The technology of banking has automated much of the bookkeeping however, anyone who deals with financial records understands that it’s not perfect. Clients are still sending PDF statements, bank feeds may not work as they should, and historical transactions may not be available. In the event of this, someone must convert a document specifically designed for reading data into a format that accounting software can utilize.
Image credit: docubrew.com
The use of a bank statement converter can cut down on the time-consuming work. Docubrew automatically converts the information from your bank statements into structured spreadsheet information.
A PDF can become the missing piece
Imagine a bookkeeper preparing an annual reconciliation for a new client. The accounting software shows the most recent transactions, but some older months were left out. The client downloaded the PDF original statements.
Traditionally, rebuilding during those times could require hours of copying figures into a spreadsheet. The PDF bank statement to Excel workflow is an effective alternative. Docubrew can extract transaction information from digital PDFs and scan bank statements made of paper.
For professionals who regularly need to move a bank statement to Excel, reducing manual transcription also removes an unnecessary opportunity for typing errors.
Keep the Pages That Actually Are Important
Bank statements aren’t made up of only transactions. A 12-page statement could include an account cover page, a cover page summary, disclosures or other notices as well as several pages of actual banking activity.
Docubrew allows users to view the document before deciding on the relevant pages before conversion. It makes it much easier to convert bank statements to Excel without having to import unrelated statement contents into the working data.
Once the file has been processed the file can then be opened using Excel or used in accounting platforms such QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks etc.
CSV allows for a variety of accounting workflow
CSV is still a useful format because it’s supported by spreadsheets and databases. Accounting software also supports CSV. If you require an account statement converted to CSV, Docubrew produces structured output based upon the transaction table found within the report.
The same workflow is used to transform bank statements into CSV to serve a variety of uses, including the reconstruction of old books, working on the task of cleaning up unutilized client data, looking into gaps in transactions, or preparing the data to be used in reconciliation.
Accounting firms that have to work with many clients or statements can use batch processing to their advantage.
Financial documents require careful privacy safeguards
When it comes to processing financial records, security isn’t the only factor to consider. Bookkeeping and accounting professionals could be concerned regarding the location of processing as bank statements are confidential client data.
Docubrew offers two options. Its Windows desktop software processes documents locally on the user’s personal computer, so the statements aren’t stored for conversion. People who prefer using a browser-based workflow may choose the encrypted cloud version that allows for uploading files to be immediately deleted after 24 hours.
This feature is what differentiates Excel software, which is based solely on remote processing from the bank statement platform.
Turning Document Archives Back Into Working Data
PDF statements are fantastic documents, but they’re not ideal for transactions that need to be reconciled, sorted, filtered, or imported elsewhere. Scanned files can pose an issue because the transaction information could only be present as an image.
Docubrew is a powerful application which combines OCR and statement parsing to turn the documents that were scanned into useful financial data. This provides accountants bookkeepers, and business owners the ability to convert archival financial documents into usable transactional data.
This simple remedy can help speed up the efficiency of a lengthy process by keeping the original bank statement while making its transaction table available to the information you need to use.
