Banking technology has automated a great deal of bookkeeping However, anyone who has to work with financial records understands that automation isn’t always perfect. The feeds for banks aren’t working correctly, the historic transactions may be not available and clients could still send documents in PDF format. Someone has to transform a document meant to be read by information that accounting software actually works with.
Utilizing a bank statement converter can reduce the amount of repetitive work needed. Instead of manually entering dates or descriptions, withdrawals and deposits row-by-row, Docubrew converts information from the statement into structured spreadsheet-ready information.

Image credit: docubrew.com
When a PDF is deemed to be the missing piece
Imagine a bookkeeper who is preparing the year-end reconciliation for the first customer. The accounting platform contains recent transactions, however some old months are missing. Fortunately the client has downloaded the original PDF reports.
In the past, re-creating the months of those years would have required hours of copying and pasting numbers into a spreadsheet. A PDF bank statement to Excel workflow provides a more practical alternative. Docubrew can extract information about transactions from digital PDFs and scan bank statements made of paper.
For those who require moving a bank statement to Excel and reduce manual transcription also removes the chance of typing errors.
Keep the Pages That Actually Are Counting
Bank statements don’t consist exclusively of transactions. A 12-page document may include an introduction page, a account summary, disclosures or other notices and a few pages of actual bank activity.
Docubrew lets users view the document and then select the appropriate pages prior to conversion. It is much easier to convert statements from bank accounts to Excel because the contents that are not related to the bank account of the statements aren’t included in your work dataset.
After processing, the file can be opened in Excel or re-formatted to work with accounting platforms such as QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks.
CSV Allows for Flexible Accounting Workflow
CSV is still in use because it is supported by spreadsheets, databases, as well as accounting applications. Docubrew will convert your bank statements to CSV using the transaction tables contained in the statement.
This same process is used by firms to convert bank statements to CSV. It is useful whether reconstructing historical records, handling a cleanup project for new clients, researching missing transactions, or creating records for reconciliation.
Batch processing can be particularly valuable for accounting firms working through multiple statements or clients simultaneously.
Financial Documents require careful consideration of privacy restrictions
The convenience factor isn’t the only one to consider when processing financial records. Bookkeeping and accounting professionals could be concerned about the processing location as bank statements are confidential client data.
Docubrew offers two options. Windows desktop software is used to process files on the personal computer of the user, and the statements are not uploaded to be converted. Users who prefer browser-based workflows can opt for the encrypted cloud option, where the uploaded files are deleted automatically within 24 hours.
This choice is what separates Excel software, which relies solely on remote processing from the platform for bank statements.
Turning Document Archives Back Into Working Data
The PDF statement can be a useful record, but it’s inconvenient if you need to sort, reconcile, filter, or import transactions from other sources. Scanned files add an additional problem, since the transaction information is often only available as images.
Docubrew is a combination of statement parsing and OCR support for scanned documents that give bookkeepers, accountants and other businesses a feasible route from archived financial paperwork to usable transaction information.
The result is an improvement of a procedure which was previously cumbersome The bank statement is still used as the financial record that it was in the beginning, but its transaction table turns into information you can work with.

