How to import a bank statement into Xero (OFX, CSV or PDF)

Xero gets bank transactions in three ways: a bank feed, a file you export from online banking and import yourself, or (in the US and Canada only) a PDF statement it reads for you. This guide covers which file to use in your region, the Import a Statement steps for OFX, QFX, QuickBooks (.qbo), QIF, CSV and PDF files, what to do when all you have is a PDF, how to fill in months from before a bank feed started, and how to check and undo an import.

1. The ways to get bank transactions into Xero

Xero Central's About manually importing bank statements starts from the bank feed: if you can't set one up, "you can import bank transactions into Xero yourself". Every route ends the same way, as statement lines in the bank account that you then reconcile.

You need the administrator or standard + bank accounts user role to import a statement. For PDF imports, Xero also allows the cashbook client role.

2. Which file to use

3. Import a Statement, step by step

The screen is the same for every format. From Xero Central:

1. Export the transactions from online banking, one file per bank account. Xero asks for a separate file for each account.
2. In Xero, in the Accounting menu, select Bank accounts.
3. For the bank account you want to import into, click the menu icon (⋮), then select Import a Statement.
4. In File to upload, drag and drop the file or click Select file, then click Next.
5. CSV only: if prompted, assign the columns in the file to Xero's statement fields. QIF and CSV: if prompted, choose the date format.
6. Review the transactions and clear the checkbox next to any you don't want to import.
7. Click Complete import, then reconcile the statement lines.

Xero recognises transactions already imported from other files and excludes them, so an overlapping file adds only the new lines. That cuts both ways: a genuine repeat, such as two identical card charges on the same day, can look like a duplicate, so compare the count with the statement (section 9).

4. OFX, QFX and QuickBooks (.qbo) files

Xero's Import an OFX bank statement article treats all three the same: text files with the transactions, imported with no column mapping and no date format step. An OFX file carries each transaction with its own date, amount and ID, and the closing balance. These lines are from the OFX Utilly writes for the sample statement:

<BANKACCTFROM><BANKID>999999999<ACCTID>0427<ACCTTYPE>CHECKING</BANKACCTFROM>
<STMTTRN><TRNTYPE>DEBIT<DTPOSTED>20260901120000<TRNAMT>-6420.18<FITID>20260901E26D1A27070800<NAME>ACH DEBIT GUSTO PAYROLL 0912<MEMO>ACH DEBIT GUSTO PAYROLL 0912</STMTTRN>
<LEDGERBAL><BALAMT>13440.52<DTASOF>20260930</LEDGERBAL>

If your bank labels its download "Quicken" (QFX) or "QuickBooks" (QBO), it's the same family and Xero imports it the same way. Xero's import error list includes a statement currency that doesn't match the account's, and an account locked until a certain date, so check both if an OFX import won't complete. Every tag is explained in sample OFX file.

5. CSV files

A CSV is the format every bank offers and the one Xero is strictest about. From Xero Central's CSV article:

• One Amount column. "Both income and expense amounts must be in the same column": income positive, expenses negative, as -30.00 or (30.00). Separate Debit and Credit columns have to be combined.
• Delete balances, the account number and empty rows. Xero "calculates the bank balance from the transactions".
• Decimal points, not commas, and one date format for the whole file.
• No more than 100,000 rows.
• Date and Amount are the only required fields; Payee, Description and Reference make reconciling easier. A payee must match an existing contact exactly, or Xero may create a duplicate contact.

This is what a file that follows those rules looks like, the first lines of the Xero CSV made from the sample statement:

*Date,*Amount,Payee,Description,Reference
2026/09/01,-6420.18,ACH DEBIT GUSTO PAYROLL 0912,ACH DEBIT GUSTO PAYROLL 0912,
2026/09/01,3184.27,STRIPE TRANSFER ST-K2M8Q4,STRIPE TRANSFER ST-K2M8Q4,
2026/09/02,-1850.00,CHECK 2041,CHECK 2041,

The first time you import a CSV, you assign each column to a statement field, and Xero keeps that for future CSV imports unless the columns or headers change. If a date could be read as DD/MM/YY, MM/DD/YY or YY/MM/DD, Xero asks for the format and "applies the chosen format to the entire statement and all future CSV bank statements". Writing dates year first, as above, avoids the day/month swap. The full column-by-column template, with a blank copy to download, is in the Xero CSV import template guide; to fix a bank's own CSV automatically, use CSV to Xero.

