CSV, Excel, or OFX for a bank statement

The same statement PDF can become several downloads. They are not interchangeable. Pick the one the next person or the next program can use, then export that file from the job.

Excel, when a person will open it

Excel is the review copy. Dates, descriptions, debits, credits, and balances sit in columns you can filter and edit. Choose it for a bookkeeper, a client, or your own first pass. It is included on the free plan, together with CSV, JSON, and Markdown.

JSON and Markdown are extra downloads of the same rows. They are useful for a developer or a note. They are a poor way to deliver a statement to an accountant, so they do not have their own pages.

CSV, when a system wants a flat file

CSV is the same table as text. Use it for an import, a script, or a tool that refuses workbooks. It is also on the free plan. Check that commas inside descriptions stayed in one field before you hand the file off.

OFX, QBO, and Xero CSV, when books should import transactions

OFX is the statement format ledgers already import. QuickBooks QBO is that idea in the file QuickBooks asks for. Xero CSV is the matching flat file for a Xero bank import. None of these sign in to your accounting software. You download a file and import it there.

These three are on Basic, Professional, and Business. The free plan stops at Excel, CSV, JSON, and Markdown. Download the accounting file from the finished job after you have read the rows. A wrong debit on an OFX line is harder to spot than the same mistake in a spreadsheet, so many people export Excel first and OFX second.

A simple rule

If you will look at the rows, start with Excel. If a program asked for CSV, give it CSV. If the program is QuickBooks, Xero, or another ledger that imports bank files, use QBO, Xero CSV, or OFX after the review. The steps to get there are in how to convert a bank statement PDF. Start from the homepage converter. Allowances and prices are on the pricing page.