Guides
Working notes on statement data: how to convert it safely, prove it reconciles, and get it into UK accounting software. No filler; every guide is something we would want a client’s bookkeeper to know.
How to convert a PDF bank statement to Excel safely
A UK-specific walkthrough for turning a statement PDF into a reliable Excel sheet, including the checks that catch missing rows and swapped columns.
Updated 15 July 2026
How to convert a PDF bank statement to CSV
Getting clean, import-ready CSV out of a UK statement PDF: encodings, date formats, signed amounts, and the traps that break accounting imports.
Updated 15 July 2026
How to check that a converted bank statement reconciles
Three arithmetic checks that prove a converted statement is complete: running balances, the opening-to-closing equation, and direction consistency.
Updated 15 July 2026
Why generic PDF-to-Excel tools lose or merge transactions
What actually happens inside a statement PDF, and the specific ways generic extraction silently drops rows, splits descriptions, and swaps columns.
Updated 15 July 2026
Digital versus scanned bank statements: how to tell the difference
A 30-second test that tells you whether a statement PDF has a real text layer, and why that decides whether conversion can be trusted at all.
Updated 15 July 2026
How to redact a bank statement safely
Blacking out a PDF often leaves the text underneath. How to redact statement data so it is actually gone, and what to check before sharing.
Updated 15 July 2026
How to import a bank statement CSV into Xero UK
Xero's bank statement import, step by step: the column layout it expects, signed amounts, date formats, and the errors that reject a file.
Updated 15 July 2026
How to import bank transactions into QuickBooks UK
Getting statement CSVs into QuickBooks Online UK: the three-column and four-column formats, mapping, and duplicate protection.
Updated 15 July 2026
How to prepare bank transactions for FreeAgent
FreeAgent's statement upload expects a strict three-column CSV. How to produce one that imports first time, and what to do when it does not.
Updated 15 July 2026
CSV, XLSX, OFX, QBO, QIF, and MT940 formats explained
What each bank-data format actually is, which UK software reads which, and why CSV plus XLSX covers most bookkeeping work.
Updated 15 July 2026
What a bank statement converter should store, and what it should not
A privacy checklist for statement tools: what data a converter genuinely needs, what it should never keep, and the questions to ask before uploading.
Updated 15 July 2026
A bookkeeper's checklist for validating converted statement data
Ten checks to run on any converted statement before it enters the ledger: totals, continuity, dates, duplicates, and direction.
Updated 15 July 2026
How to download statements from every certified UK bank
The official statement download route for Monzo, Starling, Revolut, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, and first direct, and when the bank's own CSV export means you need no converter.
Updated 16 July 2026
Bank statements for Self Assessment and MTD: a working method
Turning a year of UK bank statements into defensible Self Assessment or MTD figures: the workflow, the reconciliation checks, and the traps that produce wrong tax bills.
Updated 16 July 2026
Switching to ukbankconv from another statement converter
A migration guide with no migration in it: what to download before you cancel, how to test with real statements for free, and the honest reasons not to switch.
Updated 16 July 2026