For general documents I would recommend PDF2XL, great program about $300 for the OCR version (required for scanned documents):

https://www.cogniview.com/pdf-to-excel/pdf2xl-ocr

But for bank statements, I would recommend PDF2CSV:

https://www.moneythumb.com/converters-2quickbooks/?ref=1

I am sure there are other alternatives, but there are the two I have used.

Not sure it is necessary to convert your 12 month pdf bank statement. You should simply download into an Excel csv file the 12 months of transactions from your bank website and upload them into your QBO bank feed, it's quick, easy and free. I have yet to find a bank or credit card company that does not have this option available.

Adobe Reader can't export the PDF data to QBO - Acrobat DC does but it's not free. Its cost is about $15 a month on a subscription-based system. From ones with a lower price I would recommend as well PDFfiller: https://edit-pdf.pdffiller.com It's designed to work with tax documents and can be exported to QuickBooks, pricing starts from $6 a month

Hello there, @pHumphrey.

Are you trying to convert your bank transactions and import it to QBO? Allow me to share some information on how does importing PDF file to QuickBooks Online.

Currently, the ability to directly export PDF documents to QuickBooks Online is not yet available. In the meantime, QuickBooks Online support importing of QFX, .OFX file, CSV and Excel file. What you can do is to convert the PDF file to Excel file format and then export it to CSV Format from Excel.

In order for you to import your data, your CSV file should contain the following information: Date, Description and Amount. Make sure to leave off leading zeros and format the date like this: M/D/YY, not like this: MM/DD/YY. For example, January 1, 2016 would be 1/1/16.

Once your file has the correct format, you can start with the importing process.

On the other hand, the ability to directly import PDF file to QuickBooks would be helpful for both you and your business. I’d be delighted to share these suggestions to our Product Engineers for consideration in future updates. You can also send to us your feedbacks and feature request for product improvements.

Here’s how:

1. Click the Gear icon.
2. Choose Feedback from the drop-down.
3. Type in your Comments, Suggestions or Feedbacks.
4. Choose Next.
5. Select a category, and click Send message.

Lastly, check out any supported third-party application that offers free conversion of PDF to QuickBooks Online supported files.

If you're having difficulty with importing your transactions, I'd suggest reaching out to our Customer Care team. A bank specialist will be able to check your account securely and further assist you via secured remote access session.

Don't hesitate to leave your comment below if your have other questions about importing your transactions to QuickBooks Online. I'm always here to help.

I need to do the same but I have the Quickbooks on my laptop. How do I do that? 

Thanks!!

Hi Hammer38,

Are you referring to import bank transactions into QuickBooks Online (QBO) Windows App? If so, the article above also works with the version that you have.

Just make sure to pick one of these formats, so you can upload the file into QBO:

• Comma-Separated Values (CSV)
• QuickBooks Online (.QBO)
• Quicken (QFX)

Once done importing, check out this link for future reference: Assign, categorize, edit, and add your downloaded banking transactions.

Please let me know if you meant something else. I'm always glad to help. Have a wonderful day.

VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW IS YOUR PDF "TEXT-BASED" OR "OPTICAL BASED" - I did research on, as my scanned files from old bank that was bought-out by another bank.  They are optical based.  

Way to find out what type of PDF file you have:  https://www.moneythumb.com/pdf-to-quickbooks/

Propersoft only promises convert "text-based":  https://www.propersoft.net/howto/pdf-converter
So if you are like me and not a financial advisor/accountant and only need to do this one time for multiple old statements, you will have to go with MoneyThumb 2QBO Converter Pro with 50 day license for $129.95

I am interested in this.  My business partner doesn't want anything uploaded to a cloud because of security issues.  Thank you.

I am interested in this.  I have the same type of clients and situation.

Thanks

Thank you for you review of the 3 products. I am a small Handyman Business (www.OBrienHandymanServices.com) and have struggled over the years with data over the years. To age myself i used Lotus 123, DOS 3.1 (my favorite) on a Tandy 8088 machine LOL.

I am going to take your advice on the MoneyThumb and start with that. Is your current view MoneyThumb is still the most practical for a small business like me. I am a one man show.

Thank you in advance,

My Best,

Mike 

that is good to know

You can try DocuClipper. It converts scanned or digital PDFs to Excel and QBO: https://www.docuclipper.com/pdf-statements-to-quickbooks/

Hi Hector, 

I am loving your tutorials. I have a MacBook Air. I do have Microsoft excel. When I opt to select download csv file instead of qbo. it automatically sends it to the Mac version of notes. I do not how to get it to go over to Microsoft Excel so I can filter data as you demonstrated. Any suggestions?

Kindly, 

Jennifer 

Hi Jennifer.

When downloading your transactions as CSV file, you must be able to bring them to Microsoft Excel. If not, you may prepare the Excel file manually with the correct template. You may use the 3 column format which contains the dates, descriptions, and amounts of your transactions. Or, the 4 column format with the transactions' dates, descriptions, credits, and debits.

Here's how you can learn more about CSV file formats in Excel to get bank transactions into QuickBooks.

Once done, you can manually upload your transactions into QuickBooks.

On the other hand, you can also connect with an IT professional to review your files and check why it's not imported directly to Microsoft Excel.

For more hints and resources while working with QuickBooks, you can open the topics from our help articles.

If you have any other questions about downloading or uploading a CSV file, let me know by adding a comment below. I'm always here to help. Keep safe!