How to import bank transactions into Xero from a PDF statement

Which format Xero accepts

Xero reads four statement formats. QBO is not one of them: it is QuickBooks' own dialect, so a QBO file will be rejected even though it is technically OFX underneath.

If you are importing one period as a one-off, CSV is the simplest. If you will import the same account month after month, OFX is worth the extra step because it carries a stable id per transaction.

The columns Xero expects in a CSV

Xero needs a date, an amount and a description. It accepts either one signed amount column or separate debit and credit columns, and it lets you map your own headers to its fields during the import.

The accounting profile in the CSV converter writes Date, Description, Debit, Credit and Balance, which maps onto the second option without editing. The full profile adds Payee, Reference and Check Number if you want those fields populated too.

Xero ignores a balance column on import. It is still worth exporting, because it is what lets you check the file reconciles before you import it.

Importing, step by step

1. Convert the statement. Upload the PDF, review the extracted rows against the original page, and export CSV using the accounting profile or OFX.
2. In Xero open Business, then Bank accounts, and select the account.
3. Choose Manage Account, then Import a Statement.
4. Upload the file. For CSV, map each of your columns to a Xero field on the next screen.
5. Set the date format to match the file. This is the step people miss; see below.
6. Review the preview Xero shows, then confirm. The transactions land in Reconcile, not in your ledger, until you match them.

Nothing is posted to your accounts by importing. Statement lines sit in the reconciliation queue until you match them against bills, invoices or a new transaction, which means an import mistake is recoverable.

The date format setting

Xero asks you to state the date format of the file rather than guessing it. Choose wrongly and 03/04/2026 silently becomes 4 March instead of 3 April, which is invisible until a reconciliation does not balance.

• Export dates as YYYY-MM-DD when you can. It is unambiguous, and Xero offers it in the format list.
• If your statement prints 03/04/2026, decide from a date later than the 12th elsewhere in the file which order the bank uses.
• Keep the same format every month so the saved mapping stays correct.

The CSV converter writes dates in whichever of the three formats you choose, so you can match Xero's expectation exactly instead of hoping.

Avoiding duplicates

Xero warns when you import a file it believes it has seen before, but the check is coarse for CSV: it compares the date range and the file, not individual transactions. Two overlapping statements will import the same days twice.

• Import whole statement periods that meet end to end, never overlapping ranges.
• Prefer OFX for repeat imports. Each transaction carries a FITID, which the converter derives from the transaction's own date, amount and description, so the same transaction produces the same id every time you export it.
• If duplicates do land, select them in Reconcile and use Delete rather than reconciling them to anything.

There is more on the mechanics of this in fixing duplicate transactions after an import.

What to check before you import

Two minutes here saves an unpicking exercise later.

• The statement reconciled. Opening balance plus credits minus debits should equal the closing balance, and the Conversion Report says whether it did.
• The row count matches any total the statement prints, such as "19 Credit(s) This Period".
• The first and last dates match the statement period, so you have not lost rows at a page break.
• Signs are the right way round: money in positive, money out negative.

If a statement does not reconcile, import it anyway only when you know why. A missing row is much cheaper to fix before it is spread across a reconciliation.