How to import a bank statement into Sage Accounting

When you need to import a statement into Sage

You import a statement when there is no bank feed for the period you need. That is common in four situations.

• No feed for your bank. Some banks and newer accounts aren’t available as feeds in Sage.
• History before the feed. A new feed starts from its connection date. Earlier months exist only as PDF statements.
• Year-end catch-up. A sole trader or small company starting Sage mid-year needs every month since the start of the accounting period.
• A broken or paused feed. Feeds sometimes stop. The statement for the gap fills it.

Each case starts with a PDF from online banking. Sage needs a data file, so the first job is turning the PDF into CSV.

Which file types Sage Accounting accepts

Sage Accounting imports CSV, XLS and XLSX spreadsheets as well as OFX and QIF statement files. Sage UK staff also list BAI2 and CAMT.053, which some business banks provide. PDF is not on the list.

Format	Headers to match	Good for
CSV or XLSX	Yes, Sage expects specific headers	Any bank, and checking rows first
OFX	No, fields are fixed	Avoiding header problems
QIF	No	Older exports; fewer fields

If you only have a PDF, convert it to CSV. If the header step keeps failing, download the same statement as OFX from BankConv instead and import that.

Step 1: Convert the PDF statement to CSV

Download the monthly PDF from online banking, then convert it. BankConv reads the transaction table and gives you one row per transaction.

1. Upload the PDF to BankConv’s bank statement to CSV converter. Password-protected PDFs work.
2. Compare the extracted rows on screen with the PDF.
3. Download the CSV. A free account is needed to download.

UK statements usually print separate Paid out and Paid in columns, plus a running Balance. Your file keeps those columns. Step 2 reshapes them. The Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest pages show what each bank’s columns look like.

Step 2: Match the file to Sage’s example file

Sage wants a CSV or Excel file with specific column headers. The safest route is to copy your data into Sage’s own example file instead of guessing the header names.

1. In Sage, start an import (Step 3) and open the file import guide on the import screen. It explains the layout and offers example files to download.
2. Download the example file that matches your layout, for example one amount column or separate money in and money out columns.
3. Paste your Date, Description and amount columns under Sage’s headers. Keep Sage’s header row exactly as it is.
4. Delete title lines, account numbers, opening and closing balance rows, and any page totals.
5. Remove currency symbols and thousand separators: 1234.56, not £1,234.56.
6. Save as CSV UTF-8, or keep it as XLSX.

If you use one amount column, make money out negative. In Excel, =PaidIn-PaidOut (for example =D2-C2) builds a signed amount from two columns. Treat blank cells as zero.

Step 3: Import the statement in Sage

The import starts from the bank account on the Banking page. Sage asks for a few extra details the first time you import into an account.

1. Go to Banking.
2. On the bank account, open Actions and choose Import from bank statement.
3. In Source, choose the bank account the statement belongs to.
4. Drag and drop the file, or select it. Add a comment, such as Barclays current Sep 2026, so you can find the import later.
5. Select Review transactions.
6. Choose the date order your file uses. For UK statements that is day, month, year.
7. Check the list. Each line shows as money in or money out. If they are reversed, select Switch transaction types.
8. Select Confirm import.

Imported lines then wait in the bank account for you to match or create transactions, the same as feed transactions. Sage’s wording on screens changes from time to time, so look for the closest match if a label differs.

Common Sage import errors and fixes

Most failed imports come from headers, dates or signs. Check them in that order.

What you see	Cause	Fix
File rejected or columns not recognised	Headers don’t match Sage’s	Paste data into Sage’s example file under its headers
Dates in the wrong month	Wrong date order chosen	Choose day-month-year for UK files, or use YYYY-MM-DD
Payments shown as receipts	Signs reversed	Use Switch transaction types, or rebuild the amount as =PaidIn-PaidOut
Amounts imported as zero	£, commas or text in the amount	Keep digits, a minus sign and a decimal point only
First line is a transaction called “Date”	Extra header line or title rows	Leave one header row only
Lines duplicate the feed	File overlaps dates the feed loaded	Trim the file to the missing dates

The date trap. 03/09/2026 is 3 September in the UK but March 9 in the US. If every day in the file is 12 or under, a wrong date order can import without an error. Spot-check three transactions against the PDF after each import.

Check the import against the statement

Sage won’t tell you that a row is missing, so check it yourself before you reconcile.

1. Count rows. Transactions on the PDF should equal lines imported.
2. Check totals. Sum money in and money out. Compare them with the statement’s summary box.
3. Check the balance chain. Opening balance plus money in minus money out should equal the closing balance on the PDF.

If a total is off, sort by date and compare page by page. A missing row usually sits at a page break.

Tips for bookkeepers with several Sage clients

A fixed routine makes month-end faster and mistakes easier to undo.

• Keep a filled-in copy of Sage’s example file per client and bank, and paste each new month into it.
• Import one month per file, in date order, with a clear comment on each import.
• Convert a whole quarter at once: BankConv takes up to 10 PDFs in a batch. See pricing for monthly page allowances.
• Uploaded files and outputs are deleted after 24 hours. See security for details.
• For other software, see how to import a bank statement into Xero.