How to import a bank statement into Xero

To get a PDF bank statement into Xero, convert it to a Xero-ready CSV, then go to Accounting, Bank accounts, open the account's menu and choose Import a Statement. After the import, reconcile the lines as usual.

1. Convert the statement to a Xero CSV

1. Upload the PDF, scan or photo on StatementPanda's Xero converter.
2. Check the flagged rows, if any. Each running balance is compared with the statement, so a misread amount shows up before it reaches your books.
3. Download Xero (CSV). It uses Xero's template columns, *Date, *Amount, Payee, Description and Reference, with money out as negative amounts. Accounting formats are part of the Pro and Business plans.

2. Import it into Xero

1. In Xero, go to Accounting, then Bank accounts.
2. Find the bank account, open its menu (the three dots) and choose Import a Statement.
3. Browse to the CSV and choose Import.
4. Check the column mapping (Date to Transaction Date, Amount to Amount, Payee to Payee, Description to Description) and pick the date format if Xero asks.
5. Choose Complete import. The statement then shows as Imported in the account's bank statements.

Sources: Xero Central: about manually importing bank statements, change how Xero imports CSV bank statements.

Fixing common errors

• Invalid date: the date format in the file doesn't match the one Xero expects for the account. Pick the right format during import.
• Lines already imported: Xero warns when statement lines overlap an earlier import or the bank feed. Import only the missing date range.
• Amounts with the wrong sign: check that Amount is mapped to Amount and not split into separate columns.

Xero lists more causes in Resolve errors when manually importing a bank statement.

3. Reconcile

Open the account's Reconcile tab and match or create a transaction for each imported line. When you're done, the statement balance in Xero should equal the closing balance printed on the statement. Because the converter already checked every running balance, a difference here usually means a line was skipped during reconciliation, not that it's missing from the file.