Import a loan from Excel, notes or a photo

Try a complete fictional example

These three files describe the same interest-free loan. They contain fictional names and amounts, so you can explore the format without using anyone's private information.

Example data only. These files are not a live loan or a payment schedule.

Swipe the table sideways to see the outstanding balance.

Total lending is $1,300 and actual repayments total $450, leaving $850 outstanding. The $100 advance is a new amount lent, not a repayment.

I am Alex. I lent money to Jordan. This is one interest-free loan in USD.
2026-01-10: I lent Jordan 1200 USD.
2026-02-12: Jordan repaid me 150 USD.
2026-03-20: Jordan repaid me 300 USD.
2026-04-02: I lent Jordan another 100 USD on the same loan.
These are actual events. No future repayment schedule is included.

You can paste these notes into the importer or choose one of the example files. Review the result yourself; the example's expected balance is a check, not a guarantee of automatic interpretation.

Start with one loan and the events that actually happened

You do not need a perfect spreadsheet. You do need enough detail to tell the original lending, later advances and actual repayments apart.

If the source mixes several loans, make a copy containing just the one you want to bring across. Keep your original file so you can compare it with the review.

Choose the source you already have

Use the format that keeps your history clearest. You do not need to convert everything to Excel first.

The current browser intake accepts documents up to 2 MB and one image up to 20 MB. Other processing limits can apply; the importer shows any issue it needs you to resolve.

View the full screenshot

Review the history, then continue on your iPhone

1. Open the importer and add your source

Start from the loan importer, then paste your notes or choose the supported document or photo. Using interpretation sends that source content to You Owe Me's service and OpenAI. If you prefer not to use AI interpretation, choose manual entry instead.

Start with your recordRead how import data is handled

2. Check what the review understood

Compare the result with your source before continuing. Check the person, whether you lent or borrowed, the currency, the original amount and each dated event. Correct anything that was misunderstood and resolve the questions the review identifies.

• The initial loan is counted once.
• Further amounts lent are separate from repayments.
• Every actual repayment appears once, with the right date and amount.
• Promised payments have not been counted as received.
• The resulting balance agrees with the history you can confirm.

For the example above, check for $1,300 lent, $450 repaid and $850 outstanding. If a review differs, inspect the events rather than changing the source to force a particular total.

View the complete review screenshot

3. Keep any future plan separate

You can bring across the history without adding a future repayment schedule. Where the review offers a supported interest-free plan, check its amount, frequency and dates separately. Do not turn missing or uncertain terms into an invented agreement.

An import does not reproduce every lender's interest calculation, fees or allocation rules. Keep formal lender statements as your reference for those debts.

4. Use the reviewed loan's continuation link

After review, the import flow can prepare a private link or QR code for that loan. Open it on your iPhone and follow the App Clip or full-app continuation. Finish the review and saving steps in the app; opening a link alone is not the same as saving the loan.

The private transfer expires after 24 hours. Treat its link, QR code and any recovery file as private: someone who has them can read the draft.

5. Record the next repayment in the same loan

Once the new loan has been saved, continue its record in You Owe Me. In our example, a later $100 repayment would reduce the outstanding amount from $850 to $750. Record it when it actually happens; do not import the same history again to add each new payment.

Keep the history together

Review the loan and its linked payments instead of reconstructing the balance from separate notes.

Record what happens next

Add later repayments or further lending to the saved loan as those events occur.

Review the next step

Use the app's loan records and supported planning tools to keep actual payments distinct from future expectations.

See how personal-loan tracking in You Owe Me works after the import.

If the result does not look right

Pause before continuing. These are checks to make against your source, not reasons to accept an uncertain result.

You can use manual entry if a source is too ambiguous to interpret reliably. Keep the original record while you check the new loan.

What this import does—and what it does not

Questions about importing a loan

Choose the next step for your loan