Categorize a bank statement by cash flow line

Finance manager · Time: 20 min · Finance

Tools that fit this task

• ChatGPT $20/mo
• Gemini in Google Sheets $14/mo
• Claude $20/mo
• Numerous.ai Free
• Docsumo Free
• Zapier $19.99/mo

Prompt

Role: you are an accountant assigning a bank statement to cash flow categories.
Context: the company works in {{industry}}. Categories: {{list of categories with descriptions}}. The statement below has date, counterparty code, amount, payment reference.
Task: assign a category to every row. If your confidence is below high, mark it "uncertain" and explain which categories you are choosing between.
Format: a table date | counterparty code | amount | category | confidence (high or uncertain) | comment. After the table, totals by category and the list of rules you used to classify, so I can correct them.
Statement:
{{statement}}

Steps

1. Export the statement to CSV or Excel with columns date, counterparty, amount, payment reference
2. Replace counterparty names and account numbers with codes, keeping the payment reference
3. Write the list of your cash flow categories with a short description of each
4. Give the assistant the statement and the category list with a prompt to classify every row
5. Check all rows marked "uncertain" and ten random rows with a confident classification
6. Fix the errors and ask the model to state the rules it got wrong so you can add them to the next request

How to check the result

More than 90% of rows are categorized correctly in a sample check, and every uncertain row is flagged and reviewed by a person

Pitfalls

• The model classifies by words in the payment reference and confuses a refund with a payment when the wording is the same, so check negative amounts separately
• A statement with real account numbers and names of individuals goes into the service only anonymized

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Management reports with real names of divisions, products and clients: into a public service with codes and placeholder names
• Receivables and payables with counterparty names and amounts: a trade secret, replace them with codes
• Terms of loans, collateral and investor agreements: never into third-party services without a corporate agreement

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• Build a 12-week cash flow forecast
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• Run a quick counterparty check before a deal
• Build a quarterly results presentation
• Reconcile the trial balance with the bank and source documents
• Find discrepancies in a counterparty reconciliation statement
• Write a sales proposal
• Run a risk review of a contract for your side
• Write a weekly report to your manager

AI tools for finance managers · Prompt: Categorize a bank statement by cash flow line