Import a PDF bank statement into Xero

When you need to import a statement by hand

Xero only reads PDF bank statements for organisations in the US and Canada. Everywhere else, a PDF has to become a CSV or OFX file before Xero will import it.

• The account has no bank feed, or the feed has a gap.
• You’re taking on a new client and need months of history from before the feed started.
• The account is closed and all that’s left is a pile of PDF statements.

How to import a PDF bank statement into Xero

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 Xero statement CSV. Keep DD/MM/YYYY dates unless your Xero organisation uses another format.
4. 4In Xero, open the bank account, choose Manage account › Import a statement, and select the file.
5. 5Check that the Date, Amount and Description columns are matched to the right fields and that the date format is correct, then import.
6. 6Compare the statement balance in Xero with the closing balance printed on the PDF.

Xero statement CSV or OFX?

The CSV is the simplest choice: signed amounts, your date format, and nothing to fill in. Xero will ask you to match its columns when you import.

An OFX file needs no column matching. When you export it you’ll be asked for the account number, the bank or sort code and the currency, and the statement must show a closing balance. Each transaction gets an ID that stays the same every time you export that statement.

Avoiding duplicate transactions

If the account also has a bank feed, import only the dates the feed is missing. Lines that overlap the feed come in as extra statement lines, and they have to be removed in Xero before you reconcile.

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.