Last reviewed: September 2026.

The Financial Accounts import creates and updates the investment and cash accounts in SurgeTK. Import your clients first. The import links each account to its owner by Client ID.

If your firm syncs with Redtail or Zoho, the sync creates and updates accounts. Use this import only for accounts the sync does not cover, and match account numbers exactly. See What to Import First.

At a glance

Start from Households › Add Household › Import Data, or Imports › Import Data.
Choose Import Account Data › Financial Accounts.
Account Number is the only required column. Client ID links the owner.
Pick an As-of Date on the upload step. It is written to every account in the file.
One file per import. CSV or .xlsx. Only the first sheet is read. Row 1 is the header row.
One import both creates new accounts and updates existing ones. Accounts match by Account Number.
Watch the progress panel: Created, Updated, Failed, Duplicates.
The report and the original file stay on the Imports page. The person who ran the import and Admins can open them.

Before you start

Download the template. The link is on the first screen of the import: Download the Account Import template.
Give every account a stable Account Number. SurgeTK matches on it exactly: letter case, spaces and dashes all count.
Use the same Client IDs you used in the client import. A new account with no matching Client ID is created unlinked.
Watch out for leading zeros. Excel drops them from numeric cells. Format the Account Number column as text.
For the Buckets report, Cash%, Income%, Annuities% and Growth% must total 100 for each account.

Step 1: Open the import window

From Households: click Add Household, then Import Data.
From Imports in the left sidebar: click Import Data.

Both open the same window. Its title is Import. If your firm has no households yet, the Households page also shows an Upload button that opens it.

Step 2: Choose what to import

On Pick Your Data Type, click Import Account Data. The window moves ahead as soon as you click a tile.
On Choose Your Account Import Type, click Financial Accounts (401k, IRA, Checking, etc.).
The Prepare Your Spreadsheet screen lists the fields and has the Download the Account Import template link. Click Next.

Step 3: Upload your file

On Upload Account File, click Choose File or drag your file into the box.
Pick the As-of Date. This is the date the values in the file are as of. It is written to every account in the file.
Click Next.

Accepted files: CSV and Excel .xlsx. The older .xls format is rejected with "Only CSV or Excel (.xlsx) files are allowed for imports." SurgeTK reads the first sheet only. Row 1 must be the header row.

Step 4: Map your columns

The screen is called Map Your Spreadsheet Columns for Account Import.

Client ID, Account Number and Account Value are shown first. Account Number must be mapped.
Click Map Additional Account Fields for the other columns.
Under Asset Allocation, map Cash (%), Income (%), Annuities (%) and Growth (%). Use the + button to map more than one column to the same field. Those columns are added together. The template's Cash%, Income%, Annuities% and Growth% columns do not auto-map. Pick them by hand.
Click Import.

Step 5: Monitor progress

A progress panel opens. The import runs on SurgeTK servers and the panel updates as accounts are written.

Created: new accounts.
Updated: existing accounts, with the fields that changed.
Failed: rows that were not imported, or cells that could not be read, with the reason.
Duplicates: normally empty for this import, because rows with the same Account Number are merged into one account.
Warnings: appears only when there are warnings, such as "Closed account received a value" or "Household is archived". While it shows, it takes the place of the Updated tab.

When the import finishes, a See Report button appears and the page reloads shortly after. If nothing arrives for 60 seconds, the panel shows "The import appears to have stalled. Please close and try again."

Step 6: Review the report

Go to Imports. Each import is one row with the file name, the import type, who ran it, and the import date.
Click the View import report icon to open the PDF report in a new tab. Allow pop-ups for SurgeTK, or you see "Unable to open the report. Please allow pop-ups for this website and try again."
Click the Download original file icon to get the file you uploaded.
Only the person who ran the import and Admins can open the report and the file.
The newest import in the firm has an Undo button. See Undoing Your Most Recent Import.

What the import does and does not do

Matching by Account Number

The match is exact, case-sensitive and firm-wide. Nothing is normalized. 1234-5678 and 12345678 are two different accounts.
Several rows with the same Account Number are merged into one account. Use this to import several systematic withdrawals for one account.
A row without an Account Number fails with "Missing accountNumber". Blank rows in the sheet count as failed rows.

Linking the owner with Client ID

A matched Client ID makes that client the account's only owner and moves the account into that client's household. This also applies to existing accounts.
A blank or unmatched Client ID on a new account creates the account unlinked. The Households page then shows "You have N unlinked account(s)." with a Fix Accounts button. The Unlinked Accounts window lists Account #, Type, Value, Account Owner, Source and a Link to Client picker.
An unmatched Client ID on an existing account that already has an owner is ignored. There is no message.
Household ID and Account Owner Name never link anything. They are stored as reference text.
Joint accounts: put Joint in Account Owner Name and one owner's Client ID in Client ID. SurgeTK adds the other client in that household as the second owner. This works only when the household has two clients. Re-importing the account with a Client ID but without Joint removes the second owner.

As-of Date

The As-of Date you pick on the upload step is written to every account in the file, new and existing.

Systematic withdrawals

A row with both a Systematic Withdraw Amount and a recognized Systematic Withdraw Frequency replaces the account's withdrawal list with the withdrawals in the file. Several rows with the same Account Number give several withdrawals.
Recognized frequencies: Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-annual, Annually. Weekly is not recognized. A row without a recognized frequency changes nothing.
Withdrawals that came from a Zoho sync are kept.
If the file has no complete withdrawal for an account, its existing list is left alone.

