Guides · Mettle
Mettle names its amount column after the currency.
Amount in GBP, not Amount. It is a small thing that tells you the format was designed by people who had met a multi-currency file — and it is how a Mettle export is recognised.
The file
Date, Description, Reference, Amount in GBP, Transaction Type, Balance.
Amount in GBP is the signed amount
Negative for money out. The column name states the currency rather than leaving it implied.
Reference is dropped when it repeats the description
If both fields say the same thing, the reference is not stored twice — the review screen shows one piece of information rather than the same string beside itself.
Description falls back to Reference
When the description is empty, the reference is used, so a row is never imported with nothing to identify it.
Balance is read when present
A running balance for confirming the closing figure.
A small decision worth naming
Why the duplicated reference is thrown away.
Mettle frequently populates Description and Reference with the same string. Storing both would mean every transaction on the review screen carried its own text twice, which sounds harmless and is not: reviewing a year is a reading task, and doubling the words on every row halves how fast it can be read. So the reference is kept only when it says something the description does not. It is the sort of decision that never gets mentioned in a feature list and is felt on every screen afterwards.
FAQ
Mettle exports, in practice.
Why is the column called Amount in GBP?
That is Mettle’s own naming. Together with Transaction Type it is how the format is identified.
What happens when Description and Reference match?
Only one is kept. Storing the same string twice makes a year of transactions slower to read for no added information.
Is Mettle a full business account for accounts prep?
It exports the fields needed to prepare from: dated rows, a signed amount, a description and a balance. What you do with them is the accountant’s call.
Does the export carry a transaction type?
Yes, and it is part of how the file is recognised.
Are the dates UK order?
Yes — 05/01/2025 reads as 5 January.
More formats
What the other exports look like.
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