PayPal business and personal accounts
Convert a PayPal statement to Excel, CSV or QuickBooks
PayPal’s Activity download already gives you CSV for the last seven years. Convert the statement PDF when the statement is what you have, or when you need QBO or QFX that ties to PayPal’s own balance summary.
- Gross, fee and net kept apart
- Withheld balances kept out of the rows
- Rows checked against the Balance summary
- QBO and QFX, which PayPal’s download does not offer
7 years
of activity to download
12 months per request
2 years
of monthly statements in the portal
Custom statements: last 3 years
Gross · Fee · Net
amount columns on the statement
18 months
of history in QuickBooks’ PayPal app
No multi-currency support
The short answer
Can you export a PayPal statement to Excel?
Yes, and for many people PayPal’s own export is enough: under Activity (History on some accounts), the Download icon creates an Activity report as CSV, TAB, PDF, Quicken (QIF) or QuickBooks (IIF) for any period in the last seven years, up to 12 months per request. A CSV opens straight in Excel. If that is what you need, use it.
The monthly statement is a different document. PayPal describes it as a bank-style report for reconciling your account: a Balance summary for each currency, an Activity summary by category, and a transaction history with Gross, Fee and Net columns. It only includes transactions that moved your balance. When the statement PDF is what you were handed, by a client, a borrower or the other side in a dispute, or when the figures have to match that statement exactly, converting the PDF is the direct route.
Converting also fills a gap in PayPal’s formats. The download offers IIF for QuickBooks Desktop and QIF for Quicken, but not QBO or QFX. A converted statement exports to either, with a transaction ID on every row so a re-import does not duplicate.
Three amount columns, a withheld balance and one summary per currency
Sample statement
What a PayPal statement looks like
Hover or tap a number to see what each part means for a conversion.
PayPal
Monthly account statement · Sam Rivera Studio (business)
Statement period 09/01/2026 – 09/30/2026
File MSR-20260930.pdf
Balance summary (USD)
- Beginning available balance
- $1,240.00
- Beginning withheld balance
- $150.00
- Net activity
- -$238.64
- Ending available balance
- $1,001.36
- Ending withheld balance
- $150.00
- Ending total balance
- $1,151.36
Transaction history (USD)
| Date | Description | Name / Email | Gross | Fee | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/03/2026 | Express Checkout Payment | Jane Doe | 120.00 | -4.68 | 115.32 |
| 09/08/2026 | Express Checkout Payment | Lee Chen | 85.00 | -3.46 | 81.54 |
| 09/12/2026 | Payment Refund | Jane Doe | -40.00 | 0.00 | -40.00 |
| 09/15/2026 | General Withdrawal (bank ending 6612) | Sam Rivera | -500.00 | 0.00 | -500.00 |
| 09/20/2026 | General Currency Conversion | 104.50 | 0.00 | 104.50 |
Gross -230.50 · Fees -8.14 · Net-$238.64
Transaction history (EUR)
| Date | Description | Name / Email | Gross | Fee | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/20/2026 | Express Checkout Payment | Marie Dubois | 100.00 | -3.88 | 96.12 |
| 09/20/2026 | General Currency Conversion | -96.12 | 0.00 | -96.12 |
EUR beginning €0.00 · ending€0.00
Native export
What PayPal lets you export
If you have the login, the Activity download covers most needs. The statement is the record when the figures have to match it.
Activity download
Last 7 years, 12 months per file
A report of balance-affecting or all transactions, as CSV, TAB, PDF, QIF (Quicken, USD only) or IIF (QuickBooks Desktop, US accounts only), with transaction IDs, fees and currencies.
Where it stops: No QBO or QFX, and the dates you pick will not line up with a statement unless you choose them to.
Monthly and custom statements
Monthly: up to 2 years. Custom: last 3 years
The bank-style report: Balance summary per currency, Activity summary, and a transaction history with Gross, Fee and Net.
Where it stops: The PDF has no rows when a period has more than 10,000 transactions. Getting a PDF into accounting software means converting it.
Converting the statement with VouchRow
Any statement you have
The PDF becomes rows in the format your software takes, checked against PayPal’s Balance summary, with every row linked to its line.
Where it stops: Needs the statement PDF. Amounts stay in the currency printed; nothing is converted between currencies.
How far back
How far back each PayPal option reaches
PayPal keeps activity much longer than it keeps statements, which is the opposite of most banks.
Activity download (CSV, TAB, PDF, QIF, IIF)
7 years
Any period in the last seven years, at most 12 months per report. CSV and TAB files split into a ZIP above 50,000 records.
