Bank statement to CSV
A plain comma-separated file with one row per transaction, ready for any tool that takes a CSV.
Columns: Date, Description, Amount, Balance
No statement handy? or open the finished Excel
What goes wrong
Double-clicking the file lets Excel rewrite it
Opening a CSV by double-click hands Excel a free pass to reinterpret every column. It has been known to turn account references into scientific notation, strip leading zeros from reference numbers, and reformat dates according to the machine's locale — so a statement converted in Tashkent and opened in Chicago can come out with the day and month swapped. Import it instead: in Excel, Data → From Text/CSV, which shows you the parsed result before anything is committed.
Getting the file into CSV
- 1Convert the statement above and press CSV.
- 2In Excel or Sheets, import the file rather than opening it — Data → From Text/CSV in Excel, File → Import in Google Sheets.
- 3Check the date column in the preview the import shows you, and set the format to yyyy-mm-dd if it offers a choice.
- 4Confirm. Nothing has been reinterpreted behind your back.
CSV questions
Which separator does the file use?+
A comma, with fields quoted where they contain one. Regions that expect a semicolon — much of continental Europe — should import rather than double-click, and pick comma as the delimiter in the import dialog.
How are descriptions with commas handled?+
They are quoted, and a quote inside a description is doubled, which is what RFC 4180 asks for. Any correct CSV reader will restore the original text.
Is this the same file QuickBooks wants?+
No, and that difference matters. QuickBooks reads a fourth column as a debit, so it would treat the running balance as money. There is a separate three-column export for it.