CSV Format

How to Import a PDF Bank Statement into Xero (Free)

Outside the US and Canada, Xero can't read a PDF bank statement — its Import a Statement screen takes CSV, OFX, QFX, QBO and QIF files instead. Drop your PDF below and it comes back as a Xero-formatted CSV: one signed amount column, Xero's column order, and dates in your region's order. Then import it into the right bank account in Xero. Free to start, no signup.

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Not the file you need?

Xero's first choice?
Xero recommends OFX over every other format
Skip column mapping?
Xero imports QIF with no columns to assign
Want a QFX file?
Xero reads QFX the same way as OFX
Want a QBO file?
Xero lists QuickBooks files among its imports

Why Use Our Import Bank Statement to Xero Tool?

Built to Xero's rules

One signed amount column, Xero's column order, no balance column and no blank rows — the file Xero's own CSV help describes, rather than the bank's layout passed straight through.

Dates in your order

DD/MM/YYYY for UK, Australian and New Zealand organisations, MM/DD/YYYY for US ones. Xero reuses the order it is given on an earlier import, so every later file has to match it.

Every format Xero reads

The CSV comes straight from this page. The same PDF also converts to OFX — Xero's recommended format — or to QIF, QFX and QBO, from the links under the upload box.

How to import a bank statement in Xero, step by step

1

Save the statement as a PDF

Download it from online banking as a PDF, the one format every bank offers even when it has no CSV or OFX export. A password-protected PDF is fine if you know the password.

2

Upload the PDF

Drop it into the upload box at the top of this page. Each transaction is pulled out — date, amount, description, reference — and shown to you before anything downloads.

3

Download, then import into Xero

Pick DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY to match your Xero organisation and save the .csv. In Xero, open Accounting → Bank accounts → ⋯ → Import a Statement and upload it.

The Xero bank statement CSV import format, field by field

Xero spreads its CSV rules across three help articles. Here they are together, each beside what the file from this page contains.

DateRequired

DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY or YYYY/MM/DD. When a date could be read either way, Xero asks which you mean.

Our file: Your region's order with a four-digit year, on every row.

AmountRequired

Money in and money out in the same column — positive in, negative out, shown with a minus sign or brackets. No currency symbols.

Our file: One signed column, two decimal places, no currency symbol.

PayeeRecommended

Matched against your Xero contacts, and one of the fields bank rules can test.

Our file: No separate column. If your rules match on payee, assign Description to Payee.

DescriptionOptional

Appears as Particulars on the statement line.

Our file: The wording the bank printed for each transaction.

ReferenceOptional

Up to 255 characters. Cheque numbers have their own field, up to 20.

Our file: The cheque or reference number, when the statement shows one.

Balance columnsDelete

Take them out — Xero calculates the balance from the transactions.

Our file: Never written.

Blank rowsDelete

Remove them; they are one of the listed causes of a failed import.

Our file: None — the header sits on line one and data follows straight after.

File sizeLimit

At most 100,000 rows, and split anything over 1,000 transactions to avoid a timeout.

Our file: One row per transaction. For a long history, convert a month at a time.

Taken from Xero's help articles on CSV statement imports, precoded imports and import errors, checked September 2026.

Why a PDF bank statement won't upload to Xero

No PDF import outside the US and Canada

Xero added PDF statement import in 2022 for US and Canadian organisations and has not extended it since. In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the import screen still turns a PDF away.

Even there, not every PDF qualifies

Xero's PDF import needs an English statement of 100 pages or fewer, with no password, and it is not offered on the Ledger plan. A locked or non-English statement has to be converted regardless.

Your bank's CSV is not Xero's CSV

Plenty of bank exports split Debit and Credit into two columns, add a running balance and open with a few lines of account details. Xero wants one amount column and the header on line one, so the bank's own file often fails too.

Xero's bank statement import template is easy to miss

Xero's blank CSV is a small link on the Import a Statement screen, and its headings change with your browser's language. The layout is set out above instead, one field at a time.

Xero bank statement import errors, and how to undo an import

The messages on Xero's own troubleshooting page, each with what to do about it. If a file has already gone in wrong, the steps underneath take it back out.

The file you uploaded does not contain valid statement data.

Check the date order first — Xero reuses the one from an earlier import. Blank lines and padded dates also cause it; our CSV has neither.

Data doesn't match

A column went to the wrong field, or a date can't be read. Re-assign Date and Amount while importing.

Timeout error

Too many transactions in one file. Keep each import to 1,000 or fewer.

Transactional errors

$0.00 lines can't be imported, as there is nothing to reconcile. Untick them and import the rest.

No date format selected

Choose the date order when Xero asks — the same one you picked on this page.

Delete an imported bank statement in Xero

  1. 1In the Accounting menu, choose Bank accounts.
  2. 2Click the ⋯ menu on the account you imported into, then Bank Statements.
  3. 3Under Showing, choose Statements, then click the date of the statement you imported.
  4. 4Click Delete Entire Statement at the bottom of the list, then Delete. Tick Also delete reconciled transactions for this statement first to remove those too.

Xero can't restore a deleted statement, so keep your file to import again.

Who imports PDF bank statements into Xero

UK, AU and NZ businesses

Xero launched PDF statement import in 2022 for US and Canadian organisations only. Everywhere else, a PDF has to become a CSV or OFX file before the Import a Statement screen will take it.

