Bank statement converter for accountants
A bookkeeper processing 50 client statements per month spends roughly 12 hours on PDF cleanup. ClearlyLedger collapses that to under 90 minutes with balance-checked output, direct-import CSV for Xero / QuickBooks Online / MYOB and 0-second source-PDF retention.
TL;DR
Stop rekeying. ClearlyLedger turns 12+ hours of monthly PDF cleanup into 90 minutes of balance-reviewed, Xero / QuickBooks / MYOB-ready CSV. Batch up to 50 statements per upload. 0-second PDF retention. Free first conversion, no signup.
The hidden tax on bookkeeping margin
Six things eat the working hours of every bookkeeper or partner-track accountant. Every one of them is something a dedicated converter is supposed to handle — but most generic OCR tools only solve the first.
Manual rekeying
8 minutes per statement copying transactions into a sheet. Multiply by every client every month.
Reconciliation drift
PDFs look fine until the closing balance doesn't tie and you cannot tell which row was dropped.
Inconsistent bank formats
Every bank ships a different column layout, date format and signed-amount convention.
Client document cleanup
Statements arrive as scans, password-protected files, multiple emails, partial months.
Import friction
Generic CSV needs reshaping before Xero or QuickBooks Online will accept it.
Audit trail gaps
Reviewing a reconciliation later means pulling the PDF back open to find a number.
The accountant workflow in four steps
- 1
Drop the PDF
Drag-drop or batch upload up to 50 statements at once. Password-protected PDFs prompt for the password inline.
- 2
Auto-detect bank format
any bank match the layout, date format, currency and column structure automatically.
- 3
Extract and verify
Transactions are extracted, categorised across 21 standardised categories, and balance-checked before release.
- 4
Export to your stack
One-click export to Xero, QuickBooks Online or MYOB CSV — direct-import schema, no reshaping.
Manual vs ClearlyLedger (with timing)
Numbers below are from a typical bookkeeper managing 50 small-business clients with one statement each per month.
| Step | Manual workflow | ClearlyLedger |
|---|---|---|
| Open and identify table | 2 min | 5 sec (drag-drop) |
| Extract transactions | 8 min | ~30 sec (auto) |
| Categorise | 3 min | Auto (21 categories) |
| Balance reconcile | 2 min | Auto + flag review |
| Per-statement total | ~15 min | ~90 sec |
| 50 clients / month | 12.5 hours | ~75 minutes |
Xero, QuickBooks Online and MYOB — direct import
Each accounting platform expects a specific CSV shape. ClearlyLedger emits the right one for each — no spreadsheet reshaping between download and import.
- Xero: Date (DD/MM/YYYY), Amount (signed), Payee (30 chars max), Description, Reference. Bank accounts → Manage account → Import a statement.
- QuickBooks Online: Date, Description, Amount (or separate Debit / Credit). Banking → Upload from file.
- MYOB: Date, Amount, Description. Banking → Bank transactions → Import statements.
Standard CSV and XLSX are included on every plan. Starter and above add dedicated QuickBooks, Xero, and MYOB import formats plus batch processing.
Batch processing for firms
- • Dozens of PDFs per upload on every paid plan
- • Per-file balance verification — failures surfaced before any export
- • Cross-file duplicate detection on month-boundary overlaps
- • Optional merged workbook with per-account tabs for year-end packs
Client data handling
- • TLS 1.3 in transit; statements processed in memory
- • 0-second source-PDF retention
- • Generated outputs remain available for download for one hour, then are automatically deleted
- • Never used to train AI models. GDPR-aligned.
For accountants — FAQ
Built for bookkeepers and accounting firms
Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB-ready CSV. Batch processing. Balance verification. 0-second retention.