Cleanrow
Convert a PDF bank statement to Excel
Copying a statement out of a PDF into Excel by hand mangles columns and takes an evening. Cleanrow reads the PDF in your browser and gives you an Excel workbook (.xlsx) with one row per transaction, real dates and real numbers, after checking the rows against the statement's own balances.
Why an XLSX file and not a CSV
Excel opens CSV files too, but it converts each value as it opens the file, using your computer's regional settings. A date like 03/04/2025 can become 3 April or 4 March depending on the machine, and some values turn into text that won't add up. An XLSX file stores each cell's type: a date is a date and an amount is a number, whoever opens it. That matters when the workbook goes to someone else, like a bookkeeper, an accountant or a lender who asked for transactions in Excel.
If the next step is an accounting app rather than a spreadsheet, a CSV or the QuickBooks Online CSV layout is usually the better choice.
Step by step
- Open the converter and drop the PDF on Drop statements here, or click Choose files.
- Check what Cleanrow read: Type (bank account or credit card), the account, the period, the opening and closing balances, and the rows.
- Read the banner. Verified means every transaction adds up from the opening to the closing balance; Off by an amount lists the rows to compare with the PDF (see the balance check). Fix a flagged row with Edit.
- Under Download, choose Excel (XLSX) in Format and click Download Excel (XLSX).
Several statements at once? Add them all. They can be merged into one sheet, oldest first, with the file each row came from.
What the workbook looks like
One sheet. The first rows as Excel shows them, from a real export of a made-up test statement (the Copperfield Trust checking account ending 1544, 2025-01-01 to 2025-01-31):
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date | Description | Amount | Balance |
| 2 | 2025-01-01 | Check 1650 | -1,149.46 | 2,456.63 |
| 3 | 2025-01-01 | BRIGHTPATH ELECTRIC AUTOPAY WEB ID 437965622 | -237.18 | 2,219.45 |
| 4 | 2025-01-02 | HEARTH GAS CO AUTOPAY WEB ID 312706058 | -169.22 | 2,050.23 |
| 5 | 2025-01-03 | ONLINE TRANSFER TO SAVINGS XXXXXX9884 REF #IBXWDE4PUH | -572.25 | 1,477.98 |
| 6 | 2025-01-03 | ACH DEPOSIT ACORN DENTAL GROUP PAYROLL PPD ID: 2443433977 RECURRING TRACE 688597419335453 PINE CREST MN | 3,966.81 | 5,444.79 |
What two of those cells actually hold:
| Cell | Holds | Shows as |
|---|---|---|
| A2 | the date number 45658 | 2025-01-01 |
| C2 | the number -1149.46 | -1,149.46 |
- Dates are real dates, shown as year-month-day. Change the cell format to show them any way you like; sorting and filtering by date just works.
- Amounts are numbers with two decimals and a thousands separator. Money out is negative and money in is positive (on a credit card, a purchase is negative and a payment positive), so
=SUM(C:C)gives the net change over the period. - The header row is bold and frozen, so it stays put while you scroll.
Common problems
A scanned statement
If the converter marks a file Needs OCR, the PDF is a picture of the statement with no text to read. The web converter doesn't do OCR. Cleanrow for Mac, coming to the Mac App Store, reads scanned statements with the text recognition built into macOS. A fresh download from your bank's website usually has real text.
Several accounts in one PDF
Checking and savings in one statement come out as one statement per account, each with its own tab, balance check and workbook. The free download covers every account in your first file.
A credit card statement
Card statements work the same way. Cleanrow decides bank or card from words only card statements print (a credit limit, a minimum payment, a payment due date). If Type shows the wrong one, switch it: it flips every sign, and the balance check can't tell the two apart because the balances flip too.
Rows that don't add up
The banner names the rows where the running balance stops agreeing with the statement. Compare them with the PDF, fix them with Edit, and the check runs again before you download.
Your statement stays on your computer
The workbook is built in the browser tab from the PDF you add; nothing is uploaded, and nothing from your statement is kept after you close the tab. The only outside address the page may contact is Polar's license check, when you enter a pass key. See the privacy policy.
Limits
- PDFs with selectable text only. Password-protected PDFs need a copy saved without the password.
- One sheet of transactions; no charts, categories or pivot tables.
- Tested on generated statements in 25 layouts and a few publicly posted sample statements, not yet on statements from customers' banks. Every statement is balance-checked so a misread shows up.
- Your first file downloads free, in every format. After that, a 7-day pass ($12, paid once) covers every statement for seven days.
The 7-day pass isn't on sale yet. Until it is, the free download of your first file works as described.