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Prepare Bank Statement CSV for Xero

Last reviewed: 2026-11-06

Prepare a bank statement CSV for Xero: use one Date and one signed Amount column, delete balance columns and empty rows, and keep it at 100,000 rows or fewer.

What Xero needs from a CSV bank statement

Xero creates bank statement lines from two fields: Date and Amount. Both income and expenses go in the same Amount column, with income as positive amounts and expenses as negative amounts. Write negative amounts as -30.00 or (30.00), and do not use commas as decimal separators. A CSV cannot have more than 100,000 rows.

  • Date: required. Keep one date column and check the first rows after import.
  • Amount: required. One signed column covering both money in and money out.
  • Payee, Description and Reference: optional. Description imports into Particulars, and an exact Payee match helps Xero reconcile the line.

Delete these before you import

Remove opening and closing balance columns because Xero calculates the bank balance from the transactions. Also delete the bank account number column, empty rows and duplicate headers. Check for duplicate transactions before saving the file.

Turn debit and credit into one signed Amount

If your exported CSV still has separate Debit and Credit columns, add one Amount column and set Amount = Credit − Debit. Money out (debit) becomes negative and money in (credit) becomes positive. Delete the Debit, Credit and Balance columns, then save the file as CSV. When you export from Accounter, choose the built-in Accounter preset (Date + Amount, Balance off) or turn on combine Debit/Credit into Amount to produce this Xero-shaped CSV directly.

Dates, optional fields and the row limit

FNB statements print dates as DD/MM/YYYY, so keep a single Date column in that format and check the first imported rows. If Xero does not read a date correctly, export the same dates as YYYY-MM-DD. Payee, Description and Reference are optional, but Xero can only import a CSV with 100,000 rows or fewer.

Import the CSV into Xero

In Xero, go to Accounting → Bank accounts → ⋮ → Import a Statement, choose the account, upload the CSV and map the Date and Amount columns. Xero’s PDF bank statement import is only available to organisations in Canada and the United States, so South African organisations need CSV, OFX or another supported file. Accounter does not connect to Xero directly; it exports the reviewed CSV that you import.

Start with the FNB statement page

For FNB, the bank-specific page explains PDF download, Xero-shaped export from Accounter and the FNB Xero bank feed. Use the CSV prep steps here for any South African bank statement.

  • The FNB statement to CSV page covers FNB-specific output and bank feed facts.
  • The South African converter hub lists the other bank-specific pages.
  • The bank statement to Xero page explains the reviewed-CSV import workflow.

Sources

Checked 6 November 2026.

Related bank statement pages

Frequently asked questions

What columns does Xero need in a bank statement CSV?
Xero only needs Date and Amount to create bank statement lines. Put income and expenses in one signed Amount column: income positive and expenses negative. Payee, Description and Reference are optional, and a CSV cannot have more than 100,000 rows.
Should I keep the balance column for Xero?
No. Delete opening and closing balance columns because Xero calculates the bank balance from the transactions. Also remove the bank account number and empty rows before import.
How do I combine debit and credit for Xero?
Add one Amount column and set Amount = Credit − Debit. Debits (money out) become negative and credits (money in) become positive, then delete the Debit, Credit and Balance columns.
Can Xero import an FNB PDF bank statement?
Not for a South African organisation. Xero’s PDF bank statement import is only available to organisations in Canada and the United States (Xero Central, as of 6 November 2026). Convert the FNB PDF to CSV and import that instead.
Which date format should an FNB CSV use for Xero?
FNB statements print dates as DD/MM/YYYY. Keep one Date column in that format and check the first rows after import; if Xero does not read a date correctly, export the same dates as YYYY-MM-DD.
Does Accounter connect to Xero directly?
No. Accounter does not connect to Xero directly. It converts the bank statement PDF to CSV and you import the reviewed file through Xero’s bank statement import.