How to Export Your Bank Statement as CSV

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is the universal import format for accounting software. QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, FreshBooks, YNAB, Mint, and virtually every spreadsheet tool accepts CSV.

The problem: banks give you PDFs. This guide shows you how to get from PDF to CSV in about a minute.

Why CSV over Excel?

Both formats work, but CSV is preferable when:

• You're importing into accounting software
• You're writing a script to process transactions
• You need a format without formulas or formatting that might interfere
• You're using Google Sheets (CSV imports cleanly)

Kashfbank exports both. If you're not sure, CSV is the safer default for software imports; Excel is better for manual analysis.

The Conversion Process

1. Get your PDF

Download your bank statement as PDF from your bank's mobile app or online portal. Most banks offer this under Account Statement or E-Statement.

Works with any bank: Chase, HSBC, Emirates NBD, Al Rajhi, Barclays, RBC, DBS, and more.

2. Upload to Kashfbank

Go to kashfbank.com, upload your PDF, and wait for the AI to extract all transactions.

3. Review the data

You'll see a table with:

• Date — transaction date
• Description — merchant or transaction description
• Amount — debit/credit amount
• Category — auto-assigned (editable)

4. Export as CSV

Click Export → CSV (.csv).

The CSV will have clean column headers and UTF-8 encoding — important for international characters and Arabic text.

Importing CSV into Common Tools

QuickBooks:

• Go to Banking → File Upload → select your CSV
• Map columns to QuickBooks fields (Date, Description, Amount)

Xero:

• Go to Bank Accounts → Import a Statement → upload CSV
• Xero accepts a standard Date/Description/Amount format

Google Sheets:

• File → Import → Upload → select your CSV
• Choose "Comma" as delimiter

Excel:

• Open a new workbook → Data → Get External Data → From Text/CSV
• Follow the import wizard

Tips for Clean Imports

1. Review categories before export — correcting categories in Kashfbank takes 2 minutes and saves time in your accounting tool
2. Check the date format — Kashfbank uses YYYY-MM-DD, which is universally compatible
3. Remove rows you don't need — delete internal transfers before importing to avoid double-counting

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the CSV preserve Arabic text? Yes — the CSV is UTF-8 encoded, which correctly handles Arabic, English, and mixed text.

What if my accounting software needs a specific column order? Most accounting tools have a column mapping step during import, so column order doesn't matter.

Can I convert multiple statements to one CSV? Process each PDF separately on Kashfbank, then combine the exported CSVs in a spreadsheet tool.

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Export your first statement as CSV — free