Creating a report for bank transations

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Creating a report for bank transations

Anonymous 0

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I am importing my bank transitions to use in a budget file and I'm looking to have excel see certain transactions.

Example when it sees Tim Hortons under Sub-description I would like it to change the POS Purchase to Take Out

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Answer 1

Hi Anonymous,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

You can use a formula in Excel to automatically categorize transactions based on the merchant name found in the Sub-description column. For example, if you want to change the Description from "pos purchase" to "Take Out" when the Sub-description contains "Tim Hortons", you can use the following formula:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("Tim Hortons",D2)),"Take Out",C2)

This formula checks if "Tim Hortons" appears in cell D2 (Sub-description). If it does, it returns "Take Out". If not, it returns the original value from cell C2 (Description).

You should place this formula in a new column, such as Column A - cell A2, so that it does not overwrite your original descriptions.

If you want to expand this logic to handle multiple merchants, you can use the IFS function like this:

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This version allows you to assign different categories based on the merchant name. If none of the specified merchants are found, it will return the original Description value.

I hope this is what you're looking for. Let me know if you need help customizing this further.

Warm regards,

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Anonymous 0 Reputation points

2025-08-29T01:39:43.77+00:00

Is there a limit on how many I can use ? I get this error message

Answer 2

Anonymous 0

Is there a Limit of how many I can use ? I get this error message

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Thomas4-N 1,095 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-29T11:13:18.96+00:00

Hi, thanks for the follow-up.

The IFS function in Excel supports up to 127 logical test/result pairs, which means a total of 254 arguments. That’s quite a lot, so the error you’re seeing is most likely not due to the number of conditions.

Instead, the issue is probably caused by syntax mistakes that break the logical structure of the formula. Precision is key when using logical functions like IFS. Even a small typo can cause the entire formula to fail.

From your image, it can be spotted at the end of line 2:

....ISNUMBER**("Mary Brown's"**, ISNUMBER(SEARCH("TD ON-Line", D2)), "Car Payment"

then later on you got

....ISNUMBER(SEARCH(...)), "Overdraft",)), "Food-Takeout"

As you can see, the highlighted parts is different from the others and therefore incorrect. It breaks the expected pattern and causes the formula to fail logically.

Also, there’s no closing parenthesis at the end after TRUE, C2, which is required to complete the function.

When working with formulas at this scale, it’s easy to make these types of small mistakes. To help catch these issues, I recommend using a text editor and placing each condition on a new line. That way, you can quickly compare and spot any inconsistencies.

If you want, you can send me some material you're working with, and I’ll help you go through it carefully to make sure everything is precise. Looking forward to your response.
Thomas4-N 1,095 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-08-29T11:15:05.82+00:00

"Mary Brown's" is highlighted, i cant make it right for some reason

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Creating a report for bank transations

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