Import a bank statement into Xero in Ireland
Xero Central and the Xero Ireland page differ on PDF imports. The CSV that Xero Central documents, and the ExtractPro options that write it.
An Irish organisation in Xero can load bank lines from a feed or from a file, and on the subject of a PDF the two Xero pages that matter give different answers. Xero can load a CSV, which ExtractPro writes from the PDF. This guide sets the two pages side by side, quotes what Xero Ireland says about the history a feed can pull, lists what Xero asks of a CSV and goes through the ExtractPro options that produce one.
Two Xero pages, two answers on PDF
The Xero Central article on importing a PDF bank statement opens its answer with “PDF bank statement imports are currently only available in Xero organizations in Canada and the United States.” It also leans towards another format: “If your bank has the option to export statements in OFX format, we recommend using this format over PDF.” Source: Xero Central, Import a PDF bank statement, central.xero.com/s/article/Import-a-PDF-bank-statement, accessed 10 October 2026.
The Xero Ireland page on connecting a bank puts it another way: “Just export them from your online banking in OFX, QIF, QBO, QFX or CSV format or download a PDF, then upload the file into Xero”. Source: Xero Ireland, Connect your bank, www.xero.com/ie/accounting-software/connect-your-bank/, accessed 10 October 2026.
The two pages say different things, and this guide does not try to settle which of them applies to your organisation. It follows the CSV route that Xero Central documents, since that article sets out both the requirements for the file and the import steps.
What Xero Ireland says about bank feeds
On feeds, the Xero Ireland page says “When setting up an automated bank feed in Xero, you’ll be given the option to pull historical transaction data from the past 90 days or up to 2 years, depending on the bank.” The same page names file formats for the other route: “Export bank data from your online banking in OFX, QIF, QBO, QFX, or CSV formats”. A period that a feed does not bring in can come from a file, and a CSV written from the statement is one way to make that file. Source: Xero Ireland, Connect your bank, www.xero.com/ie/accounting-software/connect-your-bank/, accessed 10 October 2026.
What Xero requires of the CSV file
- Date and amount: “You only need the Date and Amount fields to create bank statement lines, but reconciling your transactions is easier if you include more detail.”
- Sign: “Show income as positive amounts and expenses as negative amounts using a negative sign in front of the amount or with brackets, for example -30.00 or (30.00). Don't use commas to show decimal places.”
- Date format: Xero’s example is “DD/MM/YYYY (eg 15/01/2023)”.
- Balances: the article also names “Columns containing opening and closing balances, as Xero calculates the bank balance from the transactions”, which the options below leave out.
- Size: “You can’t import a CSV file with more than 100,000 rows.”
Source: Xero Central, Import a CSV bank statement, central.xero.com/s/article/Import-a-CSV-bank-statement, accessed 10 October 2026.
Choosing the ExtractPro options
Start from a statement that has already been converted and set the panel as follows:
- 1Open Output format, choose See more formats or customise, then pick Custom.
- 2Under File type choose CSV.
- 3Under Date format choose DD/MM/YYYY (15/01/2026), the order of Xero’s own example.
- 4Under Amounts choose Single column (signed): money in is positive and money out negative, in one column.
- 5Under Include balance leave Add Balance column unticked, and leave Categories unticked too, so that every line is a date, a description and an amount.
- 6Set CSV separator to Comma (,) and Number format to Decimal point, no separator (1234.56), which writes 1234.56 with no thousands separator.
- 7Click Apply format and download the CSV.
Loading it into Xero
Xero Central’s CSV article sets out the import. It starts with “In the Accounting menu, select Bank accounts.” For the account the lines belong to, the instruction is “For the bank account you want to import your file into, click the menu icon”, followed by “then select Import a Statement.” If Xero shows a date prompt, the article says “If prompted, select the date format used in your bank statement”; choose DD/MM/YYYY there, to match the ExtractPro option. The sequence ends with “Click Complete import.” Source: Xero Central, Import a CSV bank statement, central.xero.com/s/article/Import-a-CSV-bank-statement, accessed 10 October 2026.
Read the CSV against the statement before you import it: the same transactions, and a total that matches the movement in the period. Once Xero shows the lines, set them beside the statement one more time.
Frequently asked questions
The questions that come up most:
Frequently asked questions
Does Xero in Ireland accept a PDF bank statement?
Xero’s pages differ. Xero Central says “PDF bank statement imports are currently only available in Xero organizations in Canada and the United States.”, while the Xero Ireland page says “or download a PDF, then upload the file into Xero”. The CSV that ExtractPro can write from your PDF follows the route Xero Central documents.
How much history can a Xero feed bring in for an Irish bank?
Xero Ireland describes the choice as “the past 90 days or up to 2 years, depending on the bank”. For a period outside what the feed returns, the CSV route is one way to load the statement.
Which amount setting matches Xero’s rule on income and expenses?
Under Amounts, pick Single column (signed): ExtractPro puts a minus sign on each payment out and leaves each receipt unsigned, all in the one column Xero wants. The requirement in the article reads “Show income as positive amounts and expenses as negative amounts”.
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