After your first import

Your first statement is in — now keel shows you what it found. This article covers what happens straight after that first import: the review screen where keel explains its categorisation, the dashboard checklist, and how your financial health score builds as you add more data.

How it works

Straight after the import

1. The first-import review screen appears, walking you through how keel categorised your transactions (more on this below).
2. The dashboard shows a checklist: import your first statement (done), review your transactions, set your first budget.
3. Your score starts calculating — the data completeness component is active from day one, and more components unlock as your data builds.

The first-import review screen

After each new account's first import, keel shows a review screen where you walk through your transactions grouped by merchant. This is keel being a coach, not a black box — it explains what it found and asks for help where it wasn't sure.

The screen has three sections:

Money coming in — payments keel thinks are income. Each merchant card shows keel's reasoning and lets you pick the income type. If keel thinks a payment is actually a refund (the same merchant also appears in your expenses), it explains what refunds are and how they affect your spending totals.

Money moving between your accounts — transfers detected automatically, like credit card payments and transfers between your own accounts. You confirm or reject each one.

Money going out — expenses, grouped by merchant. Confident ones show "Looks right" with the category; uncertain ones show "Pick a category" with an inline picker. Every expense card has a "Flag as business expense" option.

A live counter at the top shows how many transactions are categorised versus still needing input, updating as you confirm.

Why merchants, not transactions

Transactions are grouped by merchant, so "14 payments from Family Travel Society totalling £10,271.90" is one decision covering all 14 — far faster and more accurate than reviewing 50 individual rows. Cards load five at a time per section with a "Show more" button. Every decision you make trains keel for future imports — see How merchant learning works.

keel shows its reasoning

Each card carries a one-line explanation, like "This is Tesco, one of the UK's biggest supermarkets — clearly groceries" or "This looks like a credit card payment to your HSBC Visa — money moving between your own accounts." If the reasoning is wrong, every card has escape hatches: change the category, mark it as not income, or flag it as a refund. Your corrections always win, and keel remembers them.

Savings accounts review differently

When you import a savings account, the review adapts:

• Interest payments are grouped into one card — "7 interest payments — £12.32", pre-confirmed, instead of seven separate decisions.
• No income type picker — interest on savings is never salary or rental income. It's categorised as savings growth, not income, because it grows your balance but isn't disposable money. An education card explains this the first time.
• An anomaly section catches anything that isn't interest or a transfer (rare on savings) with a full category picker.
• Balance brought/carried forward rows are stripped before import so they don't distort your totals.

When you're done

"You're all set with {account name}" appears once every merchant is reviewed, with a link to the full review queue — where you can check everything, not just the items keel flagged. See Reviewing transactions.

What unlocks as you go

Your financial health score builds component by component as your data grows:

When you...	What unlocks
Have 1 month of data	Savings rate (250 pts)
Set 3+ budgets	Budget adherence (175 pts)
Have 3 months of data	Spending trajectory (200 pts)
Declare your savings balance	Emergency fund (100 pts)
Have 2+ months of data	Behavioural streaks (75 pts)
Add a credit report	Debt management (150 pts)

Data completeness (50 pts) is active from day one.

FAQ

How long until my score is meaningful? After 1 month of data you'll have 2 components active (300 points possible). After 3 months with budgets set, 5 of 7 components are live (750 points possible).

Should I import 12 months of history? Yes, if you have it. More history means keel learns your merchants faster and your spending trends are more accurate.

Why does keel group my transactions by merchant? One decision per merchant is faster and more accurate than reviewing dozens of individual rows — and every decision trains keel for future imports.

What if keel's reasoning is wrong? Every card has escape hatches: "Change category", "This isn't income", "This is a refund". Your corrections override keel, and it remembers for next time.