Quick start: convert your first bank statement
BankWriter takes a bank-statement PDF and gives you back a clean file you can open in Excel or import into your accounting software. This page walks through that first conversion end to end, so you know what each screen is asking of you.
Before you start
You need three things:
- BankWriter installed on your Windows computer.
- A bank-statement PDF — the file your bank issued, or a scan of a paper copy. Both work. See Scanned and photographed statements if yours came off a scanner.
- A verified email, if you are on the free trial. Verifying your email starts your trial allowance of 200 lines. Three qualifying referrals raise that to 1,200 lines. The trial stops issuing new allowance 60 days after it starts.
A full licence is billed annually and covers one machine, with a 15-day money-back guarantee. Current pricing is on bankwriter.com/pricing. Free trial, licence keys and seats covers activation and how seats work.
Convert your first statement
- Drop your PDF. Drag the statement onto the BankWriter window, where it reads Drop PDF statement(s) here. You can also click the drop zone and browse for the file instead. More than one file at a time is fine — see Batch processing.
- Check the lines. BankWriter reads the statement and opens the review screen with every line laid out in a table. Read the summary strip at the top, fix anything flagged, and edit any cell that needs it. Nothing is final until you export.
- Export. Click Export, choose your format — CSV, XLSX, QBO, OFX or QFX — and pick where to save it. Open the result in Excel or Google Sheets, or import it into QuickBooks, Xero, Sage or Quicken.
Your statements stay on your computer. BankWriter reads every file locally and never uploads a statement. The only things it sends over the internet are licence checks, update checks and anonymous usage counters.
What do Reconciled and Needs review mean?
The review screen shows one of two things about the statement as a whole.
Reconciled means the lines BankWriter found agree with the totals printed on the statement itself. That is your assurance nothing was missed or misread, and it is the normal result.
Needs review means part of the statement could not be verified against those printed totals. The rows in question are highlighted so you can glance at them, correct anything that is off, and carry on. BankWriter would rather ask than hand you numbers that are quietly wrong.
Either way you stay in control: every date, description and amount is editable, and the totals update as you type.
A note on your first file
Pick a statement you already know well for your first run — a month you have reconciled by hand, or one where you remember the closing balance. Comparing a familiar file against the exported result is the fastest way to build confidence in the tool. After that, the review screen becomes a ten-second glance rather than a full audit.
Next
- Converting a statement, step by step — adding files, what happens while it works, and both outcomes in detail.
- The review screen: check and edit lines — editing cells, checking a line against the original page, and setting up the view you prefer.
Stuck mid-statement?
Email support@bankwriter.com or open a ticket from your account — we aim to reply within 5 business days, usually much sooner. Never send a client’s statement.