How to convert a bank statement PDF to Excel (without uploading it)

Why not just upload it?

A bank statement is one of the most personal files you own. It shows your name and address, your account number and sort code, who pays you, and where you spend money. Most free converters work by uploading the file to their own server, converting it there and sending the result back. Even when a site promises to delete files after an hour, the statement has still left your device.

Altto’s tools run in your browser tab instead. The PDF is opened and turned into a spreadsheet on your own computer or phone, so there is no copy anywhere else to worry about.

First, check whether your bank gives you a spreadsheet already

Most online banking lets you export recent transactions as a CSV file, which opens straight in Excel. Look for “Export”, “Download transactions” or a CSV option on the transactions page. That is the cleanest route for the last few months.

Converting the PDF is the answer when you only have the statement itself: older months your bank no longer lists, a closed account, a statement a landlord or mortgage broker sent you, or a bank that only offers PDFs.

How to convert a bank statement PDF to Excel

1. Get the PDF from online banking. A statement downloaded from your bank is a text PDF, which converts well. A photo or scan of a paper statement won’t (see the questions below).
2. Unlock it if it asks for a password. Some banks protect statement PDFs. Open Unlock PDF, enter the password you already have, and save an unlocked copy.
3. Open PDF to Excel and add the statement. Drag it in or tap to choose it. Nothing is uploaded.
4. Choose “Combine into one sheet”. You get one long list of transactions instead of one sheet per page, which is easier to sort and total.
5. Press Convert to Excel and open the file that downloads.

Altto places each piece of text in a column by where it sits on the page. So a line with nothing under “Paid in” still has its amount under “Paid out” and its balance under “Balance”, rather than everything sliding one column to the left. Amounts such as 1,228.74 arrive as real numbers, so Excel can add them up straight away.

Tidy the sheet in two minutes

• Remove the extra rows. The top of the sheet holds the bank’s name and your account details, and each page starts with a “-- Page N --” marker and repeats the column headings. Turn on a filter (Data › Filter), untick those rows in the Date column, and delete them.
• Join wrapped descriptions. If a long payee name ran onto a second line in the PDF, it appears as its own row. Copy it onto the line above and delete the spare row.
• Turn the dates into dates. Dates come through as text, exactly as printed. To sort by date in Excel, select the column and use Data › Text to Columns, then Finish: Excel turns most printed dates into real dates. If one won’t convert, =DATEVALUE(A2) in a spare column usually will, in Excel and Google Sheets alike.

Check the numbers

Before you rely on the spreadsheet, check one sum against the statement: opening balance + total paid in − total paid out = closing balance. Use =SUM() on the Paid in and Paid out columns. If the result matches the closing balance printed on the statement, nothing has been missed or doubled. If it doesn’t, the usual cause is a wrapped line or a repeated heading row that still holds a number.

What people use it for

• Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital. Sort business income and costs into categories. Altto’s MTD Spreadsheet Maker gives you a records workbook with HMRC’s categories to paste them into.
• Budgeting. Sort by payee to see what you really spend on food, travel or subscriptions.
• Mortgage, rental or benefit applications. Pull out the lines you need to explain, such as regular income or large payments.

Common questions