggests downloading 5,000 transactions or fewer at a time. For a long history, export a few date ranges and import each one.

Switching from Copilot

1. In Copilot on iPhone, go to Settings → Account → “Export your transactions” and save the file. On iPad, Mac or the web, open Transactions, filter to what you want, and export.
2. In Pennyjay, import the CSV from Settings → “Import CSV”.

Copilot shows spending as positive numbers and money in as negative. Pennyjay flips them for you. Pending transactions in the file are left out, since your bank sync will bring the final version.

Switching from YNAB

1. In YNAB on the web, open the plan menu (your plan’s name, top left) and choose to export the plan. YNAB downloads a zip file.
2. Unzip it. Import the file whose name ends in “Register”; that’s your transactions. The “Plan” file is your budget, and Pennyjay will tell you if you pick it by mistake.
3. In Pennyjay, import the Register file from Settings → “Import CSV”.

YNAB’s Outflow and Inflow columns become one amount. Starting balances and reconciliation adjustments aren’t imported, since they aren’t real transactions. Transfers between your accounts come in on both sides, as they happened.

Your budget amounts don’t carry over. Set up a budget in Pennyjay, or use stashes if you like giving money a job.

Switching from Rocket Money

1. In Rocket Money, open Transactions and choose Export (on the phone, it’s under the menu as CSV Download). Exporting is a Rocket Money Premium feature.
2. Rocket Money emails you a link. Open it on a computer to download the CSV.
3. In Pennyjay, import it from Settings → “Import CSV” (on the web, app.pennyjay.com).

Rocket Money shows spending as positive numbers; Pennyjay flips them. Names you gave transactions in Rocket Money are kept as the merchant name.