Guides
Written for bookkeepers and business owners who have a stack of statements and a deadline. No fluff, facts checked and dated, and an honest word on when a spreadsheet or your bank's own export is the better tool.
How-to
- How to convert a PDF bank statement to ExcelFive ways to get a PDF bank statement into Excel, from copy and paste to Excel’s own PDF import, what each one gets wrong, and how to check the result.7 min read
- How to convert a bank statement to CSVGet bank transactions into CSV from online banking, a PDF or scan, or an OFX or QIF file. Column layouts, date and amount rules, and checking it adds up.7 min read
- Convert a credit card statement to Excel or CSVCard statements add charges and subtract payments. What to check, how signs and the two dates work, and how to get the rows into Excel, QuickBooks or Xero.7 min read
- How to automate the monthly bookkeeping workflowWhat a small business or solo bookkeeper can really automate each month: feeds, statement imports, bank rules, receipts, invoicing, payroll and the close.10 min read
- Excel bank statement template: layout and formulasHow to build a reconciling bank statement spreadsheet in Excel: six columns, the running balance formula, a closing balance check and error formatting.6 min read
- How to categorise bank transactions automaticallyHow bank rules work in QuickBooks Online and Xero, how to write ones that keep working, what to do with lines they miss, and how to check the result.7 min read
Accounting software
- How to import bank transactions into QuickBooksBank feeds, CSV upload, QBO Web Connect and IIF compared for QuickBooks Online and Desktop, with file limits, column rules and common errors.8 min read
- Import bank transactions into QuickBooks DesktopQuickBooks Desktop takes .qbo Web Connect files, not CSV. Where the import lives, Express vs Classic mode, matching, OL errors, and getting a .qbo from a PDF.7 min read
- How to import bank statements into XeroBank feeds versus manual CSV, OFX and QIF imports in Xero, the CSV template columns, the date-format trap, duplicates and PDF-only statements.7 min read
- Xero vs QuickBooks Online for small businessesXero and QuickBooks Online compared for small businesses: US and UK prices, user limits, bank imports, reconciliation, payroll, multi-currency and apps.10 min read
Explainer
- How to reconcile a bank account, step by stepA bookkeeper's procedure for reconciling a bank statement: the steps, the usual reasons the balances differ, and what to do when they still do not agree.7 min read
- How to read a bank statementEvery section of a US bank statement explained: the summary, the arithmetic that must hold, transaction codes, odd descriptions, and how to spot an error.7 min read
- How OCR reads a bank statement, and where it failsWhat happens when software reads a PDF or scanned bank statement: template OCR, generic OCR and vision models, and the inputs that trip each one up.7 min read
- Bank statements for a visa applicationWhat visa officers check on a bank statement, how many months the UK, Schengen, US and other posts ask for, which formats are accepted, and what to avoid.7 min read
- OFX, QFX and QBO files: what is insideOFX sits behind bank download buttons; QFX and QBO are its Quicken and QuickBooks variants. The tags, why FITID matters, why QuickBooks rejects .qbo files.8 min read
- QIF files: what they are and how to convert oneQIF is the old Quicken text format for transactions. What the line codes mean, why the dates are ambiguous, which software reads it, how to convert it.8 min read
- MT940 bank statement format explainedMT940 is the SWIFT end-of-day statement banks send to business customers. What each tag means, who actually receives these files, and what to do with one.7 min read
- camt.053 bank statements: the ISO 20022 formatcamt.053 is the ISO 20022 XML statement replacing MT940. What GrpHdr, Bal, Ntry and TxDtls hold, how it maps to MT940 tags, and where the migration stands.8 min read
Bank guide
- Chase bank statements: download and convertWhere Chase keeps your statements, how far back they go, what the activity download can and cannot do, and how to get a Chase PDF into Excel or QuickBooks.6 min read
- Wells Fargo statements: download and convertHow to find Wells Fargo statements online, how many years each account type keeps, what Download Account Activity exports, and how to convert the PDF.6 min read