Bank statement tables
Convert bank statement PDFs to Excel
Retyping a month of transactions is the worst hour in bookkeeping. Wolf PDF detects the transaction tables in a statement PDF and exports them to XLSX or CSV, so month-end reconciliation starts from rows in a spreadsheet instead of a stack of PDFs. No signup needed to try it on your own statement.
How it works
- 1Open PDF to Excel — no signup needed
- 2Upload the bank statement PDF
- 3Select the detected transaction tables
- 4Export XLSX or CSV and reconcile the totals
What converts cleanly, and what needs care
The decisive factor is whether the statement is a digital PDF (downloaded from online banking) or a scan. Digital statements from UK banks and app banks like Monzo and Starling have real text in consistent columns — those extract well. Photographed or scanned statements are images, and table extraction from images is genuinely hard for any tool.
- Digital statements downloaded from online banking: best results
- Consistent columns (date, description, money in, money out, balance) extract most reliably
- Multi-line transaction descriptions can wrap into extra rows — quick to fix in Excel
- Scanned statements: expect manual cleanup, or convert via OCR first
Reconcile before you rely on it
Check converted rows against the original statement before using them. Reconcile the balances, then review dates, descriptions, and individual amounts: matching totals alone do not rule out missing, duplicated, or misread transactions.
- With money in and money out recorded as positive amounts, check: opening balance + total money in - total money out = closing balance
- Check the row count roughly matches the number of transactions across pages
- Scan for merged rows where a long description swallowed the next transaction
- Keep the original PDF alongside the spreadsheet as your audit trail
A workflow accountants and bookkeepers actually use
If you handle client statements every month, the pattern that works is: convert, reconcile the totals, tidy the descriptions, then import wherever your ledger lives. Wolf PDF also covers the surrounding jobs — merging statement packs, redacting before sharing, and compressing for portals.
- Free tier covers occasional conversions; Premium removes daily and page limits for regular client work
- CSV export drops straight into Xero, QuickBooks, or FreeAgent import screens after a header tidy-up
- Redact client statements before they go into shared folders or email threads
- Everything runs in the browser — nothing to install on a work machine
Common questions
Honest answers about statement conversion — including where it struggles.
Does it work with every UK bank?
It works with table-based digital PDFs from any bank — Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Monzo, Starling, and others. Layouts vary, so always run the totals check. Scanned statements are the hard case for every tool.
Can I convert a scanned statement?
Scans are images, so direct table extraction is unreliable. Better route: run the scan through PDF to Word in OCR mode first, or expect to clean up the output manually. If the scan quality is poor, retyping the few visible rows is sometimes honestly faster.
Will the numbers be accurate?
Review the output against the original before importing it. With receipts and payments recorded as positive amounts, opening balance + total money in - total money out should equal closing balance. Matching totals do not prove every row is correct; check dates, descriptions, and individual amounts too.
Can I import the result into Xero or QuickBooks?
Yes, via their CSV import screens — there is no direct integration. Match your columns to the format the software expects (usually date, description, amount) before importing.
Is my client's statement safe to upload?
Statements are processed for your session only and deleted after processing, with leftovers automatically cleared within 30 minutes. No document content is used for anything else. For extra caution, redact account numbers first.
How much does it cost?
Free covers occasional use with daily limits. Premium (£4.99/month or £39.99/year) removes conversion limits — relevant if you process client statements every month.