How to verify a converted bank statement

Start with a balance check

For chequing and savings, opening balance + credits − debits should equal closing balance. This synthetic statement opens at 100.00, receives 50.00 and spends 20.00, so it closes at 130.00.

Synthetic example — invented transactions, no customer or account information.

Date,Description,Debit,Credit,Balance
2026-09-02,SYNTHETIC DEPOSIT,,50.00,150.00
2026-09-03,SYNTHETIC PURCHASE,20.00,,130.00

If the 20.00 purchase is missing, the extracted rows imply 150.00, which differs from the PDF's 130.00. Look for missing rows, merged descriptions, page breaks or a debit placed in Credit; do not add a balancing transaction that is absent from the PDF.

For a credit card, use opening balance owed + debits − credits. The credit-card guide explains the different balance convention.

Understand a check that can still pass

Illustrative failure case: a separate synthetic statement also contains a 50.00 deposit and a 50.00 purchase. Omitting both changes neither its net movement nor its closing balance, but loses two transactions. This is why a reconciled total is not a complete accuracy claim.

A purchase assigned to the wrong date or given another merchant's description can likewise leave balances unchanged. Review the statement period and the source row, not just the final number. The examples here explain failure mechanisms; they are not a measured success rate.

Use a row-by-row checklist

1. Confirm the account type, currency and statement period. Check opening and closing balances directly in the PDF, including whether a card figure means balance owed.
2. Compare the first and last transaction on every page. Check continuation lines and repeated page headers; do not count an opening balance as a transaction.
3. Check each date, description, debit, credit and available running balance. Missing is not zero; correct only what the source can prove.
4. Inspect flags and the reconciliation difference in the review screen. Recheck after corrections and keep unresolved values marked for review.
5. Before using an export, inspect its columns and sign convention. The CSV layout guide shows both layouts; XLSX carries additional review information.

Some rejected documents are outside the supported input scope, rather than fixable by row edits. For image-only PDFs, start with the text PDF guide and obtain the original statement download.