Monthly statements (PDF, CSV)
Up to 2 years
The reporting portal keeps up to two years of monthly statements. Custom statements can cover any period in the last three.
Connect to PayPal app in QuickBooks Online
18 months
Intuit’s import of past PayPal transactions. Holds, releases and multi-currency transactions are not supported.
A dashed bar means the bank does not publish a figure; check your own online banking.
Step by step
How to convert a PayPal statement
- 1Get the monthly statements from PayPalGo to paypal.com/reports/accountStatements, choose Request next to the month, then Download when it is ready. Statements can be requested from the 2nd of the following month. The files are named MSR- followed by the last date they cover.
- 2One PayPal account per batchKeep each PayPal account’s statements together. A business with several PayPal logins should convert each one as its own account, the way it sits in the books.
- 3Upload and convertSign in to VouchRow and add the PDFs. Digital statements convert in batches. A scanned or printed copy is read with OCR, one at a time. A password-protected PDF is unlocked in your browser; the password is never sent.
- 4Check the rows against the Balance summaryBeginning available balance plus the net of the rows must equal the ending available balance. PayPal prints that summary for each currency, so read a multi-currency month one currency at a time. If a figure is off, VouchRow shows the dollar difference, and clicking a row shows its line on the PDF.
- 5ExportExcel or CSV to review, QBO for a PayPal bank account in QuickBooks, QFX or QIF for Quicken, or the Xero CSV preset.
Formats
Where is your PayPal data going?
Pick the destination. The advice changes with it.
PayPal statement to Excel
An .xlsx with one row per transaction: date, description, name and the amount, with money in positive and money out negative. The gross, fee and net figures PayPal printed are all in the file, so you can total sales and fees separately.
If you already have the login and only need recent months, PayPal’s own CSV opens in Excel too. Convert the PDF when the statement is what you have, or when the sheet has to tie to PayPal’s Balance summary.
PDF to ExcelPayPal statement to CSV
Use CSV when another tool reads the file. Choose the date format the importer expects before you export, and export one currency at a time if the account holds more than one.
PayPal’s own CSV is wider, with dozens of optional columns. A converted CSV has the same few columns every time, which is easier to map into an import screen.
PDF to CSVPayPal statement to QuickBooks
Set PayPal up as a bank account in QuickBooks and import a QBO file into it (in QuickBooks Online, upload from file under bank transactions; in Desktop, as Web Connect). PayPal’s own “QuickBooks” download is IIF, for Desktop only.
If the Connect to PayPal app already imported some months, the transaction IDs in a converted QBO let QuickBooks spot the overlap. Book PayPal fees to a merchant fees expense account so sales stay at gross.
PDF to QBOPayPal statement to Quicken
PayPal offers QIF, for USD only, and QIF has no transaction IDs, so a month imported twice duplicates. A converted QFX carries an ID per row.
Import into the existing PayPal account in Quicken rather than creating a new one, so the history joins the balance you already track.
PDF to QFXPayPal statement to Xero
Use the Xero CSV preset: one signed amount column and the date format Xero expects. Import it into a PayPal bank account in Xero, one currency per account.
Reconcile fees against a bank fees or merchant fees account so the gross sale still matches the invoice it pays.
Statements into XeroStatement layout
How a PayPal statement is laid out
The facts to check against the statement in front of you. Accounts covered: PayPal business accounts, PayPal personal accounts, Multi-currency PayPal balances, PayPal Credit (billing statements, PDF).
| Date format | PayPal’s specification does not fix the printed format; the day boundary follows the time zone set under Account preferences |
|---|---|
| Running balance | None on the PDF statement. Each currency is proved against its Balance summary instead |
| Amount columns | Three: Gross, Fee and Net. Only Net moves the balance |
| Summary blocks | Balance summary (available and withheld, per currency), then an Activity summary by category |
| What is left out | Pending items: uncaptured authorizations, pending eChecks and unresolved disputes |
Why it works
Built around how PayPal prints a statement
Gross, fee and net, all kept
The fee PayPal took on each sale stays visible next to the gross and the net, so fees can be booked as an expense instead of disappearing into a lower sales figure.
Holds are not transactions
Withheld money appears in the Balance summary, not as rows. It stays out of the transaction list; the rows are reconciled against the available balance, the figure they actually move.
Currencies left as printed
A multi-currency account has a Balance summary for each currency. Amounts stay in the currency PayPal printed them in; VouchRow does not convert between currencies.
Conversions read as pairs
A General Currency Conversion leaves one currency and lands in another. Both lines are kept, in their own currencies, so neither the sale nor the transfer is counted twice.