Asset allocation

Blank cells keep the stored value. Each of Cash, Income, Annuities and Growth is judged on its own. A row with only Cash filled changes only Cash, so the total may no longer be 100.
Several columns mapped to one field are added together. A blank cell counts as 0 in that sum.
If the four values on a row total between 0 and 1.5, SurgeTK treats them as fractions and multiplies by 100. An Excel cell formatted as 25% is stored as 0.25, and this rule fixes it.
The Buckets report needs the four values to total 100 for the account.

Values and defaults

Account Value accepts a dollar sign and commas. $500,000 is fine. An unreadable value keeps the stored value, and the row is listed under Failed as "Could not parse accountValue "…" - value not imported". The account still imports.
A new account with no Account Type gets Other. An unrecognized type is also stored as Other, with your original text kept.
A new account with no Custodian gets UnknownCustodian.
Tax Status recognizes Taxable, Tax-Free, Tax-Deferred, Tax-Exempt and Non-Qualified. Other text is ignored.

Closed accounts and archived households

Account Status, Date Closed and Close Reason close or reopen accounts. See the column reference.
A value or withdrawal imported into a closed account is still saved. The row gets the warning "Closed account received a value". The account is not reopened.
Rows for accounts in archived households are saved with the warning "Household is archived".

After the import

Value Adds for the affected households are marked stale. They recalculate the next time you open them.
The Buckets and Guardrails imports use this same engine with shorter templates. They can create brand-new accounts and follow every rule on this page.
This import cannot start while a Redtail sync, a Zoho sync or another account-type import is running for your firm. You see "A Redtail sync is currently running for your firm. Please wait for it to finish before starting an import." The first words name what is running. Wait, then try again.

Column reference

The template has these 26 columns. The mapping step also offers Household ID, which is stored as reference text only.

Column	What SurgeTK does with it
Client ID	Links the owner. See above.
Account Owner Name	Reference text. `Joint` adds the second household member as an owner.
Account Number	Required. Exact match.
Account Value	A number. Dollar signs and commas are allowed. Unreadable text keeps the stored value.
Account Type	Recognized names such as IRA, Roth IRA, Inherited IRA, 401(k), 403(b), Brokerage, Checking Account, Savings Account, Trust, Annuity. Anything else is stored as `Other` with your text kept.
Custodian	Text. Default for new accounts: `UnknownCustodian`.
Tax Status	Taxable, Tax-Free, Tax-Deferred, Tax-Exempt or Non-Qualified. Other text is ignored.
Systematic Withdraw Amount	A number. Needs a frequency on the same row.
Systematic Withdraw Frequency	Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-annual or Annually.
Federal Tax Withholding (%)	A percentage from 0 to 100. `24%` or `24`. A value from 0 to 1 without a percent sign is read as a fraction (0.24 is 24%).
State Tax Withholding (%)	Same rules as Federal Tax Withholding (%).
12/31 Value	A number. The account value on December 31.
Cash%	Allocation percentage. Map it by hand.
Income%	Allocation percentage. Map it by hand.
Annuities%	Allocation percentage. Map it by hand.
Growth%	Allocation percentage. Map it by hand.
Systematic W/D Federal Tax W/H ($)	Dollar amount withheld from the withdrawal on that row.
Systematic W/D State Tax W/H ($)	Dollar amount withheld from the withdrawal on that row.
1099 Form Type	One of: none, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-B, 1099-R, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, 1099-OID, 1099-C, 1099-G, 1099-A, 1099-LTC, 1099-PATR, 1099-CAP, 1099-S, 5498, 5498-SA, 5498-ESA, 1099-SA, 1099-Q, 1099-LS. Other text is ignored.
1099 Notes	Text.
RMD Remarks	Text.
RMD Notes	Text.
RMD Processed	Text.
Account Status	Recognized: `Active`, `Closed`, `Transferred`, `Inactive`, `Pending`. Closed, Transferred and Inactive mark the account closed. Active reopens a closed account. Blank keeps the current status. Other text writes nothing and adds a warning.
Date Closed	A date. A close without a date stays undated. SurgeTK never invents one.
Close Reason	Closed, Transferred out, Liquidated, Merged or Other. Any other text is stored as Other.

Best practices

Keep Account Numbers identical in every file. Some CRMs and custodians add or remove dashes.
Include Client ID on every new account so nothing lands in Unlinked Accounts.
Include Systematic Withdraw Amount and Frequency for Guardrails, and the four allocation columns for Buckets.
Format Account Number as text in Excel to keep leading zeros.
Import one file, open a household to check it, then import the next.

FAQs

Do I need Client ID to update an existing account?
No. The Account Number alone updates it. If you add a matched Client ID, the account moves to that client.

Why is my account unlinked?
The row had no Client ID, or the Client ID matched no client. Click Fix Accounts on the Households page and pick the client.

Why did my allocation not change?
Blank cells keep the stored values. Also check the mapping step: the allocation columns do not auto-map.

Why did a withdrawal disappear?
A row with a valid amount and frequency replaces the account's whole withdrawal list. Withdrawals not in the file are removed, except withdrawals that came from a Zoho sync.

Can I import beneficiaries, insurance, liabilities or billing here?
No. Each has its own import under Import Account Data.

What are the Buckets and Guardrails imports?
Shorter templates for the same engine. Buckets covers withdrawals and allocation. Guardrails covers withdrawals. Both can create accounts.

Quick start tip: Download the template, fill in Account Number and Client ID, add values, withdrawals and allocation, pick the As-of Date, and import one file at a time.

Importing Account Data