BankStmt AI guide#
BankStmt extracts every transaction from your PDF bank and credit card statements into one ledger, checks that each statement adds up, pairs transfers between your accounts, surfaces recurring charges and exports CSVs for QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Before you start#
- Supported files: PDF statements (digital or scanned), up to 20 MB and 60 pages each, up to 20 statements per run.
- Cost: 1 credit per page.
- Results are checks, not guarantees: "Balance check passed" means the statement's own numbers add up. Verify before filing; categories are suggestions, not tax advice.
Quick start#
- Open a Google Sheet and click Extensions → BankStmt AI → Open BankStmt.
- Choose a category set: IRS Schedule C, QuickBooks standard or Xero standard.
- Enter your home currency (for example USD, GBP or INR).
- Tick Credit card for card statements, so purchases are recorded as money out.
- Click Select statement PDFs and pick your statements. Process them oldest first for the best continuity check.
What gets written#
Statement Ledger tab#
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Date, Description | As printed |
| Amount | Money in is positive, money out is negative |
| Currency, Home amount | Statement currency, plus the amount in your home currency |
| Suggested category | From the category set you chose |
| Transfer | Possible (looks like a transfer) or Matched (paired with another account) |
| Running balance | If printed on the statement |
| Statement, Account | Which statement and account each row came from |
| Review Status | Needs review / Verified / Ignored |
| Source file | A chip linking to the PDF |
Statements tab#
One row per statement: institution, account, period, opening and closing balance, number of transactions, Balance check and Continuity.
The checks#
- Balance check. Opening balance + all transactions is compared with the closing balance. If it fails, every row from that statement is marked Needs review, with the difference in a note.
- Running-balance check. When the statement prints a running balance, each row is checked against the previous one. The exact row where it breaks is flagged, which usually points to a missed or misread line.
- Continuity. Each statement's opening balance is compared with the previous statement's closing balance for the same account. Gap means a statement may be missing.
- Suspicious text. Statements containing text aimed at an AI are flagged in full.
Transfers between your accounts#
When you have statements for several accounts (for example checking and a credit card), click Match transfers. Money out of one account and the same amount into another account within 3 days is marked Matched, so a card payment isn't counted as both an expense and income. Matched rows are skipped by subscription detection.
Subscriptions and price rises#
Click Find subscriptions & price rises. The Detected Subscriptions tab lists merchants charging weekly, monthly or yearly, with how many charges were seen, the last amount, the yearly cost and any price rise over 7%. This runs on the ledger already in your sheet and uses no credits.
In the Action column choose Keep, Cancel or Track in ContractSentinel. Rows marked Track in ContractSentinel can be imported by ContractSentinel in the same spreadsheet, so you get renewal alerts for them.
Export to QuickBooks or Xero#
- Pick an account (or All accounts) and a format: - QuickBooks (3 columns): Date, Description, Amount - QuickBooks (4 columns): Date, Description, Credit, Debit - Xero: Date, Amount, Payee, Description, Reference
- Click Export CSV. A new tab is created and a CSV file is saved in your Drive.
- Import the CSV into your accounting tool's bank feed.
Rows marked Ignored are left out of exports.
Currency conversion#
If a statement isn't in your home currency, the Home amount column uses the European Central Bank reference rate for each transaction date (the previous business day for weekends). Foreign-currency card purchases are already converted by your bank, and that figure is what appears in Amount.
Permissions#
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| This spreadsheet | Write the ledger and notes |
| Files you pick or create | Read statements; save CSV exports |
| Your email | Identify your account and credits |
| Connect to external services | Send statements to our server for reading |
Troubleshooting#
- Balance check failed: open the source PDF and compare the flagged running-balance row. Multi-column layouts and statements with separate "pending" sections are the usual cause.
- Card statement signs look reversed: tick Credit card before processing.
- Continuity says Gap: a month is missing, or two accounts share the same last four digits.
More fixes in Troubleshooting.