Every row traced to its line
Click a row and the statement opens at the line it came from. Useful when a lender or an auditor asks where a deposit came from.
QBO and QFX for PayPal
PayPal’s download stops at IIF and QIF. Converted statements export QBO and QFX with transaction IDs, so overlapping months do not duplicate.
Checked before export
A misread digit is caught on its own row
Every conversion is tested against the statement: the running balance on every row, page subtotals, opening plus movement against closing, the printed credit and debit totals, and the transaction count. When a number does not add up, VouchRow names the row and highlights the line it came from on the PDF.
Arithmetic only: it verifies amounts, balances and totals, not descriptions or dates, and two errors that cancel out would pass. The source-line link covers the rest.
How the checks workRunning balance check
- POS AMAZON MKTPLACE−86.4316,604.12
- CHECK #1042−1,250.0015,354.12
- ZELLE FROM J MORALES+640.0015,994.12
Every row agrees with the balance printed beside it.
Layout
How a PayPal monthly statement is laid out
PayPal’s own specification describes three blocks on the PDF. The Balance summary gives available and withheld balances at the start and end of the period for each currency, and the total balance is available plus withheld. US sellers with crypto also see a cryptocurrency summary, which PayPal says is informational. The Activity summary then totals debits and credits by category: payments received, payments sent, withdrawals and debits, deposits and credits, fees, chargebacks, releases, withheld, transfers and more.
The transaction history follows, with six columns: Date, Description, Name / Email, Gross, Fee and Net. PayPal prints it only when the period has 10,000 transactions or fewer, so a very busy account can receive a statement with summaries and no rows. For those months, the CSV version of the statement or the Activity download is the source.
Statements run from midnight on the first day to 23:59:59 on the last, in the time zone set under Account Settings, Account preferences. Change the time zone and only statements generated afterwards follow it, which is why two copies of the same month can disagree by a day at the edges.
Statement or download
PayPal’s CSV download vs the statement: which one to use
The Activity download is usually the better source for bookkeeping when you have the login. It reaches seven years back, has a column for nearly everything (transaction ID, type, status, currency, gross, fee, net, balance impact), and with Balance affecting chosen it lines up with what the statement covers. Requests are capped at 12 months each, and CSV and TAB files at 50,000 records; larger reports arrive as several files in a ZIP.
The statement is the better source when its exact figures are the point. A lender reviewing a self-employed borrower, a court in a divorce, or a bookkeeper working from what a client emailed wants the document PayPal issued, and a list built from a date range you chose yourself will not match it to the cent. Converting the statement keeps every row tied to the PDF line it came from.
Monthly statements are kept in the reporting portal for up to two years, and custom statements can cover any period in the last three. Save the PDFs you will need later; the Activity download reaches further back, but it is not the statement.
Currencies
Multi-currency PayPal statements
A PayPal account can hold balances in several currencies, and the statement gives each one its own Balance summary. When a payment arrives in euros and the account converts it to dollars, PayPal records a General Currency Conversion: a debit from the euro balance and a credit to the dollar balance. Each leg is a real line, in its own currency.
Converted rows keep the amounts in the currency they were printed in. VouchRow does not convert between currencies, and the arithmetic only holds within one currency, so review each currency’s rows against its own summary. If your books are in US dollars only, book the dollar leg of the conversion as the sale’s proceeds and leave the euro lines in a clearing account, so the euro balance returns to zero.
QuickBooks
PayPal in QuickBooks: the app connection vs converted statements
QuickBooks Online has a Connect to PayPal app that brings balance-affecting PayPal transactions into the Banking screen every three hours. Intuit says it imports up to 18 months of history, leaves temporary holds and releases out, and does not support multi-currency (currency conversion) transactions or their reconciliation.
Converted statements cover what the connection does not: months older than 18, accounts that were never connected, and multi-currency months, with the amounts as printed. QBO rows carry a transaction ID, so if a converted month overlaps one the app already imported, QuickBooks recognises the repeats.
Troubleshooting
Common PayPal conversion problems
Most PayPal errors come from the three amount columns and the summaries.
- The month is off by exactly the fees: the gross column was used as the amount. Net is what moved the balance.
- A balance of money “appeared” or “vanished”: a hold was read as a transaction. Withheld money lives in the Balance summary.
- Sales are counted twice: both legs of a General Currency Conversion were added into one currency. Keep each leg in its own currency.
- A statement has summaries but no rows: the month had more than 10,000 transactions. Use the CSV statement or the Activity download for that month.
- Rows a day early or late at the month’s edges: the account’s time zone was changed. Statements generated after the change follow the new zone.
