Statement Import

Upload PDF bank statements for automatic transaction import. Import transactions in bulk without manual entry—ideal for Free tier users, historical backfill, or unsupported banks.

Overview

Rebased automatically reads transactions from PDF statements:

• Upload any bank’s PDF statement
• Dates, descriptions, and amounts are automatically captured
• Review before confirming import
• Duplicate detection prevents double-entry
• Handles all standard bank PDFs

Supported formats

Why PDF only?

• All banks provide PDF statements as standard
• AI intelligently reads data regardless of bank format
• Simpler user experience with consistent expectations
• No need to maintain bank-specific CSV parsers

File limits explained:

• 5MB / 20 pages: Covers monthly, quarterly, and 6-month backlog imports
• Prevents excessive processing time from massive multi-year uploads
• Users can upload multiple files for more history

Import workflow

1. Navigate to account

• Go to Bank
• Click the bank account to import into
• Select Bank Statements tab

2. Upload statement

• Click Import Statement or Upload PDF
• Select PDF file from your computer
• System uploads to secure storage
• Processing begins (~10-15 seconds)

3. Review extracted transactions

Transactions are automatically detected and displayed:

• Date: Transaction date
• Description: Bank description text
• Amount: Debit (spent) or Credit (received)
• Type: Identified as Spent or Received

Review each transaction:

• Verify date is correct
• Check description makes sense
• Confirm amount matches statement
• Flag any obviously incorrect entries

4. Confirm import

• Review all extracted transactions
• Click Import X Transactions
• System creates bank_transactions records
• Transactions appear in Reconcile tab
• Import job saved to history

Import status tracking

Each import job tracks:

Statement Health

After importing statements, the Statement Health panel shows you if your records are complete and accurate. It detects missing statements and balance discrepancies.

How it works

Statement Health validates:

• Opening balance: Balance at start of first statement period
• Statement transactions: Sum of all imported transactions
• Expected balance: Opening + transactions
• Latest statement balance: Most recent closing balance

Health status

What Statement Health shows

Opening Balance (Oct 1):     $8,500.00
+ Statement Transactions:    +$4,150.00
= Expected Balance:          $12,650.00

Latest Statement Balance:    $12,650.00  ✅ Balanced

Gap detection

When statements are missing, Statement Health shows:

Opening Balance (Oct 1):     $8,500.00
+ Statement Transactions:    +$2,150.00
= Expected Balance:          $10,650.00

Latest Statement Balance:    $12,650.00  ⚠️ Discrepancy: $2,000.00

Missing Period Detected: Nov 1 - Nov 30
[Upload November Statement]

Common causes of gaps:

• Missed a month when uploading
• Statement not yet available from bank
• Forgot to import before switching accounts

Using Statement Health

After each import:

• Check that status shows “Balanced”
• Look for any gap warnings
• Upload missing statements if gaps detected

Before reconciliation:

• Ensure Statement Health is “Balanced”
• Fix gaps before trying to reconcile
• Balanced statements mean complete transaction history

Periodically:

• Review Statement Health in Bank Statements tab
• Check for gaps you might have missed
• Upload missing historical statements

Why this matters

• Complete records: Ensures all transactions captured
• Accurate reconciliation: Can’t reconcile properly with missing data
• BAS/Tax compliance: Missing data affects tax calculations
• Audit trail: Complete statement history for audits

Statement reading details

What Rebases detects

From each statement page:

• Statement period: Opening and closing dates
• Opening balance: Starting balance
• Closing balance: Ending balance
• Transactions: Date, description, amount for each line

Transaction formatting

Extracted transactions include:

• transaction_date: Date of transaction
• description: Full bank description text
• amount: Absolute value (positive)
• direction: “debit” (spent) or “credit” (received)
• running_balance: If shown on statement (optional)

Duplicate detection

Before creating transactions:

• Compares against existing transactions
• Matches on date + amount + description similarity
• Skips likely duplicates automatically
• Shows duplicate count in import results

Use cases

Free tier users

Bulk upload transactions instead of:

• Manual one-by-one entry
• CSV import complexities
• Data entry fees

Workflow:

• Download monthly PDF from bank
• Upload to Rebased
• Review and import
• Reconcile to your books

Historical backfill

Import older transactions before live feed start date:

• Collect PDF statements for historical period
• Upload sequentially (oldest first)
• Review and import each
• Build complete transaction history

Unsupported banks

For banks without live feed support:

• Download PDF statements regularly
• Import monthly or quarterly
• Reconcile as you would with live feeds
• Keep books up-to-date

Migration from other platforms

Moving from Xero, QuickBooks, or spreadsheets:

• Export/download PDF statements from old system
• Upload to Rebased in chronological order
• Build complete historical record
• Continue with live feeds or ongoing imports

Best practices

File preparation

• Download statements directly from bank
• Use clear, readable PDFs when possible (better accuracy)
• Ensure PDFs aren’t password-protected
• Split large multi-year statements into yearly chunks

Upload sequence

• Upload oldest statements first (builds chronological history)
• Wait for each import to complete before next
• Check for errors or failed imports
• Reconcile period-by-period

Review tips

• Compare extracted count to statement transaction count
• Spot-check amounts against statement totals
• Watch for description truncation (very long descriptions)
• Verify opening/closing balances match statement

Error handling

If transactions look wrong:

• Check PDF quality (blurry images may not be readable)
• Try re-saving PDF from original source
• For consistent errors: Contact support with sample
• Manual correction: Edit after import in Reconcile tab

Troubleshooting

Import stuck on “Processing”

• Wait up to 60 seconds (large files take longer)
• Check internet connection
• Refresh page and check import history
• If still stuck after 5 minutes: Cancel and retry

Transactions not extracted

Possible causes:

• Scanned image PDF (no text layer)
• Corrupted or password-protected PDF
• Unusual bank format
• Statement summary page only (no detail)

Solutions:

• Download fresh PDF from bank
• Check PDF opens and shows text (not just images)
• Remove password protection if present
• Contact support with bank name for format investigation

Wrong amounts extracted

• Verify PDF shows clear, readable numbers
• Check for currency symbols confusing the AI
• Watch for debit/credit indicator misinterpretation
• Manual fix: Edit in Reconcile tab after import

Duplicate transactions imported

• Duplicate detection isn’t perfect
• Check if you imported same period twice
• Look for similar transactions with different descriptions
• Bulk delete in Reconcile tab if needed

Opening/closing balance mismatch

• Extracted balances are for reference only
• Rebased uses actual transaction sums for reconciliation
• Update account opening balance if needed
• Discrepancy indicates missing transactions

Import history

View all past imports in Bank Statements tab:

• Original filename
• Import date and user
• Total transactions extracted
• Successful imports vs duplicates
• Failed extractions (if any)

Re-importing:

• Can re-import same file (duplicates will be skipped)
• Useful if you deleted transactions accidentally
• Creates new import job entry

AU-specific notes

Statement periods

• AU banks typically provide monthly statements
• Some offer daily, weekly, or custom date ranges
• Quarterly statements available on request
• EOFY statements useful for annual reconciliation

Bank formats

Major AU banks supported:

• ANZ
• Commonwealth Bank
• NAB
• Westpac
• ING
• Macquarie
• And 100+ others via standard PDF format

Data retention

• Imported PDFs stored securely
• Retained for audit trail
• Can be deleted after import if desired
• Transaction data remains in Rebased

Related pages

• Bank Overview - Main bank documentation
• Bank Accounts - Creating and managing accounts
• Bank Reconciliation - Matching imported transactions
• Live Bank Feed - Automatic feed connection

Last updated: February 24, 2026