What bank statement formats are supported?
This article explains which bank statement formats are supported by ExpensePlus, how to manually enter bank transactions and how to upload bank transactions from a bank statement download.
In this article:
Bank transactions & ExpensePlus
ExpensePlus works with all bank accounts!
ExpensePlus can connect to many banks via Open banking, which can provide you with:
- Automated import of bank transactions, removing the need to upload transactions
- Provide an easier way to keep track of recent financial activity within your bank accounts
- Simplify the financial process flow making it easier to reconcile transactions in real time
- View up-to-date account balances within ExpensePlus
Not all bank accounts are covered by open banking. In most cases, this is because the banks themselves are yet to opt in to open banking.
All major banks are covered, along with many other smaller banks and financial institutions. To find out more, please see our HelpGuide article Overview of Open Banking
The most efficient way to reconcile your account transactions if you don't or can't connect your bank account to Open Banking, is to log in to your online banking and export statements in .CSV or .XLS format.
These file formats are spreadsheet files compatible with Excel and are a common export format used by most banks.
Your bank may also allow you to export as .PDF, however this is not suitable for data import purposes.
All banks should offer the .CSV or .XLS option to download transactions from online banking, so if you think this is not available for you, we'd recommend that you contact your bank to ask. If these options aren't available (perhaps for savings accounts where you have a physical or PDF statement), you will need to manually import the bank transactions to ExpensePlus.
Manual Entry
ExpensePlus does offer an option to manually upload transactions within ExpensePlus, however, this is far more time-consuming and has an increased risk of human error (due to the nature of manual data entry).
If you need to use the 'Manual Upload' function, you can find it within the Bank Reconciliation screen by clicking 'Upload Transactions' and then choosing the 'Upload Manually' option at the bottom of the pop-up.
Upload from .CSV or .XLS (online banking export)
There is no need to modify the bank statement you download from your bank (and indeed we recommend that you don't!) The first time you upload a statement into ExpensePlus, you will be asked to select the column format for that statement, which is then remembered for that bank account for your future imports.
On the Bank Reconciliation screen, select 'Upload Transactions'.
Select the file you wish to upload by clicking 'Choose File' and finding it in the file browser, then select 'Upload File'.
Select the number of header rows (this should include any blank lines, other lines, and header lines), select the column headers (selecting any columns not needed as 'Not required'), and check the date format of the first transaction in the spreadsheet is displaying correctly.
Example
The transaction data in this file begins on row 2, so the number of header rows should be set as '1'
(had the transaction data begun on row 8, the number of header rows would need to be set as '7')
Column A = Date, Column B = Description, Column C = Paid In amount, Column D = Paid Out amount
If your bank displays a combined Paid In/Out column, (where columns C&D are combined with positive and negative figures) then you can select this option within ExpensePlus.
To upload a statement you will need to import a date column, a description column, and either a combined Paid In/Out column (with positive and negative figures), or the two separated columns 'Paid In' and 'Paid Out'. You will also need to check that the date format is correct depending on whether your bank account exports using DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY date formatting.
The column selected as 'Description' should be the column that is the 'most descriptive' i.e. it displays the supplier/payee/donor name
ExpensePlus doesn't require you to select a 'Balance' column, because ExpensePlus calculates the balance based on the opening bank balance set for this account, and the transactions that have been uploaded. This calculated balance is displayed when you upload a statement into ExpensePlus, and it should match your actual bank statement balance. If it doesn't match, it means you have done something incorrectly e.g. you've not set your opening balance correctly, or double imported one or more transactions, or missed transactions from your import. You will need to fix any such issue right away before continuing. To find out more about this, please read this help guide article.
To better understand the Bank Reconciliation module, please view the module overview video here.