Convert a Metro Bank Statement to Excel

Metro Bank statement layout, the store transaction descriptors, and running the verification checks that matter.

Metro Bank statements use a straightforward UK layout. This guide focuses on what to do after conversion, because with a clean format that is where the remaining value is.

Getting from transactions to something useful

A converted statement is raw material. The common next steps are categorisation, monthly summarisation, and matching against something else — invoices, receipts, a cash book.

All three depend on the description column being clean and the reference being separate. Both are worth checking before you start building formulas on top.

A practical categorisation approach

Export to Excel and add a Category column Leave it blank initially.
Build a lookup table of merchant fragments One column of text to match, one column of category.
Use a partial-match formula Match on whether the description contains each fragment, rather than on exact equality.
Sort by uncategorised and work down Most spending is a small number of recurring merchants, so a short lookup table covers a lot of rows.

Partial matching is what makes this work on descriptions exactly as the bank printed them: a fragment like TESCO matches however many store numbers and reference suffixes are printed around it, where exact matching would fail on every one.

Verifying first

None of the above is worth doing on an incomplete file. Confirm the totals reconcile against the statement before investing time in categorisation.

A reusable categorisation table

The lookup table described above is the reusable part, and it is worth building properly once. A workable structure is two columns: a text fragment to match, and the category it implies.

Match fragment	Category
TESCO	Groceries
SAINSBURY	Groceries
TFL	Transport
SPOTIFY	Subscriptions
BRITISH GAS	Utilities

Twenty to thirty fragments typically covers 80% of rows on a personal account, because spending is dominated by a small number of recurring merchants. The remaining 20% is where the judgement is, and it is a manageable amount of manual work.

Frequently asked questions

Are Metro Bank business statements supported?

Yes, including the charges sections.

How many lookup entries do I need?

Twenty to thirty typically covers most rows on a personal account, because spending concentrates in a small number of recurring merchants.

Does the export include a transaction type?

Yes, where Metro Bank prints one, in its own column.

Convert a statement now

Bank Statement PDF to Excel, or see every format. More in the guides.