Power Query refresh overwrites review labels: use a keyed table

If a Power Query refresh replaces manually entered review labels, move those labels outside the refreshed output and rejoin them by a verified stable event key. Worksheet row position is not a transaction identity: a new sort or inserted bank row can attach yesterday’s note to the wrong payment.

Official reference.

Build a separate review table

In Microsoft 365 Excel for Windows, retain an unchanged source version and its event keys. If the bank has no stable event ID, document a source-version and row-identity scheme before using this method; date and amount alone are not unique. Create a separate table containing key and manual review fields, not extra cells inside the loaded query result.

1. In Power Query, open the transaction query and choose Merge Queries with the separate review table.
2. Select matching key columns of compatible types and Left outer to retain every source event.
3. Before merging, block duplicate review keys. A left join can multiply rows when the right key repeats.
4. Expand only the needed review fields, then compare row count and event identities with the input.

Microsoft’s merge overview describes matching columns; the left-outer join documentation explains preservation of the left table. Neither makes a nonunique review key safe.

Test refresh and exceptions

The synthetic label exercise reorders two events and adds a third. A keyed join keeps each old note with its event; the new event has no label. A duplicate review key is rejected rather than expanded. A review key absent from current transactions is retained on an orphan list, not silently deleted.

A separate control supplies review keys A, A and blocks the duplicate before joining. These are invented source identities, not bank-issued transaction identifiers.

Refresh only after preserving the review table and inspect these exceptions each time. If a source correction changes event identity, carry labels forward only after a deliberate comparison; do not attach an old note by similar amount. These reference checks do not execute Excel. The separate merge-cardinality guide covers broader one-to-many join errors, while this task specifically preserves human review work across refreshes.

Related task.

For a PDF-only bank source, download LocalExtract. It processes one PDF locally to date,description,amount CSV; it does not access platform accounts or synchronize accounting records.

Official sources and scope

Documentation checked October 16, 2026. Official reference 1 — pq-merge · Official reference 2 — pq-leftjoin · Official reference 3 — pq-manage · Official reference 4 — excel-refresh