💰 Amount Synthesis Logic

Applies to: FinLang v0.6.4+ Status: Stable Last verified: v0.7.9

FinLang provides deterministic numeric resolution even with inconsistent bank exports.

🎯 Why Amount Synthesis Matters

Many banks export separate debit/credit columns instead of a single signed amount. FinLang automatically synthesizes a canonical amount field using deterministic logic, eliminating manual preprocessing and ensuring consistent handling across institutions.

🔹 Resolution Order

1️⃣ Use amount column if present.
2️⃣ Else synthesize from debit and credit:

amount = abs(credit) - abs(debit)

Debit-only → -abs(debit)
Credit-only → +abs(credit)
Both empty → 0

🔹 Examples

Debit	Credit	Result
45.20		-45.20
	1500.00	+1500.00
12.00	5.00	-7.00
		0

🔹 Output Behaviour

When synthesis occurs, the original debit and credit columns are retained in the output alongside the synthesised amount column. The output is a superset of the input — original data preserved, canonical fields added.

Example:

Input Columns	Output Columns
`date, debit, credit, description`	`date, debit, credit, counterparty, amount, memo, category, flags, status`

The description → counterparty rename is handled by the mapping layer, not synthesis. See Mapping Guide.

🔹 Edge Cases & Internationalization

Issue	Cause	Resolution
“199.99 → 19999.0”	Decimal comma locale	Use `--decimal , --thousands .`
`(199,99)` or `199,99-`	Accounting/trailing minus	Handled automatically by parser.
`199,99 DR` or `199,99 CR`	CR/DR suffixes	Handled automatically by parser.

✅ Verification

Use audit mode to confirm synthesis is correct:

finlang --audit amounts_check.json --audit-mode full ...

Review the changes field to see synthesized amounts.

🔧 Best Practices

Validate using --audit-mode full before production.
Always prefer numeric fields over textual amounts.
Use consistent decimal symbols across imports.

📖 Related Documentation

Mapping Guide – Canonical fields
Rule Language – Using amount in rules
i18n Examples – Regional parsing