How-to
How to convert a scanned bank statement to Excel
A scanned statement is a picture of a page. There is no text inside it to copy, so ordinary converters return nothing or garbage. OCR reads the picture instead. Here's how to get a clean spreadsheet out of it, and how to know whether the rows are right.
Updated · 5 min read
Text PDF or scan: how to tell
Statements come in two kinds of PDF. A text PDF is the file your online banking generates: the words and numbers are stored as text, so a converter can read them exactly. A scanned PDF is a photo of paper wrapped in a PDF: every page is one image, and the numbers are pixels.
- Try to select a number. Open the PDF and drag across an amount. If it highlights as text, it is a text PDF. If the whole page highlights as one box, or nothing highlights, it is a scan.
- Search for a word you can see. Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac) for a payee name. No match on a word that is plainly there means a scan.
- Think about where it came from. Paper statements run through a scanner, statements a bank posted and someone photocopied, and older statements requested from a branch are usually scans.
If you can download the same statement from online banking, do that first. A text PDF needs no OCR and converts exactly. See how to convert a bank statement PDF to Excel. Use OCR when the scan is all you have.
What OCR does with a scanned statement
OCR (optical character recognition) looks at the page image and works out which characters are printed where. A statement converter then has to do the same job it does on a text PDF: find the columns, join wrapped descriptions, fill in dates printed once per day, and decide which numbers are money in and which are money out.
The difference is that OCR can misread a character. A smudged 8 becomes a 3, a 0 becomes an O, a decimal point disappears. On a statement, one wrong digit is one wrong transaction. That is why the result has to be checked against the numbers the bank printed, not just eyeballed.
Converting a scanned statement with Signavos, step by step
- Create a free account or sign in, and open Statements in the dashboard.
- Upload the scanned PDF, the same way you would upload any statement. Signavos detects scanned pages on its own and reads them with OCR. Statements that mix text pages and scanned pages work too.
- Wait for the OCR to finish. Reading images takes longer than reading text, so a scanned statement takes longer than a downloaded one.
- Check the free preview. Rows read by OCR carry a Read by OCR label, and every page shows its balance result: ✅ ties out or ⚠️ does not.
- Convert with credits and download Excel (XLSX), CSV, or OFX/QBO for QuickBooks and Xero.
A scanned statement can have up to 30 pages. Uploaded statements and the files made from them are deleted automatically after 24 hours.
Where the OCR runs
Many OCR tools send your file to a third-party OCR service to be read. Signavos doesn't. The OCR runs on Signavos's own servers, so no outside OCR provider ever sees your statement. For a document that lists every payment you made, that matters. More on this in is OCR accurate for bank statements?
What you get, and how OCR rows are marked
The output has the same columns as any other Signavos conversion: date, description, debit, credit, signed amount, running balance and the page each row came from. Rows read by OCR are marked so you never confuse them with rows read from text:
| Output | OCR rows |
|---|---|
| Preview | Labelled "Read by OCR", with the page number |
| Excel (XLSX) | Each OCR row carries a note telling you to check it against the statement |
| Conversion certificate | Lists which pages were read by OCR |
| CSV, OFX, QBO | No label. These files go into accounting software, so they stay clean for import |
Getting a good result from a scan
OCR reads clear, flat, straight pages best. If you are scanning the paper yourself:
- Scan at 300 DPI. Lower resolutions blur small digits; much higher adds file size without helping.
- Keep the page straight. A page fed in at an angle reads worse than a square one.
- Avoid shadows and folds. Flatten creased statements under the scanner lid.
- Skip the highlighter. Marks over amounts are the first thing OCR misreads.
- Scan every page in order, including the last page with the closing balance. The balance check needs it.
If all you have is a phone, that works too: see how to convert a bank statement photo or screenshot to Excel.
What it costs
A scanned page costs one credit, because reading it with OCR is far more work than reading a text PDF (one credit per started block of 10 pages). Two rules keep that fair:
- Pages that fail the balance check are not charged.
- Scanned pages OCR cannot verify are free. If a page has no printed balance to check the OCR rows against, you are not charged for it.
Every new account also gets one free conversion, and it covers a scanned statement just as well as a text PDF. No subscription either way.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you convert a scanned bank statement to Excel?
- Yes. A scanned statement is read with OCR, which turns the page image into text, and the converter builds the transaction rows from that. Check the result against the printed balances before you rely on it.
- Why does my converter say my PDF has no text?
- Because the PDF is a scan: each page is an image, not text. A converter without OCR has nothing to read. Use one that runs OCR on scanned pages, or download a text PDF from online banking instead.
- Is OCR as reliable as a downloaded PDF statement?
- No. A text PDF is read exactly; OCR can misread characters, especially on blurry or skewed scans. That is why every OCR row is labelled and checked against the balances on the statement.
- Is my scanned statement sent to an outside OCR service?
- Not with Signavos. The OCR runs on Signavos's own servers, and the statement and its output are deleted after 24 hours.
- Can I convert a scanned statement for free?
- Your first conversion on a new account is free, scanned or not. The preview is always free, and scanned pages OCR cannot verify are never charged.
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