Import a bank statement into Xero in South Africa
Two Xero pages answer the PDF question differently. The CSV that Xero Central documents for bank statements, and the ExtractPro options that write it.
A South African organisation in Xero can fill a bank account from a feed or from a file, and for a PDF the two Xero pages that apply do not agree. Xero can load a CSV, which ExtractPro writes from the PDF. Below you will find the two pages side by side, the history Xero South Africa says a feed can pull, the requirements Xero sets for a CSV, and the ExtractPro options that give one.
Xero Central and Xero South Africa on PDF
Xero Central’s article on importing a PDF bank statement says “PDF bank statement imports are currently only available in Xero organizations in Canada and the United States.” It also says “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 11 October 2026.
The Xero page for South Africa on connecting a bank words it differently: “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 South Africa, Connect your bank, www.xero.com/za/accounting-software/connect-your-bank/, accessed 11 October 2026.
The two pages say different things. Which of them governs your organisation is not for this guide to rule on; it follows the CSV route that Xero Central documents, since that article covers both the file requirements and the import steps.
What Xero South Africa says about bank feeds
On feeds, the 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.” and “Import up to 12 months of historical data when you first connect.” For the file route it lists “Export bank data from your online banking in OFX, QIF, QBO, QFX, or CSV formats”. A CSV written from a statement is one way to make such a file for a period that a feed has not brought in. Source: Xero South Africa, Connect your bank, www.xero.com/za/accounting-software/connect-your-bank/, accessed 11 October 2026.
What Xero requires of the CSV file
- Required fields: “You only need the Date and Amount fields to create bank statement lines, but reconciling your transactions is easier if you include more detail.”
- Positive and negative: “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 order: the example Xero gives is “DD/MM/YYYY (eg 15/01/2023)”.
- Balance columns: 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.
- Row limit: “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 11 October 2026.
Choosing the ExtractPro options
Take a statement that is already converted and go through the panel in this order:
- 1In the Output format section, open See more formats or customise and select Custom.
- 2Pick CSV under File type.
- 3For Date format pick DD/MM/YYYY (15/01/2026), the same order as the example in Xero’s article.
- 4In Amounts, select Single column (signed): a payment out carries a minus sign and a receipt does not, all in the one column.
- 5In Include balance, leave Add Balance column unticked, and leave Categories unticked as well; every line then holds a date, a description and an amount.
- 6Pick Comma (,) for CSV separator and Decimal point, no separator (1234.56) for Number format, so that no amount has a comma or a space inside it.
- 7Select Apply format and download the CSV.
Loading it into Xero
The import itself is laid out in Xero Central’s article on CSV files. First comes “From the Accounting menu, select Bank accounts.” Then, for the account the lines belong to: “For the relevant bank account, click the menu icon, then select Import a Statement.” A date prompt may appear, and for it the article says “If prompted, select the date format used in your bank statement”; answer DD/MM/YYYY, which matches the ExtractPro option. Last of all, “Click Complete import.” Source: Xero Central, Import a CSV bank statement, central.xero.com/s/article/Import-a-CSV-bank-statement, accessed 11 October 2026.
Compare the CSV with the statement before you import it, looking for the same transactions and a total equal to the movement over the period, and compare once more when Xero has loaded the lines.
Frequently asked questions
The questions that come up most:
Frequently asked questions
Is a PDF bank statement accepted by Xero for a South African organisation?
The pages of Xero disagree. Central states “PDF bank statement imports are currently only available in Xero organizations in Canada and the United States.” and the page for South Africa offers “or download a PDF, then upload the file into Xero”. ExtractPro writes a CSV from your PDF, and the CSV is the route that Central documents.
What does Xero South Africa say a bank feed can pull in?
The page describes the options as “the past 90 days or up to 2 years, depending on the bank”, with “Import up to 12 months of historical data when you first connect.” as another line. A period beyond those can be loaded from a statement, which is where a CSV from ExtractPro comes in.
Which setting writes expenses as negative numbers for Xero?
Single column (signed). It puts a minus sign on each payment out and none on a receipt, all in one column, the arrangement that “Show income as positive amounts and expenses as negative amounts” describes.
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