Aspire Budgeting

How-To Guides

How to migrate to a new spreadsheet version

Move your categories, accounts, transactions, and category transfers into the latest Aspire Budgeting spreadsheet without copying formulas or breaking your data.

Published July 25, 2026

Jump to a section

Aspire spreadsheet updates are delivered as a new Google Sheets template. To upgrade, make a fresh copy of the latest template and move your editable data into it. Do not replace tabs or copy the entire contents of your old spreadsheet — the new copy contains the formulas, formatting, and structure for the new version.

Keep your old spreadsheet. Rename it as an archive and leave it unchanged until you have checked the new copy. You can always return to it if something does not match.

Before you migrate

Set aside a little uninterrupted time and gather both spreadsheets:

  1. Open your current Aspire spreadsheet.
  2. Rename it to something clear, such as Aspire Budget — Archive — 4.0.
  3. Make a copy of the latest Aspire spreadsheet in the same Google account.
  4. Give the new copy a distinct name, such as Aspire Budget — Current.
  5. If you use the Aspire add-on, run Settings & Support → Diagnostics in the old spreadsheet and note any issues before moving data.

Close the Aspire add-on sidebar while you copy data. Do not enter new transactions in either spreadsheet until the migration is complete.

What to move

Move only the information you entered. The exact cell positions can change between versions, so match sections and columns by their labels instead of copying whole tabs.

Move to the new spreadsheet Do not copy from the old spreadsheet
Categories, groups, monthly amounts, and goals Formulas or calculated balances
Bank account and credit card names Headers, dropdown rules, or conditional formatting
Hidden or retired categories and accounts Dashboard or report tabs
Transaction rows Entire columns, rows, or tabs
Category transfer rows Blank template rows
Your preferred currency, date, and display settings Add-on or template code

Use Edit → Paste special → Values only every time you paste. Regular paste can carry old formatting and data validation into the new template.

Step 1: Move your configuration

Open the Configuration tab in both spreadsheets.

  1. In the new spreadsheet, remove the sample category and account names from editable cells.
  2. Copy your populated category and group rows into the matching table in the new spreadsheet.
  3. Include the type symbol, category or group name, Monthly Amount, and Goal Amount.
  4. Copy bank account and credit card names into the matching account lists.
  5. Recreate hidden or retired categories and accounts before moving transaction history. Old transactions may still refer to those names.
  6. Reapply settings such as editable-field highlighting, currency, date format, and theme in the new spreadsheet instead of copying their cells.

Preserve category and account names exactly, including capitalization, spaces, and emoji. Changing a name during migration can leave historical transactions pointing to an option that no longer exists.

Step 2: Move category transfers

Open the old Category Transfers or Transfers tab and the matching tab in the new spreadsheet.

  1. Select only populated transfer rows below the headers.
  2. Copy the Date, Amount, From Category, To Category, Memo, and break-symbol columns.
  3. Paste values only into the first empty data row in the new transfer table.

Do not copy the header row. After pasting, spot-check early and recent transfers to confirm that dates, amounts, and category names landed under the correct headers.

Step 3: Move transactions

Transaction columns can differ between versions. Compare the header row in the old and new Transactions tabs before selecting anything.

Move each field into the column with the same name:

  • Date
  • Outflow
  • Inflow
  • Category
  • Account
  • Payee, when present
  • Memo
  • Status
  • ID

Copy only populated transaction rows and paste values only into the first empty data row in the new table. If you have more history than the template has blank rows, use the template’s Add more rows control before pasting. Do not insert rows manually.

Migrating from Aspire 4.0 to 4.1

Aspire 4.1 adds Payee between Account and Memo. Because of that new column, do not copy the complete transaction table from 4.0 and paste it into 4.1 in one step.

Use this mapping:

Aspire 4.0 field Aspire 4.1 field
Date Date
Outflow Outflow
Inflow Inflow
Category Category
Account Account
— Payee
Memo Memo
Status Status
ID ID

The safest approach is to leave Payee blank for old transactions and move the old Memo into the new Memo column. Aspire continues to use that description when Payee is empty. If your old Memo cells contain merchant names rather than personal notes, you may move those values into Payee instead.

Copy the 4.0 transactions in two passes:

  1. Copy Date through Account and paste them into the matching 4.1 columns.
  2. Copy Memo, Status, and ID separately and paste them into the matching 4.1 columns, skipping the new Payee column.

Step 4: Check the new spreadsheet

Before using the new copy, compare it with the archived spreadsheet:

  1. Confirm the category, bank account, and credit card lists are complete.
  2. Compare the number of populated transaction and category transfer rows.
  3. Check several old and recent transactions, including an inflow, an outflow, a pending transaction, and an account transfer.
  4. Compare current account balances.
  5. Compare Available to budget and several category balances for the current month.
  6. Open Extensions → Aspire Budgeting → Open Sidebar, then run Settings & Support → Diagnostics.
  7. Reconcile each active account against the current balance from your bank.

If balances do not match, stop using the new copy and check for a missing row, a shifted column, or a category or account name that changed. Do not add an adjustment transaction until you have ruled out a migration error.

Finish the migration

When the checks pass:

  • Link the new spreadsheet again if you use Aspire Mobile.
  • Update bookmarks and any shared links.
  • Share the new spreadsheet with your partner or collaborators.
  • Keep the archived spreadsheet for historical reference.
  • Enter all new activity in the new spreadsheet only.

Do not delete the archived copy. Keeping it costs little and gives you a permanent record of the budget before migration.

Migrate history or start fresh?

Move the full history when you want continuous reports and the old data is reliable. A fresh start may be better when the old spreadsheet has broken formulas, years of inconsistent data, or a category structure you no longer use.

With a fresh start, keep the old spreadsheet as an archive, enter today’s account balances in the new copy, and fund categories based on your current plan. Do not combine a partial historical migration with new starting balances — that can count the same money twice.