How to Import a Bank Statement into Wave Accounting
Wave imports OFX, QBO and QFX files as well as CSV, but not PDF. The QBO route from a statement PDF, the CSV rules if you need them, and reconciling.
Wave is free accounting software popular with freelancers and very small businesses. Its statement upload takes more than CSV: Wave's own help centre lists Microsoft Money (.ofx), QuickBooks (.qbo), Quicken (.qfx) and Simply Accounting (.aso) files, and CSV as the fallback it calls the more complex option. It does not take a PDF.
So if what you have is a statement PDF, the shortest route into Wave is a QBO or OFX file, not a CSV you then have to reshape.
The QBO route
- Convert the statement to QBO Bank Statement PDF to QBO writes every transaction with a real date and one signed amount, which is what a QBO requires; PDF to OFX does the same as plain OFX. Press Verify transactions and read the result before downloading.
- Open the upload in Wave Accounting, then Transactions. At the top right, click More and choose Upload transactions.
- Choose the file and the payment account The statement has to be in the same currency as the account you are importing into.
- Confirm what Wave read Click Upload, confirm the date, the amounts and the description as Wave asks, then Upload my statement. The transactions appear on the Transactions page.
The CSV route, if you need it
Wave's help is specific about the CSV it reads, and a statement converted to CSV does not match it as it stands: the CSV keeps your bank's own columns and dates exactly as printed. Expect to reshape it.
| Wave's rule for a CSV | What to do with a converted statement |
|---|---|
| Three or four columns: date, amount (one column, or one each for deposits and withdrawals) and description | Delete everything else, including value dates, reference numbers and the balance. More than four columns is an error |
| One date column | Keep the transaction date and delete the value date. Two date columns is an error |
| Dates written year first, YYYY/MM/DD or YYYY-MM-DD, and none in the future | Reformat the date column. Bank dates such as 05/03/2026 are not in the form Wave's help lists |
| No rows of balance totals | Delete any opening, closing or total rows |
| A description column containing words | Keep the narration column as it is |
If a file with separate deposit and withdrawal columns will not upload, Wave's advice is to move the amounts into one column. That is where the sign matters.
Building one signed Amount column
For a bank account, the formula is credit minus debit: positive for money in, negative for money out. Getting it the wrong way round is the most common Wave import error, and it is silent — everything imports, just classified backwards, so every transaction looks like income or every one looks like an expense.
Credit cards run the other way. Wave's help says purchases must be positive and payments negative on a credit card upload.
Reconciling after import
Wave's reconciliation works by period: switch Reconciliation on under Accounting, Transactions, choose the account, and match the transactions in Wave against the statement, which supplies the closing balance. Take that balance from the PDF.
The converter's Completeness sheet has already checked the statement's own arithmetic, so if the conversion reconciled and Wave does not, the difference is in the import — a dropped row, a duplicate, or a sign applied wrongly. A difference that equals one transaction usually names the row.
Frequently asked questions
Which files does Wave accept for bank imports?
OFX, QBO, QFX and ASO, which Wave recommends, and CSV as the more complex option. Not PDF: convert the statement first, to QBO by preference.
Does Wave accept Excel files?
No. Wave's help says to re-save an .xls file as a comma-delimited .csv before uploading — or skip the spreadsheet and upload a QBO or OFX.
What formula converts debit and credit columns to a signed amount?
Credit minus debit for a bank account — positive for money in, negative for money out. Sort by the result to sanity-check the sign before importing.
Why did everything import as income?
Debits were not made negative. With a single Amount column, Wave takes the direction from the sign. A QBO or OFX file avoids the question, because every amount in it is already signed.
Related posts
- How to Import a Bank Statement into MYOB
- How to Import a Bank Statement into FreshBooks
- How to Import a Bank Statement into Sage
Convert a statement now
Bank Statement PDF to QBO, or see every format. More in the guides.