“The transaction description is cut off”
Descriptions arrive chopped mid-word, losing the reference number or invoice detail that made them useful. Format field limits are usually responsible, and where the missing text went depends on which limit was hit.
Symptoms
Payee names end abruptly, often around 32 or 40 characters Reference numbers at the end of a description are gone The full text is visible on the bank website but not in your register
What actually causes it
Field length limits in the format
OFX caps the NAME field at 32 characters. Banks with longer descriptions truncate to fit, and the part that mattered — a reference at the end — is the part that goes.
The rest is in a different field
Many banks put the short version in NAME and the full text in MEMO. Whether you see it depends on which field your software displays, so the text is often present but hidden.
The importer applied its own limit
Some software truncates further on its own, so a description that survived the format can still be shortened on the way into the register.
How to fix it
- Drop the file into the fixer below to see the complete field contents — this shows immediately whether the full text was sent.
- If it is in the memo field, enable that column in your software rather than looking for a way to lengthen the payee.
- Where the bank truncated it before export, the text is not recoverable from this file; check whether a different export format carries more.
- Use renaming rules for merchants you recognise, so a truncated string still becomes a readable payee.
Related import problems
Skip the manual edit — fix it automatically
The fixer shows every field the bank sent, which distinguishes "your app is hiding it" from "the bank cut it off". Free, no signup, no upload.
Open the fixer