PDF to Excel Bank Statement Converter: The Tool Big Finance Forgot to Build (works on Linux / Mac OS and Windows)

Banks have mastered a special kind of digital irony: they'll happily store and provide your statements from 7+ years ago as PDFs, but ask for that same data in Excel format and suddenly they act like you've requested nuclear launch codes. This project was born from that exact frustration during tax season, when I discovered that even expensive "professional" solutions like Adobe Acrobat Pro and Nitro PDF utterly failed at the seemingly simple task of converting bank statements to usable spreadsheets.

So, without any paid viable solutions, I decided to create my own Python script to do the job that works flawlessly

This script is far superior for processing PDF Bank statements to excel because it uses targeted libraries like pdfplumber, pandas, and openpyxl to accurately extract and organize transaction data without the pitfalls of OCR technology. Unlike Adobe, which relies on OCR that can misinterpret text and disrupt the order of transactions, this script directly extracts data from the PDF's structure, ensuring precision and maintaining the original sequence. It also automates batch processing, generates detailed verification sheets, and provides financial summaries, making it a highly efficient and reliable solution tailored specifically for this task.

Universal Compatibility: Need to process statements from a different bank? (Script is built for Chase Bank PDF Statements) The framework adapts effortlessly across financial institutions. Simply share the python file in this repo along with a sample PDF statement (or screenshot) to a compatabile Ai, and it should be able to tweak the script for you easily. I am also available for consulting - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellis-jesse/

So if you're like me, trapped in the PDF banking purgatory with years of statements that refuse to cooperate with modern financial tools, you've finally found your escape route...

⭐ Please give me a Star on Github if you used this script! ⭐

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Why This Script Rocks for converting Bank PDF Statements to Excel

1. Accurate Sorting: The script organizes the data exactly as it appears in the PDF. It doesn’t mess up the order or randomly sort by dates. This is crucial because when you’re done converting, you’ll want to compare the PDF and Excel side by side to ensure everything lines up perfectly.

2. Handles Large Volumes: While I tested it with 12 months of statements, this script can handle much more. Whether you have a year’s worth of data or several years, it will process everything efficiently.

3. Customizable: If you’re not using Chase Bank, you can easily tweak the script to work with other banks. Just provide the python script for analysis to your favorite AI, along with your Banks PDF (or screenshots) and it should be able to easily tweak the code for you. Focus your LLM training on Columns (For example, Chase calls a column "details", another bank might call it "notes").

4. Free and Open Source: Just pure Python efficiency that processes thousands of transactions without sending a single byte to external servers - You can even run it on a junky spare laptop; NO cloud processing fees, NO token consumption, NO data privacy concerns! Local Python Rocks

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How It Works

This script is a GUI based tool, so you don’t need to be a programmer to use it. Here’s what it does:

1. Select PDF Folder: A pop-up window will ask you to select a folder with all the PDF documents you wish to process. It will process ALL PDF in that folder, so make sure you do not run it in Downloads folder - Save your PDF files to a new Folder (For example, Chase Bank Statements 2024 Folder)

2. Output Location: The output file will be saved in the same folder that the PDFs are located in Step 1

The script extracts transaction data from the PDFs and organizes it into a clean Excel spreadsheet with columns like:

• Date of Transaction
• Statement Date
• Description
• Amount
• Balance
• Original Line
• Source File

When the script is complete, the pop-up box will give you some statistics like how many files were processed and lines were added to the XLSX excel file. It will save the file with a naming convention of FolderName/Date/Time.xlsx

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Special Note: You must have Python installed on your OS along with the libraries pdfplumber, pandas, and openpyxl. To use the script, download PDF-2-Excel.py from this repository and run the script and the Gui will do the rest! I am also going to include very detailed Installation instruction at the bottom of this ReadME file for newbies that do not know how to run Python Files with dependencies...

Even though the script maintains exact PDF order, manual review is essential!

My suggestion for Double Entry Accounting with my script:

1. Open the PDF and the generated Excel side-by-side
2. Review page-by-page (e.g., January 2024, then February 2024,etc).
3. Use a physical notepad with a pen to o to mark each confirmed section you have double checked.
4. Once you are done, repeat steps 1-3 AGAIN! Do not be lazy. The program will most likely do all of the work for you (I have never seen a mistake yet in my testing), but it still requires human intervention and eyes to be safe!

Happy converting! 🚀

While most developers visiting this repository can simply download and run the pdf-2-excel.py script, Cloud Potions believes in making technology accessible to everyone. If you're new to Python or programming in general, I've created below a comprehensive guide to run this script on Linux, Mac OS or Windows ...

Advanced Setup Instructions

Windows Setup

1. Install Python

   • Download Python from python.org
   • Run the installer
   • ✓ CHECK "Add Python to PATH" during installation (very important!)
   • Click "Install Now"

2. Install Required Packages

   • Open Command Prompt (search for "cmd" in Start menu)
   • Copy and paste this command:

     pip install pdfplumber pandas openpyxl
     

   • Press Enter and wait for installation to complete

3. Run the Script

   • Download pdf-2-excel.py from this repository
   • Double-click the Python script file to run it
   • If double-clicking doesn't work, right-click and select "Open with" → "Python"

macOS Setup

1. Install Python

   • Download Python from python.org
   • Run the installer package
   • Follow the installation instructions

2. Install Required Packages

   • Open Terminal (from Applications → Utilities → Terminal)
   • Copy and paste this command:

     pip3 install pdfplumber pandas openpyxl
     

   • Press Enter and wait for installation to complete

3. Run the Script

   • Download pdf-2-excel.py from this repository
   • Open Terminal and navigate to where you saved the file:

     cd ~/Downloads  (or wherever you saved it)
     

   • Make the script executable:

     chmod +x pdf-2-excel.py
     

   • Run the script:

     python3 pdf-2-excel.py
     

Linux Setup

Option 1: Quick Setup (Easiest but Option 2 is recommended below as it is safer)

This method works on most Linux systems but uses the --break-system-packages flag, which bypasses some system protections.

1. Install Python and Required Tools

   • Open Terminal and run:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-tk
     

   • For Fedora/RHEL:

     sudo dnf install python3 python3-pip python3-tkinter
     

2. Install Required Packages

   • In Terminal, run:

     pip3 install --break-system-packages pdfplumber pandas openpyxl
     

   • Note: This flag overrides system package protections but is the simplest approach.

3. Run the Script

   • Download pdf-2-excel.py from this repository
   • Make the script executable:

     chmod +x pdf-2-excel.py
     

   • Run the script:

     python3 pdf-2-excel.py
     

Option 2: Using a Virtual Environment (Recommended)

This method is safer but requires a few more commands:

1. Install Python and Required Tools

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv python3-tk
   

2. Create and Activate Virtual Environment

   python3 -m venv chase_env
   source chase_env/bin/activate
   

   After running these commands, your terminal prompt should change to show "(chase_env)" at the beginning, indicating the virtual environment is active.

3. Install Required Packages in the Virtual Environment

   pip install pdfplumber pandas openpyxl
   

4. Run the Script Make sure you're still in the activated virtual environment (you should see "(chase_env)" in your prompt) and in the same directory as the script. If you need to navigate to your downloads folder:

   cd ~/Downloads  # or wherever you saved the script
   python pdf-2-excel.py
   

5. When Finished To exit the virtual environment when you're done:

   deactivate
   

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