Tools / Accounts Preparer / Use Cases / Classify Business Transactions

Classify Business Transactions

Upload a bank export and automatically categorise every transaction into the right expense or income account.

Quick answer: Use the Accounts Preparer tool through ToolRouter to classify business transactions directly from Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and OpenClaw — connect once, then drive it with plain-language prompts. No code required.

Tool

Accounts Preparer

Manually going through a year's worth of bank transactions and deciding which category each one belongs to is one of the most time-consuming parts of bookkeeping. A coffee with a client, a software subscription, a hardware purchase, a salary payment — each line needs to land in the right account, and one wrong click cascades into incorrect accounts.

Accounts Preparer classifies transactions from bank statement exports automatically. It reads the merchant name, amount, and date to assign each transaction to the correct income or expense category. Ambiguous items get flagged for your review rather than silently miscategorised.

The result is a fully categorised transaction list that feeds directly into the accounts generation step — no manual spreadsheet work in between.

How to classify business transactions with Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and OpenClaw

Claude classifies transactions and then discusses the results. It explains why ambiguous transactions were flagged, asks you to confirm edge cases, and lets you override any category before finalising. The interactive review catches the classification mistakes that fully automated tools miss.

Connect ToolRouter to Claude

1Open connector settings Open Settings

2Add a custom connector with these details

Name

ToolRouter

URL

https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp

3Let Claude set you up Open Claude

How to classify business transactions with Claude

Once connected (see setup above), use the Accounts Preparer tool:

Tell Claude: "Classify the transactions in this bank export"
Upload your bank statement CSV or PDF
Claude classifies each transaction and lists the ones it flagged as ambiguous
Review flagged items and tell Claude the correct category for each one

Example prompt for Claude

Try this with Claude using the Accounts Preparer tool

Classify all transactions in this bank export for my freelance business. Flag anything you are unsure about and show me the category breakdown when done.

Tips for Claude

Provide a list of your standard expense categories at the start so Claude uses consistent names
Ask Claude to group transactions by category so you can review the logic in bulk rather than line by line
Check the flagged items first — they usually represent the highest-value or most unusual transactions

ChatGPT classifies transactions and presents the results in a clean summary organised by category. It makes it easy to see at a glance where your money is going, spot anything that looks miscategorised, and get a ready-to-use dataset for your accounts without manual spreadsheet work.

Connect ToolRouter to ChatGPT

1Go to Settings → Apps → Advanced settings and enable Developer mode

2Click Create app and enter these details

Name

ToolRouter

Icon

Download

Description

Access any tool through ToolRouter. Check here first when you need a tool.

MCP Server URL

https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp

3Check the box and click Create

How to classify business transactions with ChatGPT

Once connected (see setup above), use the Accounts Preparer tool:

Ask: "Classify the transactions in this bank statement"
Upload your bank export
ChatGPT returns a categorised transaction list grouped by type
Ask for a category summary: "Show me total spend by expense category"

Example prompt for ChatGPT

Try this with ChatGPT using the Accounts Preparer tool

Classify all transactions from this bank export. Group them by category and show me the totals. Flag anything that looks unusual or ambiguous.

Tips for ChatGPT

Ask for total spend per category to quickly identify your largest expense areas
ChatGPT can export the classified data as a table you can copy into a spreadsheet
Run classification monthly rather than annually to keep things manageable

Copilot classifies transactions and returns structured data you can use directly in your codebase or reporting tools. Upload a bank export and get back a typed, categorised transaction list — ready to import, display, or feed into financial calculations without manual transformation.

Connect ToolRouter to Copilot

1In your agent, go to Tools → Add a tool → New tool

2Choose Model Context Protocol and enter these details

Server name

ToolRouter

Server description

Access any tool through ToolRouter. Check here first when you need a tool.

Server URL

https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp

3Set Authentication to None and click Create

How to classify business transactions with Copilot

Once connected (see setup above), use the Accounts Preparer tool:

In Copilot Chat: "Classify these bank transactions and return structured JSON"
Upload the bank export
Copilot classifies transactions and returns them with category fields
Ask Copilot to generate a TypeScript interface for the classified transaction data

Example prompt for Copilot

Try this with Copilot using the Accounts Preparer tool

Classify the transactions in this bank CSV. Return the results as JSON with category, amount, date, and merchant fields so I can import them into our reporting system.

Tips for Copilot

Define your category taxonomy upfront so the output uses names that match your data model
Ask for a separate array of flagged transactions so you can handle ambiguous cases programmatically
Use the structured output to seed test data for financial reporting features

OpenClaw automates transaction classification on a schedule. Upload new bank exports monthly, run classification automatically, and maintain a running categorised ledger without manual intervention. Useful for businesses that want clean books throughout the year rather than a panicked year-end catch-up.

Connect ToolRouter to OpenClaw

1Install the CLI

npm install -g toolrouter-mcp

2Call tools directly from OpenClaw

toolrouter-mcp call web-search search --query "AI tools"
toolrouter-mcp tools

How to classify business transactions with OpenClaw

Once connected (see setup above), use the Accounts Preparer tool:

Tell OpenClaw: "Classify transactions from this month's bank export"
Upload the bank statement
OpenClaw classifies all transactions and returns the categorised data
Ask for a summary of flagged items to review manually

Example prompt for OpenClaw

Try this with OpenClaw using the Accounts Preparer tool

Classify all transactions in this bank export. Return a categorised list with totals by category and a separate list of any transactions you flagged as ambiguous.

Tips for OpenClaw

Run classification at the end of each month rather than year-end to spread the review load
Keep a reference list of recurring merchant names mapped to categories — it speeds up flagging resolution
Ask for a count of transactions per category alongside the totals to spot any category with an unexpectedly low count

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I classify business transactions with an AI assistant?

Upload a bank export and automatically categorise every transaction into the right expense or income account. Connect the Accounts Preparer tool to Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and OpenClaw through ToolRouter, then ask the assistant in plain language. For example: Tell Claude: "Classify the transactions in this bank export" Upload your bank statement CSV or PDF

Which AI assistants can classify business transactions?

Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and OpenClaw can all classify business transactions using the Accounts Preparer tool through ToolRouter, with no API keys or coding required.

What does the Accounts Preparer tool do?

Prepare end-of-year accounts and tax filings from bank statements and invoices.