Bilingual rows, trade finance separated from operating expenses, full merchant references kept. Straight into Zoho Books or Xero.
Start convertingCommercial Bank of Dubai statements are bilingual Arabic-English with strong merchant reference detail. For Dubai-based SMEs, CBD is a top-three bank. The conversion is straightforward; the categorisation work is what separates a fast import from a long reconciliation.
The two things that catch naive parsers: the bilingual column headers (which can be extracted as a phantom transaction row) and the account summary block at the top (same font as transactions, often mis-read as data). Kashfbank handles both — headers are filtered out, summary is excluded from the row set.
CBD's trade finance arm means many SME statements carry letter of credit, trust receipt, and import finance rows. These should not be lumped with operating expenses. They need a dedicated cost-of-goods-sold or trade finance cost account in the chart of accounts.
Kashfbank tags trade finance rows distinctly and preserves the LC reference code in the descriptor. Reconciliation against the shipping documents and LC terms is then a filter-and-match exercise in Zoho Books or Xero.
Standard columns, ready for Zoho Books (UAE VAT edition), Xero, or QuickBooks import. Merchant references and LC codes preserved.
Digitally generated PDF. Bilingual Arabic-English headers and column labels. AED denominated. Dates DD/MM/YYYY. Account summary at top: opening balance, total debits, total credits, closing balance. Detailed merchant references including POS, ATM, and online transfer identifiers in description field.
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| POS PURCHASE | Card payment at merchant POS |
| ATM CASH WITHDRAWAL | ATM cash withdrawal |
| SALARY TRANSFER | WPS salary credit |
| ONLINE TRANSFER | Internet banking transfer |
| DIRECT DEBIT | Automatic mandate payment |
UAE-based accountants using Zoho Books (UAE VAT edition) need the VAT column flagged; Kashf's Category field tags ZATCA-style VAT payment rows for easy filtering.
Collect CBD PDFs from the client
Client pulls each month's statement from CBD NOW Mobile and saves to a folder.
Bulk upload
Drop all PDFs into Kashfbank. Each is converted independently and labeled with its source filename.
Review trade finance tagging
Trade finance and LC settlement rows are pre-tagged. Verify against the client's chart of accounts mapping before import.
Export and import
Download per file or merged. Import into Zoho Books or Xero via the bank feed.
Common challenges
How does Kashfbank tag CBD trade finance entries?
Trade finance and LC settlement rows are tagged with a Trade Finance Category value and the LC reference code is preserved in the Description. This keeps them out of the operating expense bucket on the import.
Does the export keep the bilingual descriptor?
Yes. The Description column carries the bilingual CBD descriptor as it appears on the statement. No translation step, no truncation.
Can I bulk-convert a year of CBD statements?
Yes. Upload twelve PDFs at once. Each is processed independently and labeled with its source filename. Download per file or merge.
Will the CSV import into Zoho Books UAE VAT edition?
Yes. Date, Description, Debit, Credit columns match Zoho's template. The Category column needs a one-time map to the client's chart of accounts — particularly for the Trade Finance category.
Freelancers
Extract, categorize, and export freelance income and expenses from PDF bank statements — ready for 1099, self-assessment, or ZATCA filings.
Tax Preparation
Convert PDF bank statements to clean spreadsheets for Zakat, VAT, corporate tax, and self-assessment filings across GCC and international markets.
Loan Applications
Prepare clean, lender-ready bank statement exports that prove stable income and responsible financial behavior for personal and business loan applications.
Upload PDF, get Excel in seconds
Try it free10 free credits on signup
Regulator: Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)
Fiscal year: Jan 1 – Dec 31 (Gregorian)
Full country guide →Statement language: English