- QuickBooks won’t take PayPal’s “QuickBooks” file: it is IIF, for Desktop. Use a QBO file for QuickBooks Online.
Side by side
PayPal’s Activity download vs converting the statement
| PayPal Activity download | Converting the PDF statement | |
|---|---|---|
| How far back | Seven years, 12 months per request | Any statement you have; the portal keeps two years of monthly statements |
| Formats | CSV, TAB, PDF, QIF (USD only), IIF (US only) | Excel, CSV, QBO, QFX, OFX, QIF, IIF, Tally XML |
| Matches the statement | Only if you pick the same dates and transaction type | Always: one statement, one period |
| Checked against PayPal’s totals | No | Against the Balance summary |
| Needs the PayPal login | Yes | No: a PDF a client or borrower sends works |
| Proof for a reviewer | A list of rows | Every row linked to its line on the PDF |
Before you import
After converting a PayPal statement, check these
- Each currency balancesBeginning available balance plus the net of the rows equals the ending available balance, for every currency on the statement.
- Fees are visibleThe total of the Fee column matches the fees line in PayPal’s Activity summary.
- No hold rowsWithheld money stays in the Balance summary. No rows for holds or releases among the transactions.
- Conversions pairedEvery General Currency Conversion out of one currency has its partner in another, and neither is counted as a sale.
- Withdrawals match the bankEach General Withdrawal appears as a deposit on the bank statement it went to.
- Refunds as money outA Payment Refund is negative, and its original sale is still in an earlier row or month.
Downloaded activity and statements are not the same thing
QBO for PayPal
Who uses it
Who converts PayPal statements
Bookkeepers with an online seller
Monthly statements from a client’s PayPal business account, converted to QBO with fees kept apart from sales, for months the QuickBooks connection never covered.
Lenders reviewing self-employed income
Statements a borrower sends as PDFs, turned into rows that tie to PayPal’s own summary, with every deposit traceable to its line.
Tax preparers
A year of statements converted in one batch to check gross receipts and PayPal fees against what the client reports.
Divorce and forensic work
PayPal statements produced in discovery, converted so withdrawals to bank accounts can be matched against the bank statements on the other side.
FAQ
PayPal statements: questions
How do I export PayPal transactions to Excel?
Use PayPal’s Activity download: under Activity (or History), choose the Download icon, pick a date range of up to 12 months and CSV, then open the file in Excel. To get a statement PDF into Excel instead, convert it here; the rows are checked against PayPal’s Balance summary.
How far back does PayPal transaction history go?
PayPal says its Activity report covers up to the past seven years, 12 months per request. Monthly statements are kept in the reporting portal for up to two years, and custom statements can cover any period within the last three.
Where do I find my PayPal monthly statement?
At paypal.com/reports/accountStatements. Choose Request next to the month, then Download when it is ready. Statements are available from the 2nd of the following month.
Does a PayPal statement show fees?
Yes. Each row has Gross, Fee and Net columns, and the Activity summary totals fees for the period. The net is what moved your balance.
Are holds on a PayPal statement?
Not as rows. Money on hold is shown as the withheld balance in the Balance summary, and pending items such as uncaptured authorizations and unresolved disputes are left out of the statement.
Can I download PayPal transactions into QuickBooks?
PayPal’s download offers IIF, which is for QuickBooks Desktop. QuickBooks Online has a Connect to PayPal app that imports up to 18 months. For older months, or as a QBO file, convert the statement PDF.
Can I convert a PayPal statement with more than one currency?
Yes. The rows keep the currency PayPal printed them in, and PayPal gives each currency its own Balance summary to review them against. VouchRow does not convert between currencies.
Is a PayPal statement accepted as proof of income?
That depends on the lender or landlord. Many ask for the statement itself rather than a download. Converting it gives a reviewer rows that tie to the statement PayPal issued.
Keep going
Related guides and converters
Formats for PayPal
Sources
The facts about PayPal on this page come from these pages, checked in October 2026. Banks change their online banking; if something here no longer matches, the bank’s own help page wins. Tell us and we will update it.
- PayPal: how to view and download statements and reports (paypal.com)
- PayPal Developer: monthly and custom statements (developer.paypal.com)
- PayPal Developer: Activity Download report (developer.paypal.com)
- PayPal Developer: transaction event codes, incl. currency conversion and holds (developer.paypal.com)
- Intuit: Connect to PayPal FAQ, 18 months and multi-currency (quickbooks.intuit.com)
Convert your PayPal statements
Upload the monthly statement PDFs, check the rows against PayPal’s Balance summary, and export Excel, CSV, QBO or QFX.