Technology from banks has made a lot of bookkeeping simpler, but people who handle financial records are aware that it’s not perfect. If the feeds from banks aren’t functioning correctly, the historical transactions might not be accessible, and clients might still be sending documents in the format of PDF. A person must convert the document designed to be read into data that accounting software actually works with.
A converter for bank statements will remove a lot of the repetitive work that is involved in this process. Docubrew converts bank statements into spreadsheet-ready information instead of manually entering date, description, withdrawals and deposits row by line.
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When a PDF is the missing piece
Imagine a bookkeeper working on an annual reconciliation for clients. The accounting platform contains recent transactions but some older months are missing. Luckily, the client downloaded the original PDF report.
It used to take many hours of grueling copying a spread sheet. The PDF bank statement to Excel workflow is an effective alternative. Docubrew can extract transaction information from digital PDFs, as well as scan bank statements on paper.
Reducing manual transcription is also a great method to cut down the chance of typing mistakes for those who have to transfer bank statements into Excel regularly.
Be sure to keep the pages that Actually Count
Bank statements do not consist only of transactions. A 12-page statement could contain an account summary including disclosures, notices and statements as well as a number of pages detailing the actual banking transactions.
Docubrew allows users to view the document and select the relevant pages before conversion. This makes it easy to convert bank statement data to Excel without the need to add unrelated content.
After processing, the document can be opened using Excel or created for use using accounting software such as QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks.
CSV allows for a variety of accounting workflow
CSV remains valuable because it is extensively supported by spreadsheets, databases, and accounting applications. Docubrew can transform bank statements into CSV using the table of transactions.
The same workflow can help firms convert bank statement to CSV when reconstructing historical books, handling a new-client cleanup project, investigating missing transactions, or preparing data for reconciliation.
The batch processing process is particularly advantageous for accounting firms working through multiple statements or clients at the same time.
Financial Documents Deserve Thoughtful Privacy Controls
Processing financial records is not solely about ease of use. Bank statements can contain sensitive client information accounting professionals and bookkeepers could also consider where the processing is taking place.
Docubrew has two ways to do this. Windows desktop software is used to process files on the personal computer of the user. These statements are not uploaded to be transformed. Users who prefer workflows using browsers are able to select the encrypted cloud option, where uploaded files are automatically deleted after 24 hours.
The platform could range 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, but it’s not ideal for those who need to reconcile, sort filters, sort, or import transactions from other sources. Scanned files add an additional problem, since the information about transactions is usually only available as images.
Docubrew is an effective tool that combines OCR and statement parsing to transform document scans into usable financial data. This provides accountants bookkeepers and business owners the ability to turn archival financial paperwork into usable transactional data.
The result is a change in a process that was previously arduous: the bank statement remains as the financial record that it was in the beginning but the transaction table transforms into data that you can work with.