Feature · Batch conversion
Convert multiple bank statements at once
To convert multiple bank statements at once, upload the digital PDFs together and choose the client’s project. Each statement is converted and reconciled against its own balances, charged only for its transaction pages, and saved for review.
- Several digital statements in one run
- Each reconciled on its own
- Filed straight into a client’s project
- Only transaction pages are charged
The short answer
Can you convert multiple bank statements at once?
Yes, if they are digital. Statements downloaded from online banking, which carry a text layer, can be uploaded together and converted as a batch. Each one is read, checked against its own running balance and printed totals, and saved as its own statement in the project you choose.
Scanned or photographed statements are the exception. They are read with OCR one at a time, where you can see each one go through, and batching them is listed as not yet built on the pricing page.
A batch saves the repetitive part of catch-up work. It does not combine the statements into one file, and it does not replace reviewing each one.
Step by step
How to convert a batch of statements
- 1Collect the digital PDFsDownload the statements from online banking, one PDF per statement. Those are digital and batch well. Keep any scans aside for the single-file converter.
- 2Open “Convert several” and choose the projectPick the client’s project before you start. Every statement in the run is filed there.
- 3Add the filesDrop the PDFs in together. They are queued and converted one after another.
- 4Watch the queueEach file is marked done, failed with a reason, or skipped. A scanned or password-protected file is marked and left for you to convert on its own.
- 5Review each statementThe converted statements are in the project’s list. Open each one, read its reconciliation result and check any flagged rows against the source line.
- 6Export per statementExport each to Excel, CSV, QBO, QFX, OFX, QIF, IIF or Tally XML, depending on your plan, or, on a paid plan, send it to QuickBooks Online.
Many files, one statement at a time
A batch is a queue, not a merge. The files are converted one after another, and each is treated exactly as it would be on its own: its rows read, its running balance and totals checked, and its result saved as a separate statement.
Running them in order rather than all at once is deliberate. It keeps the page allowance accurate as the run spends it, and it means one file that cannot be read is marked with its reason while the rest carry on.
Filed where the work belongs
Choose the project, usually the client, before the run starts, and every statement in the batch is saved into it. When the run finishes, the statements are in the list for that client, each ready to open in the review grid.
Billed by what each statement contains
Each statement is charged for the pages that carry transactions. A cover page, a page of disclosures or a blank back page costs nothing, on every statement in the batch, so twelve monthly statements cost the transaction pages in those twelve files and no more.
Digital statements only, one file per statement, and no API
Why it works
What a batch does for catch-up work
One run, not a dozen
Add a year of statements once instead of repeating the upload for every month.
Every statement checked
Each file gets its own reconciliation against its own balances, so a break in March is not hidden by a clean April.
Filed by client
The whole batch lands in the project you choose, ready for whoever on the team has access to that client.
Billed on transaction pages
Cover pages and disclosure-only pages are not charged, on each statement in the run.
Problems are named
A file that cannot be converted is marked with the reason and what to do, and the rest of the run carries on.
Read in your browser
Digital statements are read on your device, the same as a single upload.
What batches
Which statements you can convert multiple at once
The test is whether the PDF has a text layer. Try selecting a word in it, or searching for a payee you know is there. If text highlights, the file is digital and can go in a batch. If nothing selects, it is an image, and it goes through the single-file converter.
| File | In a batch | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Digital statement from online banking | Converted and reconciled | Review it in the project’s list |
| Digital credit card statement | Converted, checked against the account summary | Review it in the project’s list |
| Scanned or photographed statement | Marked as scanned, not converted | Convert it on its own, where OCR runs |
| Password-protected PDF | Marked as needing its password, not converted | Convert it on its own and type the password |
| PDF with no rows that have a date and an amount | Marked as failed, with the reason | Check that it is a statement |
Checks
Each statement is reconciled on its own
A batch is not checked as one long statement. Every file is reconciled against its own figures: the running balance row by row, page subtotals, its opening balance plus movement against its closing balance, its printed totals and its transaction count. A card statement, which has no running balance, is checked against its own account summary.
