Convert HSBC UK PDF statements to Excel, CSV, Xero or QuickBooks

Getting PDF statements from HSBC UK

1. 1In online banking, choose Statements in the quick links, then the account.
2. 2Select the statement date to download the PDF.
3. 3In the HSBC UK app, select the account, tap View statements and choose the month.

HSBC’s CSV download or the PDF?

If you can log in to the account yourself, HSBC online banking can download a filtered list of transactions as PDF, Excel or CSV: search the account for a date range, then choose Download at the bottom of the list.

More often, clients send the monthly PDF statements. Converting those gives you the transactions together with a check that each statement adds up from its opening balance to its closing balance.

Converting a HSBC statement

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 the Xero statement CSV, a QuickBooks CSV layout, Excel or OFX for Sage and FreeAgent. For OFX, enter the sort code and account number printed on the statement.

Before you rely on it

There’s no HSBC template behind this: the converter reads each statement’s layout, so it isn’t limited to layouts someone has set up in advance. That also means a HSBC statement hasn’t necessarily been tested, and results vary by layout. Convert one statement with the free pages and check that it balances before you convert a client’s whole history.

Every row links to the line of the PDF it came from, and the opening balance plus the transactions has to reach the printed closing balance. When it doesn’t, the rows to check are flagged before you export.

Client data

Files and results are deleted 24 hours after upload, or straight away if you delete them. Before uploading client statements, read the privacy notice: it names every company that processes statement data and where.