Bills AI

How do I check that a converted bank statement CSV matches the original PDF?

Compare totals and counts, not just a few rows. Add up the debit and credit columns and compare them with the statement's totals, check that opening balance plus credits minus debits equals the closing balance, count the rows page by page, and review any lines the converter says it left out. Converters can misplace values, so always check.

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Steps

  1. Read the converter's warnings and its list of lines left out. Confirm that only totals, balances, headings and footers were dropped.
  2. Count the rows and compare them with the number of transactions in the PDF, page by page. Look at the first and last row of each page for a duplicated or missing line.
  3. Add up the Debit and Credit columns, or the signed Amount column, and compare the sums with the totals printed on the statement.
  4. Check that the opening balance plus credits minus debits equals the closing balance. Opening and closing rows are left out of the CSV, so copy those figures from the PDF.
  5. Spot-check rows with long or wrapped descriptions and any row with an empty Debit or Credit cell.
  6. Open the file in your spreadsheet and confirm that dates, decimal commas, currency symbols, CR suffixes and long reference numbers were read as you expect.

When this will not work

  • Matching totals do not prove every row is right, because two misplaced values can cancel out. Spot-check rows as well as totals.
  • If the statement prints no totals, you can only compare balances and row counts.
  • Dates printed without a year stay without a year, so they need adding by hand.

Related

Frequently asked questions

Why should I check a converted statement at all?

Statement layouts vary, and any converter or AI extraction can misplace a value or drop a row. Checking against the original is the only way to know that a particular file came out right.

Does the converter validate the output against my totals?

No. The output is not validated against the totals on your statement, so you need to do that comparison yourself.

What if the totals do not match?

Look for rows listed in the lines left out, rows with an empty Debit or Credit cell, and the first and last rows of each page. If you cannot find the cause, enter the affected rows by hand from the PDF.

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