Documentation

Sift is an import studio. Drop in a messy spreadsheet and Sift models the file, validates every row, and delivers clean data into the systems you already run on. Drop in a PDF or a photo of a supplier bill and it reads the document, reconciles it, and posts it to your ledger.

Importing a spreadsheet

  1. 1

    Upload. Drop in a CSV or Excel file. Sift parses it server side, finds the header row, and reads the sheet you pick.

  2. 2

    Model. Sift maps your columns to the fields of your chosen destination and infers each column's type. Save the mapping as a template and the next file of the same shape maps itself.

  3. 3

    Validate. Every row is checked. Valid rows go through; anything that is not clean is held at the gate, never silently dropped. Sift can suggest a fix, but it never invents a value.

  4. 4

    Land. Sift writes the clean rows into your destination and shows you what was created and what was updated, with a six-dimension quality score and a letter grade.

Importing a document

A supplier bill arrives as a PDF or a photo rather than a spreadsheet. Sift reads it into the same kind of table, then puts a gate between that table and your accounting system.

Read

Sift extracts the vendor, the dates, the document number, the currency and the money figures into typed columns. Several documents can land in one table.

Check before posting

The gate asks which column is the total, which is the tax, which is the vendor. You confirm or change that mapping, and Sift reconciles every row against its own arithmetic. A row whose parts do not add up to its total is held, with the discrepancy stated. Nothing at the gate changes your data.

Post

Reconciled rows post as a Bill, an Expense or a Vendor Credit into QuickBooks, Xero or Fortnox. Held rows stay behind. Every posted row is recorded, so re-running a post updates rather than duplicating, and a document cannot be posted twice.

Destinations

The same model reaches every destination. What each system accepts differs, because each system models its own world differently.

QuickBooks

Import customers, vendors, items, invoices, bills, payments and journal entries from a file. Post reconciled documents as Bills, Expenses or Vendor Credits. Sift matches against your synced chart of accounts rather than creating accounts.

Xero

Import contacts, accounts, items, invoices (both directions), payments and manual journals. Post reconciled documents as ACCPAY invoices. Records arrive as drafts you approve in Xero.

Fortnox

Connect Fortnox and sync your suppliers, then post reconciled documents as supplier invoices, matched to a supplier by name. Fortnox references a supplier by number rather than creating one, so a supplier Sift cannot match is held rather than guessed.

Attio

Import into two objects. Companies match on domains and People match on email_addresses. Sift upserts on the matching attribute, so re-running an import updates records instead of duplicating them. Sift never asks Attio for permission to delete.

A Postgres table you own

Prefer to keep the data? Sift creates a real Postgres table with real types in your own schema, and you can query it directly.

Connecting and disconnecting

Open Settings and connect the system you want. Sift stores an encrypted token scoped to that one company or workspace, and you can disconnect at any time from the same screen, which removes the token.

Limits and credits

Ten AI-assisted imports a month are free. After that, imports run on credits, which you can buy in packs. Every AI feature degrades to heuristics rather than blocking you, and there is a spend ceiling per import so one enormous file cannot run away with your balance. You can also bring your own AI provider key in Settings and bill your own account instead.

Support

Something not working, or a destination you wish Sift supported? Email kyle@rowley.se.