6. PDF statements

In the US and Canada, Xero's Import a PDF bank statement article lets you upload the PDF on the same Import a Statement screen, except on the Xero Ledger plan. The file must:

• be 35MB or less, with no more than 100 pages per statement, and at most 40 inches (2880 points) high and wide;
• have a resolution of at least 200 DPI and, if scanned, be scanned straight;
• be written in English, be a debit or credit statement, and not be password protected.

Xero lists banks whose statements it has validated (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Amex and Mercury among them) and accepts others, but says "the accuracy of the results might vary". On the Review screen, lines with warnings are still imported and lines with errors aren't; Xero's advice for those is to import them in a different file type. Even here, Xero recommends OFX over PDF if your bank offers it.

Everywhere else, Xero's global help is plain: "PDF bank statements can't be imported into Xero." It suggests exporting the transactions from online banking (usually available when you view them as a list), or a conversion service. That's what Utilly's PDF to Xero converter does: it reads the statement, checks that the opening balance plus every transaction equals the closing balance, and writes a Xero CSV or an OFX file. Comparing the options, including Hubdoc and Xero's own PDF import, is in best bank statement to Xero converters.

7. Months from before a bank feed started

Xero's help names this case directly: you "might also need to manually import bank statements if you have a bank feed connected, but are missing statement lines dated before the automatic feed started". Banks' file downloads often cover only recent months, while PDF statements go back years, so older months usually mean converting PDFs.

1. Find the first date the feed brought in (the earliest line in the account's Bank Statements).
2. Import or convert one statement per month up to the day before it, oldest first, so each file matches one statement you can check.
3. Leave out any days the feed already covers. Xero skips lines it recognises, but a feed line and a file line for the same payment can differ in description, and then both come in.

If you switch from file imports to a new feed, Xero says to check for missing or duplicate transactions when the feed starts. For a business years behind, catch-up bookkeeping from bank statements covers the order of work.

8. Credit card accounts

Set the card up as a credit card bank account in Xero and import into it the same way. In a card file, purchases are negative and payments to the card are positive, the opposite of how many card exports show them. The sample card statement's Xero CSV has 21 lines: 19 purchases totalling 1,939.94 and 2 credits totalling 1,542.18, a net of −397.76. If your card's CSV shows purchases as positive numbers, flip the signs before importing, or convert the card PDF with the credit card statement converter, which writes Xero's signs.

9. Check the import against the statement

Before you reconcile anything, compare what came in with the statement. For the sample:

Xero keeps two balances for each account: the Statement Balance (the opening balance plus every imported line) and the Balance in Xero (from the transactions you've created). After reconciling they should agree. When they don't, the Xero import errors guide has Xero's month-by-month method, and finding bank reconciliation discrepancies shows how to find the line.

10. Undo an import: delete a statement

If you imported the wrong file or the same statement twice, delete the whole statement. From Xero Central's Delete a bank statement:

1. In Accounting → Bank accounts, click the account's menu icon (⋮), then select Bank Statements.
2. From Showing, select Statements, then click the date of the statement you want to delete.
3. Click Delete Entire Statement, at the bottom of the list of statement lines.
4. Optionally, select Also delete reconciled transactions for this statement, then click Delete.

Xero warns that "deleted bank statements can't be restored", so if you delete one in error you have to import it again. To remove one line rather than the statement, delete just that statement line.

11. Common problems

12. Convert your own statement

Utilly reads a bank or credit card statement PDF, checks every transaction against the opening and closing balances, and writes a Xero CSV or an OFX file for Import a Statement. PDF statements get a free preview; CSV, Excel and OFX files convert free up to 100 rows. Files are read in memory and not stored.

Utilly isn't affiliated with Xero. Menu names and regional rules change; the steps above are from Xero Central, checked November 9, 2026, and weren't run in a live Xero organization. Sources: Xero Central, About manually importing bank statements (formats, OFX recommended, "PDF bank statements can't be imported into Xero", missing lines before a feed), About manually importing bank transactions (US) (adds PDF, Hubdoc), Import an OFX, QFX or QuickBooks bank statement, Import a QIF bank statement, Import a bank statement in CSV format, Import a PDF bank statement (US and Canada, requirements, supported banks) and Delete a bank statement. The sample statement is fictional.

FAQ

Related guides

• Free Xero CSV import template for bank statements (filled and blank)
• Xero bank statement import errors (and how to fix them)
• Bank statement to Xero converters compared (2026): Xero's PDF import, Hubdoc and 4 converters
• Hubdoc vs Xero Smart Document Capture: which should you use? (2026)
• Free sample OFX file (bank and credit card), explained
• Catch-up bookkeeping: getting 12 months of bank statements into QuickBooks or Xero and reconciled

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