When you want to learn more about a transaction, look at the CSV output.
This past week I did exactly that when I wanted to learn more about a transaction from a financial institution. Most of the time, just looking at a monthly statement is all the information I need. However, there is more to the story than just what is apparent from the statement. And I get that information by downloading the information in CSV format.
Once you have the downloaded file, an easy way to see the CSV data is to open it in a spreadsheet. When you open the file, you may be a bit overwhelmed by all the detail. However, if you are looking for a specific detail, you can scan for it.
In my case, I found the information that I needed in order to modify some Elisp code that I use for importing transactions. Again, this was not something that I could have determined just by looking at a statement. Seeing the CSV data was what I needed.
This week’s blog post is brought to you by the hledger print command
The hledger print command can output plain text. But did you also know it can output HTML? And CSV? But wait, there’s more. How about FODS (Flat XML ODF Spreadsheet) format? And Beancount format. And SWL and Jason.
No other hledger command can output the results to as many types of output as the print command. So what are you waiting for? Get the print command today! Tell them hledger fan sent you.