When you need to import a statement into Xero by hand
Xero's bank feeds are excellent when they work. They stop working when a bank is not supported, when you take over a client whose feed was never connected, when a feed connected late and misses the early months of the financial year, or when you are backfilling a prior year. In those cases Xero offers Import a Statement, which accepts a CSV, OFX or QIF file. The statement your client sends is a PDF, and that is what needs converting.
Typing the lines is slow and error-prone. Converting the PDF gives you the rows in a file, but Xero is fussy about the layout, so the converter writes the exact columns of the Xero template instead of a generic export.
The Xero CSV layout
| Column | Required | What we write |
|---|---|---|
| *Date | Yes | Transaction date, DD/MM/YYYY unless you choose another style |
| *Amount | Yes | Signed amount: negative for money out, positive for money in |
| Payee | No | The first part of the description, up to 50 characters |
| Description | No | Full cleaned description |
| Reference | No | Left blank for you to fill if needed |
| Cheque Number | No | Cheque or check number when the statement shows one |
The header row uses the asterisks Xero uses for its mandatory fields, so the import screen maps the columns automatically.
How to convert and import
- Upload the statement PDF above and review the table.
- Make sure the balance banner is green. If not, fix the highlighted rows, the date order or the signs.
- Select Xero CSV and download.
- In Xero, open Accounting, Bank accounts, pick the account, choose Manage Account, Import a Statement, upload the file and confirm the column mapping.
- Review the statement lines under Reconcile and match them as usual.
Dates: avoiding the day/month mix-up
Xero is used mostly in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and increasingly the US and Canada, and the file date format has to match what Xero expects for your organisation's region. The converter writes DD/MM/YYYY by default for Xero files, because that works for most Xero organisations. If your organisation uses US date settings, choose MM/DD/YYYY in the download options before you export. Check the first import: if days above 12 appear as errors or months look wrong, the format is the culprit.
Reading the PDF is a separate step. A statement dated 05/06/2026 is 5 June in Australia and 6 May in the US. The converter decides from the statement and shows you the parsed dates, so you can see right away if June came through as May.
Avoiding duplicate statement lines
If a bank feed has been connected for part of the period, importing a statement for the whole period will create duplicates. Xero may not recognise a line from a file as the same as one that arrived by feed. Edit the table to remove the rows you already have (delete the row with the x button) or convert only the dates the feed missed.
Rows that you edit stay yours: the converter does not send your edits anywhere, and the file you download is produced on your device.
A workflow for catching up a new client
When you take over a set of books, the usual order is: collect twelve months of PDF statements, convert each one, confirm the balance banner is green and the closing balance of one month equals the opening balance of the next, then import month by month into the bank account in Xero. Keeping each statement as its own import makes it easy to see in Xero where a month starts and ends, and if one file has a problem you only redo that month.
After importing, reconcile the oldest month first. Bank rules you create while working through the early months will auto-suggest codings for later months, so the work gets faster as you go. If a closing balance and the next opening balance do not agree, a page is missing from one of the PDFs, and it is far better to find that before reconciling than after.
Multi-currency and credit cards
Import each currency account separately and choose the matching Xero bank account, because the file does not carry a currency. For credit card statements, the sign convention is purchases negative and payments positive, which is what Xero credit card accounts expect for imported statement lines.
Independent tool
Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited. Statement2QBO is an independent converter and is not endorsed by Xero.
Frequently asked questions
Which columns does the Xero CSV need?
Date and Amount are required. Payee, Description, Reference and Cheque Number are optional. The Xero CSV download includes all of them with the exact headers.
Can Xero import a PDF statement directly?
No. Xero imports CSV, OFX and QIF statement files, so a PDF has to be converted first.
What date format does Xero want?
The format depends on your organisation's region settings. DD/MM/YYYY works for most. Choose MM/DD/YYYY in the download options for US-style organisations.
Will importing create duplicates with my bank feed?
It can if the same dates are already in Xero. Remove those rows in the preview or convert only the missing dates.
Does it work for credit card statements?
Yes. Charges are written as negative amounts and payments as positive, as Xero credit card accounts expect.
Is there a row limit?
Our limit is 80 pages per PDF. Very large imports are easier to review when split by month.