BEECH BUDGET

the chatgpt shortcut — copy-paste prompt

don't categorise your transactions by hand. paste this prompt into chatgpt with your bank statement and it formats everything for the sheet — then just copy-paste the rows into TRANSACTIONS.

— copy everything below —

I'm going to paste my bank statement transactions. Convert them into a table I can paste directly into my budget spreadsheet.

Use EXACTLY these columns, tab-separated, one transaction per row, no header row:

DATE | DESCRIPTION | AMOUNT | SPENT/EARNED | CATAGORY

Rules:

• DATE: M/D/YYYY format (e.g. 1/5/2026)

• DESCRIPTION: short and clean (merchant or what it was — drop transaction IDs, store numbers and bank codes)

• AMOUNT: the dollar amount as a positive number, no $ sign, no commas (e.g. 14.50)

• SPENT/EARNED: write SPENT for money out, EARNED for money in (paychecks, deposits, refunds = EARNED)

• CATAGORY: pick exactly ONE from this list, spelled exactly like this: FOOD, COFFEE, GROCERIES, TRANSPORTATION, GAS, SHOPPING, BEAUTY/SELF CARE, PHARMACY/HEALTH, ENTERTAINMENT&SOCIAL, CASH/ATM, FEES/SUBSCRIPTIONS, Other

• restaurants, takeout, fast food = FOOD · coffee shops = COFFEE · supermarkets = GROCERIES · uber/lyft/transit = TRANSPORTATION · gas stations = GAS · subscriptions, bank fees, interest = FEES/SUBSCRIPTIONS · if nothing fits, use Other (income is usually Other + EARNED)

• Keep the transactions in date order, oldest first

• Don't add totals, summaries or explanations — output ONLY the rows so I can copy-paste them

Here are my transactions:

[PASTE YOUR BANK STATEMENT HERE]

START HERE — the 2-minute quick-start guide

welcome to beech budget 💸 here's the whole system. it takes 2 minutes.

step 1: make your copy

after checkout you land on the template. click File → Make a copy and save it to your own google drive. that copy is yours forever.

step 2: delete the example rows

the TRANSACTIONS tab has 3 example rows (chipotle, uber, paycheck) so you can see how it flows. delete them once you've got the idea.

step 3: paste your transactions

this is the only tab you ever touch. one row per transaction:

• DATE — the date it happened

• DESCRIPTION — what it was

• AMOUNT — the $

• SPENT/EARNED — spent or earned

• CATAGORY — pick the category (food, transportation, etc.)

• MONTH — Jan, Feb, etc.

get them from your bank app, a CSV export, or just type the big ones. done is better than perfect.

the chatgpt shortcut (the real way)

don't categorise anything by hand. throw your bank statement into chatgpt with our prompt and it does it for you, in the sheet's exact format:

1. copy the prompt from the post called "the chatgpt shortcut — copy-paste prompt" in this hub

2. paste it into chatgpt and paste your bank statement where it says [PASTE YOUR BANK STATEMENT HERE]

3. copy the rows it gives you

4. paste them into TRANSACTIONS starting at the first empty row — the MONTH column fills itself in, and every month tab updates

that's it. statement → chatgpt → paste → tracked.

step 4: watch your months build themselves

every month tab pulls from TRANSACTIONS automatically: what you spent per category, your week-by-week totals, taxes saved, total spent, and what's LEFT OVER. you never type in the month tabs.

step 5: put in the first day of the month

that's the magic part. on each month tab, all you do is put in the first day of the month as the START DATE — and the whole month shows up: every week, every date, ready to fill itself in from your transactions. then set your MONTH BUDGET per category (what you want to spend) and the % OF BUDGET column tells you if you're on track.

contractors / 1099: mark income as EARNED and use the TAXES SAVED line on each month tab to track your set-aside. it's built in, not an afterthought.

the routine: paste transactions once or twice a week. 2 minutes. that's the whole job — the sheet does the rest.

questions? drop them in the hub and we'll help you set it up.

START HERE — how BEECH BUDGET works (23 sec)

watch this first: a 23-second walkthrough of the whole tracker. paste your transactions in, and the month builds itself.

welcome to BEECH BUDGET! your tracker is one click away.

get your copy here — click the link and choose "make a copy" to save it to your own google drive:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hG3opyEDfX25k7wF_HZWrZhwr-mjfspLJCvfutaC0kY/copy

how it works:

1. click the link, make your copy

2. paste your transactions in

3. watch your month build itself. done in 2 minutes

one payment. yours forever. every future update included.