That matters when the batch is a run of consecutive months. One statement that breaks shows as one statement with a problem, at the row where it broke, instead of as a difference somewhere in a year of combined rows.
Once the months are reviewed, a quick extra check is to compare each statement’s opening balance with the previous month’s closing balance. A gap there usually means a statement is missing from the folder.
Pages
How a batch is billed
Each statement is charged for the pages that contain transactions, and the batch costs the sum of those. Cover pages, disclosure-only pages and blank pages are not counted. The pages come out of the workspace’s monthly allowance and any page packs, shared by the whole team.
The allowance is checked before each file rather than only at the start. If it runs out partway, the remaining files are skipped rather than failed: nothing is wrong with them, and they can be run again once there are pages, from a page pack or the next month’s allowance.
Clients
Filing a batch into a project
The project chosen at the start is where every statement in the run is saved. For a firm that means one batch per client, filed straight into that client’s project, and visible to the members who have access to it.
If a statement belongs elsewhere, it can be moved between projects afterwards by anyone with the Edit permission.
Locked files
Password-protected files in a batch
A batch has no point at which to stop and ask for each file’s password, so a locked PDF is not converted with the rest. It is marked as password-protected, and you convert it on its own, where you are asked for the password. The file is then unlocked in your browser, and the password is not sent or stored.
Side by side
One at a time vs a batch
| Single-file converter | Batch | |
|---|---|---|
| Digital statements | Yes | Yes, several in one run |
| Scanned statements | Yes, with OCR | No: convert them one at a time |
| Password-protected files | Yes, asks for the password | Marked; convert them on their own |
| Reconciliation | Per statement | Per statement |
| Filing into a project | Yes | Yes, one project for the run |
| Pages charged | Transaction pages only | Transaction pages only, per statement |
| Output | One statement to review and export | One statement per file; no combined file |
Who uses it
When firms batch
Catch-up bookkeeping
A new client hands over twelve or eighteen months of statements. One batch per account, filed into their project, then reviewed month by month.
Year-end and tax preparation
A year of statements for each account, converted together, each tied to its own closing balance before it goes into the books.
Several accounts for one period
Checking, savings and two credit cards for the same quarter, converted in one run into the client’s project.
Loan and disclosure files
A set of digital statements supplied for an application or a case, converted together, each with its own reconciliation record.
FAQ
Batch conversion of digital statements: questions
Can I convert multiple bank statements at once?
Yes, if they are digital PDFs with a text layer, such as statements downloaded from online banking. Upload them together and each is converted and reconciled on its own. Scanned statements are converted one at a time.
Do the statements get combined into one Excel file?
No. Each statement is saved, reviewed and exported separately. A batch does not merge its statements into one combined file.
Why was a file in my batch not converted?
The queue marks each file with its reason. The usual ones: it is a scan with no text layer, it is password-protected, or it has no rows with both a date and an amount. Scans and locked files convert on their own in the single-file converter.
How is a batch charged?
Each statement is charged for the pages that contain transactions. Cover pages and disclosure-only pages are not counted. The total comes out of the workspace’s shared page allowance and any page packs.
What happens if I run out of pages partway through a batch?
The remaining files are skipped, not failed, because nothing is wrong with them. Run them again when there are pages, from a page pack or next month’s allowance.
Can I file a batch under a client?
Yes. Choose the client’s project before the run starts and every statement in the batch is saved there. Statements can be moved between projects later.
Can I batch scanned statements?
Not yet. Scanned and photographed statements are read with OCR one at a time. Batching them is listed as not yet built on the pricing page.
Is there an API for batch conversion?
No. There is no API. Batches are run from the app.
Keep going
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Export a batch to
Related
Other features
Convert a client’s statements in one run
Create an account, choose the client’s project and drop in their digital statements. Plans start at $15 a month for 300 pages, and only pages with transactions count.