Banking technology has automated many bookkeeping tasks however, anyone who deals in financial records will tell you that automation isn’t 100% perfect. Bank feeds disconnect, historical transactions aren’t always available or the clients are still sending statements in PDF format. Someone has to convert a document that was intended to be read by a computer into information that accounting software actually utilizes.
A converter for your bank statement can eliminate much of the repetitive work involved in that process. Docubrew converts bank statements into spreadsheet-ready information instead of manually entering the date, description, withdrawals and deposits row-by-line.
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When a PDF is deemed to be the missing piece
Imagine a bookkeeper working on an annual reconciliation for a client. The accounting platform has recent transactions but some months are missing. Fortunately clients have downloaded the original PDF statement.
Traditionally, re-building the previous months can take hours of copying figures into an Excel spreadsheet. A PDF bank statement to Excel workflow provides a more practical alternative. Docubrew accepts electronic PDFs as well scans of paper statements, and then extracts the information about transactions for use in spreadsheets.
For those who require the transfer of an account statement from a bank to Excel and reduce manual transcription eliminates an unnecessary opportunity for typing errors.
Be sure to keep the pages that matter
Bank statements don’t consist entirely of transactions. A 12-page report could include a summary of the account as well as disclosures and other notices, together with a variety of pages that describe the actual bank activities.
Docubrew allows users to view the document and choose the relevant pages before conversion. This makes it easier to convert bank statement data to Excel, without having to add unrelated content.
Once the file has been processed after processing, it can be opened using Excel or integrated into accounting platforms such as QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks and many more.
CSV offers a flexible accounting workflow
CSV remains popular because spreadsheets, databases and accounting software are compatible with CSV because they are compatible with spreadsheets, databases and accounting software. Docubrew can convert a bank statement into CSV using its transaction table.
The same workflow is used to convert bank statements to CSV files for various uses, including the reconstruction of historical books, taking on a project to clean up the client database that is not being used, analyzing any missing transactions or creating the data to be used in reconciliation.
Accounting firms that need to process multiple clients or statements at the same time can benefit from batch processing.
Financial Documents Need Considerate Privacy Controls
When processing financial records convenience is not the only factor to consider. Bank statements may contain sensitive information about clients, so accountants and bookkeepers may also care about the place where they process.
Docubrew offers two options. Its Windows desktop application handles files locally on the user’s PC, so the statements aren’t stored for conversion. For those who prefer workflows based on browsers, they can select the encrypted cloud option. Files uploaded will be deleted automatically within 24 hours.
The platform can be anything from Excel software to bank statements that depend exclusively on remote processing.
Turning Document Archives Back Into Working Data
The PDF statement is an excellent document, however it’s a pain should you need to reconcile, sort or filter transactions from other sources. Scanned documents create a further complication as the transaction data could only be available as an image.
Docubrew offers statement parsing in conjunction with OCR support for documents scanned that give bookkeepers, accountants and companies a practical way to convert financial documents that are archived to usable transaction data.
This simple solution improves 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.