Technology from banks has made bookkeeping easier, but those who work with financial records realize that it’s not ideal. Clients are still sending statements in PDF format, feeds from banks may not work and historical transactions aren’t accessible. In the event of this, someone has to turn a document intended for reading into data that accounting software can actually utilize.
The use of a statement converter can reduce the time-consuming work. Docubrew transforms bank statement data into spreadsheet-ready data, instead of manually entering description, date of withdrawals and deposits row-by-line.
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If a PDF is the missing piece
Imagine a bookkeeper making the year-end reconciliation of the first client. The accounting system contains the most latest transactions, however, a number of earlier months are not present. Fortunately that the client downloaded the PDF of the previous statements.
It used to take long hours of tedious copying an Excel spread sheet. A PDF bank statement in Excel workflow is a more convenient alternative. Docubrew accepts digital PDFs, as well as printed paper statements that are scanned and extracts the transaction information for use in spreadsheets.
For professionals who often require moving a bank statement to Excel and reduce manual transcription can also eliminate the possibility of typing errors.
Be sure to keep the pages that Actually are Important
Bank statements aren’t composed entirely of transactions. A 12-page report could contain the cover sheet, account summary, disclosures, or notices as well as a number of pages of actual transactions.
Docubrew lets users preview the document and choose the appropriate pages prior to conversion. That makes it easier to convert bank statement data to Excel without adding unrelated statements content into the working dataset.
After processing, the file can then be opened in Excel or re-formatted to work with accounting platforms such as QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks.
CSV Facilitates Flexible Accounting Workflow
CSV is still in use because it is supported by databases, spreadsheets, and accounting applications. If you need a bank statement to CSV, Docubrew produces structured output based on the transaction table contained in the statement.
This same process is used by firms to convert bank statements into CSV, whether they are making historical records from scratch, handling cleaning projects for new clients, looking into missing transactions, or compiling records for reconciliation.
Batch processing is especially useful for accounting firms who are that are working on multiple accounts or clients simultaneously.
Financial Documents deserve thought-out privacy controls
When processing financial records security isn’t the only thing to think about. Accounting and bookkeeping professionals may be concerned about the processing location since bank statements contain sensitive details about the client.
Docubrew has two ways to do this. Windows desktop software processes files on the computer used by the user. However, the statements do not need to be uploaded in order to be converted. The encrypted cloud version is available to those who prefer to work in browsers. The uploaded files are deleted automatically within 24 hours.
This choice is what separates Excel software, which relies solely on remote processing from the bank statement platform.
Turning Document Archives Back Into Working Data
The PDF statement is a great record, but it’s a hassle should you need to sort, reconcile or filter transactions elsewhere. Scanned files add an additional complexity, since the details of transactions are usually only accessible in images.
Docubrew is an effective program that combines OCR and statement parsing to transform scans of documents into useful financial data. This provides accountants bookkeepers and business owners the chance to turn archival financial paperwork into useful transactional data.
The result is a straightforward improvement to an otherwise tedious workflow: keep the bank statement as a primary financial record while turning the transaction table into data you are able to use.