Bookkeepers with many clients

Every client's bank sends something different. Converting each PDF to the same Xero CSV layout means the column assignment looks identical in every organisation you look after.

Months before the bank feed

Xero itself suggests you manually import a bank statement for transactions from before a feed started — the start of a financial year, or a new client's history.

Credit card statements

A card account imports through the same screen. Xero wants payments to the card as positive amounts and purchases as negative ones, which is how this page writes them.

Moving to Xero

Bringing a year of history across from another package? Convert each month, then import the bank transactions into Xero in order — it leaves out any line that matches one already in the account.

Banks with no Xero feed

Some building societies, credit unions and smaller banks offer no feed and no CSV export, just a monthly PDF. For those accounts, converting the PDF is the only route that avoids retyping.

Frequently Asked Questions — Import Bank Statement to Xero

QCan you import a PDF bank statement into Xero?

Only if your Xero organisation is in the US or Canada. There, Xero reads PDF statements that are in English, 100 pages or fewer and not password-protected, on any plan except Xero Ledger. Everywhere else, including the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the PDF has to be converted to CSV or OFX first — which is what this page does.

QHow do I upload a PDF bank statement to Xero?

Convert it first, then import the result. Drop the PDF into the box at the top of this page and download the CSV. To import a CSV bank statement into Xero, open Accounting → Bank accounts, click ⋯ on the account, choose Import a Statement and select the file. The first time, Xero asks you to match each column to a field; after that it remembers the assignment.

QWhat format does a Xero CSV bank statement need?

Date and Amount are the only required columns, and money in and money out share that one Amount column — positive for money in, negative for money out. Payee, Description and Reference are optional. The header row goes on line one, with no balance columns and no blank rows. The field-by-field table above sets each rule beside what our file contains.

QIs there a Xero bank statement import template?

Yes. Xero links a blank CSV template from its Import a Statement screen, with headings that follow your browser's language. It is a CSV rather than an Excel or PDF file: open it in Excel or Google Sheets, fill it in and save it as .csv again. The format section above lists what goes in each column.

QWhat is a precoded bank statement in Xero?

A CSV that also carries an account code and a tax rate on every line. Xero uses them to create the spend and receive money transactions and reconcile them during the import. Xero warns against it where lines match invoices or bills already in Xero. The file from this page is an ordinary statement, so add those two columns yourself if you want to precode it.

QCan Xero import a bank statement with separate debit and credit columns?

No. Xero's CSV instructions say income and expense amounts must be in the same column, with expenses written as negative numbers or in brackets. A bank export with Debit and Credit side by side has to be merged into one signed column before Xero will read it; this page writes it that way from the start.

QHow do I undo a bank statement import in Xero?

Delete the imported bank statement. Go to Accounting → Bank accounts, click ⋯ on the account and choose Bank Statements, switch Showing to Statements, open the one you imported and click Delete Entire Statement. Xero cannot restore it afterwards, so keep your file to import again.

QWhich date format should I use to import a bank statement into Xero?

DD/MM/YYYY for organisations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand; MM/DD/YYYY for the US. When a date could be read either way, Xero asks which order the file uses and applies that answer to later CSV imports too, so keep every file in the same order. Set it once with the date toggle on this page before you download.

QCan I import old bank statements into Xero?

Yes. Xero itself suggests a manual import for transactions dated before a bank feed started. Convert each old statement, import them one at a time, and Xero leaves out any line that matches a transaction already in the account.

QCan I import a credit card statement into Xero?

Yes, through the same Import a Statement screen on the credit card account. Xero wants card payments as positive amounts and purchases as negative ones, which is how this page writes a card statement.

QShould I import a CSV or an OFX file into Xero?

Xero recommends OFX where your bank offers it, because an OFX file imports without changes. A CSV is the one you can open and check in a spreadsheet first, and it lets you choose which column feeds which field. Both come from the same PDF: the CSV on this page, the OFX from the "Xero's first choice?" link under the upload box. Either way, keep each file to 1,000 transactions or fewer.

QWill my Xero bank rules work on imported lines?

Yes. Xero checks every imported statement line against your bank rules, which can test the payee, description, amount or reference. Our CSV has no separate Payee column, so if a rule matches on payee, assign the Description column to Payee when you set up the columns.

QWhat if my PDF statement covers more than one account?

Every account on the statement is converted, and the CSV gains an Account column so the rows can be told apart. Xero imports one bank account per file, though, so split the rows by that column — or convert each account's statement on its own — and import each file into its own Xero bank account.

QDoes it work for bank statements that aren't in English?

Yes. The conversion reads statements in other languages and writes dates and amounts the way Xero expects. That helps in the US and Canada too, because Xero's own PDF import accepts English statements only.

QCan I convert a PDF bank statement to CSV for Xero for free?

Yes. This page converts statements free to start, with no signup and no card, within a daily allowance of free pages; larger volumes are on the paid plans.

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Convert your PDF bank statement to CSV for Xero

Your bank gave you a PDF; Xero wants a file it can read. Drop the statement in above and leave with a Xero-formatted CSV — or an OFX, if you would rather use the format Xero prefers. Free to start, no signup.