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Bank statement to Xero

Xero brings transactions in from a CSV with a date, an amount, and a description per row. Upload your statement, keep CSV as the output, and the file lands in the shape that import expects.

Upload a file

What the CSV for Xero contains

  • A header row, then one row per transaction
  • Date, description, and amount in their own fields
  • Debits and credits kept on the side the statement shows them
  • No totals rows from the statement carried across as if they were transactions

What Xero expects

Xero does not have a statement file format of its own — its bank import reads CSV. That is why this page produces CSV rather than a Xero-branded file.

Columns are matched during the import, so the file is deliberately plain: a date, a description, and an amount, with nothing merged or recalculated.

How to convert

  1. Upload your statement

    Drop in the PDF or CSV you downloaded from your bank.

  2. Choose CSV

    Leave the output format on CSV — it is preselected on this page.

  3. Import into Xero

    Bring the CSV in through Xero’s bank import and match the columns.

Why this is more accurate than OCR

OCR reads a statement by position on the page. When a description wraps onto a second line, or the debit and credit columns sit close together, a positional parser attaches the wrong text to the wrong number.

Read by position

02/03  DIRECT DEBIT 4471
       ACME INSURANCE LTD   120.00
04/03  CARD PAYMENT
       NORTHGATE MARKET     -38.40

The wrapped line becomes a second transaction, and the amount lands on the wrong row.

Read as content

02/03  DIRECT DEBIT 4471 ACME INSURANCE LTD    120.00
04/03  CARD PAYMENT NORTHGATE MARKET           -38.40

One row per transaction, the description kept whole, the amount in the amount column.

Frequently asked questions

How do I import a bank statement into Xero?

Download the statement from your bank, convert it here with CSV selected, then bring the CSV in through Xero’s bank import and match the columns.

Which file format does Xero need?

CSV. Xero has no statement format of its own; its bank import reads a CSV with a date, description, and amount per row.

Can I convert a PDF bank statement for Xero?

Yes — upload the PDF and the output is the same CSV.

Why are there no categories in the file?

Categories are a bookkeeping decision, not data printed on the statement. They are set in Xero during or after the import.

Is my statement kept after conversion?

No. The file is used only to produce your converted copy and is deleted right after.

Do I need an account?

No. The converter works without signing up.

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