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Scanned bank statements (OCR)
CSVLedger does not convert scanned or photographed statements yet; it reads text-based PDFs only and detects image-only scans without charging pages. If you cannot select the text in your PDF viewer, it is a scan; downloading the original PDF from online banking avoids OCR errors entirely.
Updated October 29, 2026
Honest status: OCR for scanned and photographed statements is planned but not available. The converter recognises scanned files and tells you, rather than guessing.
Text PDFs vs scanned PDFs
A statement downloaded from online banking normally contains real text: each number is stored as characters, which can be extracted exactly. A scanned statement is a picture of paper. Reading it requires optical character recognition (OCR), which can misread digits — a 3 for an 8, a missing decimal point — and in bookkeeping a misread digit is worse than no data.
What to do now
- Download the original. Log in to online banking and download the statement PDF for the month. Most banks keep several years available.
- Ask the client or bank for electronic statements rather than paper copies.
- If only paper exists, a dedicated OCR tool will be needed for now. Check every total against the statement, because OCR errors are common.
How OCR will work here
The plan is to keep the same principle as text conversion: OCR output must reconcile to the opening and closing balances, so recognition errors are caught rather than passed into the books. There is no release date yet; join the waitlist to hear when it is available.
Bank-specific download formats
Before converting, check whether your bank already offers the file you need and how far back: US bank statement format guide (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, Capital One, U.S. Bank, PNC, Truist, TD Bank (US), American Express, Discover, Chime, Ally Bank, SoFi).
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if my PDF is scanned?
Open it and try to select a word or use Find (Ctrl/Cmd+F) for a number you can see. If nothing is selectable or found, the page is an image and needs OCR.
Will OCR be free?
Pricing for OCR has not been decided. Any limits will be shown on the pricing page before the feature is released.
Can you convert a photo of a statement?
Not yet. Photos are images, like scans, and need OCR.
Is my bank statement uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is opened and converted by JavaScript running in your browser tab (using Mozilla's open-source pdf.js library). The file is not sent to CSVLedger or anyone else. You can confirm this in your browser's developer tools: the Network tab shows no request containing your file.