IRIS + Contractors & Freelancers: Faster Bank Import
Contractors and freelancers juggling personal and business accounts need to separate expenses for tax purposes. If you use IRIS for your accounting, you need a fast way to get bank statement data into the system.
BankScan AI for Contractors & Freelancers Using IRIS
BankScan AI converts any bank statement PDF to CSV formatted for direct import into IRIS. Upload your bank statements and get organised spreadsheets that make expense categorisation and self-assessment tax returns straightforward.
The Contractors & Freelancers + IRIS Workflow
Contractors download bank statements from both personal and business accounts, separate allowable business expenses from personal spending, categorise expenses by type for self-assessment, and either prepare their own tax return or send organised records to their accountant. Limited company contractors also need to reconcile director's loan accounts.
Key terms you'll encounter: IR35, director's loan account, allowable expenses, flat rate VAT.
How It Works
Upload any bank statement PDF
Supports all major banks. Saves 1-2 hours per month on expense tracking and categorisation, plus 3-4 hours at year-end when preparing records for self-assessment
AI formats for IRIS
Output as CSV with Date, Narrative, Debit, Credit — IRIS uses Narrative instead of Description and requires separate Debit/Credit columns — dates in DD/MM/YYYY.
Import and reconcile
In IRIS Accountancy Suite, open the client file, go to Bank > Import Transactions. Select the CSV file, map columns to Date, Narrative, Debit, Credit, and import. IRIS links bank transactions directly to tax computations, so imported statements feed into both bookkeeping and tax return preparation simultaneously.
Supported Banks
BankScan AI works with all major UK and US banks, including:
IRIS Features for Contractors & Freelancers
- IRIS ready — Output formatted as CSV matching IRIS's expected column structure
- Smart integration — IRIS links bank transactions directly to tax computations, so imported statements feed into both bookkeeping and tax return preparation simultaneously.
- Built for Contractors & Freelancers — Saves 1-2 hours per month on expense tracking and categorisation, plus 3-4 hours at year-end when preparing records for self-assessment
- Software compatible — Output works directly with FreeAgent, Xero, QuickBooks Self-Employed
Import Steps for Contractors & Freelancers Using IRIS
As contractor, here's how to get bank data into IRIS:
- In IRIS Accountancy Suite, open the client file, go to Bank > Import Transactions
- Select the CSV file, map columns to Date, Narrative, Debit, Credit, and import
Common Import Issues
IRIS is strict about column naming — use 'Narrative' not 'Description'. Also requires the CSV to not contain any currency symbols in amount columns.
IRIS Import — Built for Contractors & Freelancers
Dominant in UK accountancy practices — used by 6 of the top 10 UK firms. IRIS is the professional's choice for multi-client practice management.
Try Free — IRIS + Contractors & Freelancers