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manual-report-generation

Upload transactions:

Add transactions from Transaction Monitoring, CSV upload, or your server

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Overview

Manual reporting lets you create a report when you need it. You start by choosing a report type, then choose how to supply the records, review the selection, and continue to the report details page. Manual report creation follows four steps:
  1. Report type
  2. Data source
  3. Select transactions or upload your CSV
  4. Review details before creating the report
This makes manual reporting useful for ad-hoc filing, exception cases, and any workflow where you need to prepare a report immediately instead of relying on an automatic rule.

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Before you start

  • Set up your reporting agents and entities in Reporting → Preferences
  • If you want Sigma to retrieve transactions from your server, save your API connection in Reporting → Preferences → General
Two manual methods are available for transaction reports: you can either work from transactions already available in Sigma, or you can upload a CSV and let Sigma validate the rows before report creation. If your source system holds the full transaction payload, you can also fetch it through your saved manual API connection.

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Available report types

  • CTR - Report cash transactions that exceed the reporting threshold
  • FTR - Report transfers involving movement of funds across institutions or borders
  • STR - Report transactions that appear suspicious or inconsistent with expected behaviour
  • SAR - Report suspicious activity patterns that require additional activity-party details
Each report type follows the same wizard entry point, but the resulting report page changes based on whether you are creating a transaction-based report or a SAR.

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Creating a Manual Report

  1. Navigate to Reporting → All Reports
  2. Click Generate Report
  3. Choose a report type
  4. Choose a data source
  5. Complete the selection or upload step
  6. Review the selected rows
  7. Click Create Report
After the wizard creates the report, Sigma takes you to the report page where you finish the filing details, add indicators, upload attachments, and move the report through internal review.

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Report creation methods

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Method 1: Build from Transaction Monitoring or CSV upload

Use this route when the transactions are already visible in Sigma, or when you want to upload additional rows through the CSV template. This method works well when:
  • Your team is reviewing flagged transactions directly in Sigma
  • You want to combine selected transactions with additional uploaded rows
  • You want to validate uploaded transactions before the report is created

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Method 2: Retrieve from your server

Use this route when you only have transaction references in hand and the full transaction payload lives in your own internal system. In this flow:
  • You upload a CSV containing transaction IDs only
  • Sigma uses your saved Manual API Connection to fetch the full details
  • You review the returned rows before creating the report

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Method 3: Create a Suspicious Activity Report

If you select SAR, Sigma still starts from the same manual reporting wizard, but the report page focuses on suspicious activity parties, investigation notes, indicators, and report-level attachments instead of a transaction-only layout

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Data source options

You will see two source options:
  • Transaction Monitoring or CSV upload
  • Retrieve from your server

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Transaction Monitoring or CSV upload

Use this option when the report should be built from transactions already visible in Sigma, or when you want to combine those records with CSV uploads.
  • Filter transactions by date range
  • Search and select the transactions you want
  • Use Upload CSV to add more rows from a template file
  • Review the combined selection before creating the report

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Retrieve from your server

Use this option when you want Sigma to fetch transaction details from your own API.
  • Upload a CSV containing transaction IDs only
  • Sigma uses your saved Manual API Connection in Reporting → Preferences → General
  • Review the returned rows before creating the report

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Review and create

Before Sigma creates the report, the wizard shows a review step where you can confirm the records that will be included. Use this step to confirm:
  • The selected report type
  • The selected transactions or uploaded rows
  • Any fetched transaction details returned from your server
  • That the data source matches the filing you want to prepare
select-transaction

Manual reporting flow:

Select transactions for reporting

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CSV Upload Format

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Full Transaction Data CSV

For direct CSV upload, Sigma validates against the exact template header order below. The safest approach is to download the template from the upload screen and fill it in without changing the column names or order. 
transactionnumber,transaction_description,date_transaction,transmode_code,amount_local,type,comments,to_funds_code,to_country,to_institution_name,to_account_number,to_institution_code,to_account_name,to_currency_code,to_client_number,to_iban,from_funds_code,from_country,from_institution_name,from_account_number,from_account_name,from_currency_code,from_institution_code,from_swift,from_iban,from_sort_code,from_institution_country,from_client_number
Use the template and specification download in the upload screen so the columns stay in the expected order. Important formatting notes:
  • Use a valid transaction reference in transactionnumber
  • Use a valid date-time string in date_transaction
  • Enter a numeric amount in amount_local
  • Use the appropriate code values for fields such as transmode_code, type, and funds-code columns
  • Keep both from_* and to_* sections populated according to your transaction data
  • Keep all template columns present even if some values are blank in your workflow
This template captures transaction information separately from the sending-side and receiving-side party details so Sigma can build the report more accurately.

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Transaction ID Only CSV

For retrieve-from-server flow, upload a single-column CSV of transaction IDs: 
Transaction id
TXN-001
TXN-002
TXN-003
Sigma accepts this as the transaction-reference file for the fetch flow and uses each value to call your saved API connection. If Sigma cannot validate the file or the returned transactions, it will stop the wizard and ask you to correct the CSV or review the data before continuing.

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After you create the report

After you click Create Report, Sigma opens the report management page so you can complete:
  • General Information
  • Transactions or Activity
  • Investigations
  • Indicators
  • Attachments
For CTR, FTR, and STR, this page is where you review the selected transactions and upload attachments per transaction. For SAR, this page is where you add the activity parties, their details, and their reasons for reporting. The report is usually saved as a draft first, then sent through the internal review flow before XML export.

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Best practices

  • Validate transaction data before creating the report
  • Keep supporting evidence ready for review before you submit the report
  • Reuse your saved entity and agent defaults where possible to reduce setup time
  • Review fetched transactions carefully if you are using the server-retrieval flow
  • Save frequently once you begin editing the report page

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Tips

Use Templates: Download the CSV template from the upload screen to ensure correct format.
  • Review selected rows before creating the report
  • Keep your API connection saved if you use the retrieve-from-server option
  • Reuse your default agent and entity to speed up report setup
  • Fix CSV validation issues and re-upload if Sigma reports header or row errors
  • Save after uploading attachments so view/download links can resolve properly