Cleanrow
Bank statement PDF to a QuickBooks Online CSV
When a bank feed is missing months, or an account was never connected, QuickBooks Online can take transactions from a CSV file you upload, as long as the file has the columns Intuit expects. Cleanrow turns a PDF statement into that CSV layout, after checking the rows against the statement's balances.
What QuickBooks Online expects
Intuit's help article "Format CSV files in Excel to get bank transactions into QuickBooks" describes two layouts for a bank upload:
| Layout | Columns | Amounts |
|---|---|---|
| 3 columns | Date, Description, Amount | One column: payments negative, deposits positive |
| 4 columns | Date, Description, Credit, Debit | Two columns, both without signs; the unused one left empty |
Both need every date in one consistent format; QuickBooks asks which format on upload. Cleanrow writes both layouts to those rules. It is meant for bookkeepers, small-business owners and anyone catching up on a QuickBooks Online file from statements rather than a live bank connection.
These files follow Intuit's documented layout, but no Cleanrow file has been test-imported into a live QuickBooks Online company yet. Check your first upload before relying on it, and tell me if anything lands wrong.
Step by step
- Open the converter and drop the PDF statement on Drop statements here, or click Choose files.
- Check the banner reads Verified. If it says Off by an amount, compare the highlighted rows with the PDF and fix them with Edit first: a wrong row uploaded to QuickBooks is harder to find later. How the check works.
- Check Type: Bank account or Credit card. It decides which way every amount goes.
- Under Download, choose QuickBooks Online CSV, 3 columns or QuickBooks Online CSV, 4 columns in Format.
- Pick the Date format:
MM/DD/YYYYunless you chooseDD/MM/YYYYorYYYY-MM-DD. Remember which; QuickBooks asks. - Click Download QuickBooks Online CSV, 3 columns (or …, 4 columns). The file is named after the statement, ending in
-quickbooks-3col.csvor-quickbooks-4col.csv. - In QuickBooks Online, upload the file to the matching bank or card account, following Intuit's upload instructions, and check the first few transactions against the statement.
What the file looks like
The first rows of real exports, made by the engine from a made-up test statement (the Copperfield Trust checking account ending 1544, 2025-01-01 to 2025-01-31). Three columns:
| Date | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2025 | Check 1650 | -1149.46 |
| 01/01/2025 | BRIGHTPATH ELECTRIC AUTOPAY WEB ID 437965622 | -237.18 |
| 01/02/2025 | HEARTH GAS CO AUTOPAY WEB ID 312706058 | -169.22 |
| 01/03/2025 | ONLINE TRANSFER TO SAVINGS XXXXXX9884 REF #IBXWDE4PUH | -572.25 |
| 01/03/2025 | ACH DEPOSIT ACORN DENTAL GROUP PAYROLL PPD ID: 2443433977 RECURRING TRACE 688597419335453 PINE CREST MN | 3966.81 |
The same rows in four columns:
| Date | Description | Credit | Debit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2025 | Check 1650 | 1149.46 | |
| 01/01/2025 | BRIGHTPATH ELECTRIC AUTOPAY WEB ID 437965622 | 237.18 | |
| 01/02/2025 | HEARTH GAS CO AUTOPAY WEB ID 312706058 | 169.22 | |
| 01/03/2025 | ONLINE TRANSFER TO SAVINGS XXXXXX9884 REF #IBXWDE4PUH | 572.25 | |
| 01/03/2025 | ACH DEPOSIT ACORN DENTAL GROUP PAYROLL PPD ID: 2443433977 RECURRING TRACE 688597419335453 PINE CREST MN | 3966.81 |
Descriptions are the statement's own text, in full. Amounts have two decimals and no currency symbol or thousands separator.
Bank statement to QBO: a note on file types
"QBO" means two things: QuickBooks Online, and the .qbo Web Connect file some banks offer for download. Cleanrow doesn't write .qbo or .qfx files. It writes the CSV layouts above, plus OFX for apps that import bank files. If you need a .qbo file specifically, this isn't the tool.
Common problems
Credit card signs
For a credit card, Cleanrow writes a purchase as negative and a payment or refund as positive, the same as for a bank account. Upload the file to the credit card account, and check that a purchase and a payment land the right way round on your first upload.
Wrong dates after upload
If January rows show up in March, QuickBooks read the dates in the other order. Upload again choosing the format you picked in Cleanrow, or download again in YYYY-MM-DD, which can't be read two ways.
A scanned statement
The web converter marks scans Needs OCR: there's no text in them to read. Cleanrow for Mac, coming to the Mac App Store, reads scans with the text recognition built into macOS. Or download the statement again from your bank's website, which usually gives a text PDF.
Checking and savings in one PDF
Cleanrow splits the statement into one per account, each with its own check and file, so each goes to its own account in QuickBooks.
A bank CSV instead of a PDF
If your bank already gives you a CSV but QuickBooks won't take it, add the CSV to the converter instead. Cleaning up a bank CSV shows how it maps the columns.
Your statement stays on your computer
The CSV is made in the browser tab from the PDF you add. Nothing is uploaded to White Hat Harbor, and Cleanrow never connects to QuickBooks or your bank; you upload the finished file yourself. The page may contact one outside address, Polar's license check, when you enter a pass key. See the privacy policy.
Limits
- Not yet test-imported into QuickBooks Online (above). QuickBooks Desktop isn't covered.
- PDFs with selectable text only; password-protected PDFs need a copy saved without the password.
- No categories, payees or matching rules: QuickBooks does that after the upload.
- Tested on generated statements in 25 layouts and a few publicly posted sample statements, not yet on statements from customers' banks.
- 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.