Bank statement · Xero
Bank statement to Xero, verified
Upload a PDF, scanned, or photographed bank statement and get back a file built for Xero’s "Import a Statement" bank-account import: a CSV with Xero’s Date, Amount, Payee, Description, Reference, and Cheque Number columns, or an OFX file, reconciled against the statement’s own opening and closing balance before you download.
CSV or OFX: which should you pick?
CSV
the standard route for Xero’s "Import a Statement" flow: only Date and Amount are required, and Xero lets you map whichever of the remaining columns your file has during import.
OFX
a good option if you’d rather not map columns by hand, or you’re importing the same statement into both Xero and QuickBooks and want one file for both (QuickBooks Online separately documents accepting OFX as a Web Connect import).
Importing into Xero, step by step
- 1In Xero, open the Accounting menu and go to Bank accounts.
- 2Open the bank account you want to import into.
- 3Look for the account’s Import a Statement option (Xero’s exact menu wording can vary by region and account setup).
- 4Choose the CSV or OFX file Arkrel generated and upload it.
- 5For a CSV, map each column to Xero’s fields if it doesn’t auto-match (Date and Amount are required; Payee, Description, Reference, and Cheque Number are optional).
- 6Review the imported statement lines, then reconcile them against your existing transactions as usual.
How the balance is verified first
Arkrel reconciles the extracted totals against the printed opening and closing balance before export. The dashboard and free tool show any mismatch in our reading. The results identify the affected transaction numbers when running-balance checks locate them. You can still export the file, with an X-Arkrel-Checks: failed marker for API and automation use when reconciliation fails.
Common import errors, and the fix
Xero rejects the file, or every date parses as the wrong day/month.
Xero accepts several CSV date formats, including DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY and YYYY/MM/DD; Arkrel’s Xero CSV uses MM/DD/YYYY consistently. When dates are ambiguous, Xero prompts you to confirm the format and applies your choice to the entire statement and future CSV bank statements.
The Amount column won’t import, or numbers come in wrong.
Xero’s Amount column needs a plain signed number with no currency symbol or thousands separator (so "1,250.00" fails, "1250.00" works). Arkrel’s export already writes plain decimal numbers for this reason.
A statement line shows up twice after importing the same date range again.
Duplicate statement lines can occur when a manual import overlaps transactions already supplied by a bank feed or another import. Check your last-imported statement date in Xero before importing. A different file with overlapping dates does not necessarily import those transactions again, because Xero excludes transactions it recognizes as duplicates; review the resulting statement lines against the source.
Catching up years of statements at once?
A one-off statement import is what this page covers. For a bookkeeping catch-up spanning years of statements, older PDFs a client handed you, or statements your account's own download window no longer reaches, see the dedicated guide.
Try it now, free
Use the free bank statement pdf to csv/excel tool: no signup, up to 3 pages, results in seconds.
Do I need the paid plan to get the Xero CSV or OFX file?
Will the Payee column be filled in?
What if the statement’s balance doesn’t reconcile?
By bank
Each bank publishes its own window for downloading transactions natively. See the documented window and the PDF-conversion path for your bank.