Convert PDF bank statements to OFX

What you’ll need

• The account number, and for bank accounts the sort code, BSB or bank code. They’re written into the file so your software knows which account it’s for.
• The three-letter currency code, such as GBP, AUD or EUR. It’s filled in from the statement when it can be read; check it before you download.
• A closing balance on the statement. OFX files carry one, so a statement without it can’t be exported as OFX; use CSV instead.

What’s in the file

• OFX 2.1.1 (XML) in UTF-8, as a bank or credit card statement.
• Each transaction as a credit or debit, with its date, signed amount, the first 32 characters of the description as the name and the full description as the memo.
• A transaction ID (FITID) that stays the same every time you export the same statement. Identical transactions on the same day still get different IDs.
• The closing balance and statement dates. For a credit card, the balance is what’s owed, shown as a negative number as OFX expects.

Which software imports OFX

Xero, FreeAgent, Sage Accounting and MYOB all list OFX among the statement files they import. Some older programs only read the earlier OFX 1 format; if yours rejects the file, export CSV instead. For QuickBooks Online, use the QuickBooks CSV or the QBO file.

How to convert a PDF bank statement to OFX

1. 1Upload the PDF statements, up to 10 at a time and up to 50 pages each. If a file is password-protected you’ll be asked for the password; it’s used once and never stored.
2. 2Review each statement next to its transactions. The opening balance, every transaction and the closing balance have to add up; if they don’t, the rows to check are flagged.
3. 3Choose Export, then OFX. Enter the account number, the bank or sort code and the currency, and download the file.
4. 4Import it in your accounting software, into the account with that number.

Checked before it reaches the books

A dropped row or a misread minus sign doesn’t show up when you import a file. It shows up weeks later, when the account won’t reconcile. So before you export, the converter checks that the opening balance plus every transaction equals the closing balance printed on the statement, and flags the rows to look at when it doesn’t.

Every row is linked to the line on the PDF it came from, so you can click a transaction and see the original. On text PDFs, amounts are taken from the statement itself rather than retyped. Scanned pages can be converted too, but can’t be traced line by line.