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Importing a PDF statement

This page shows how to import a bank statement that your bank only offers as a PDF.

Use this when your bank has no OFX, QFX or CSV export for the period you need. If your bank offers one of those files, use it instead; those formats never use AI.

PDF statement reading is Nestbalm’s AI-assisted reader for PDF bank statements. It sends the statement’s text to Anthropic’s Claude model, run for us by Google Cloud Vertex AI in the EU. Under the Google Cloud Vertex AI terms, the text is not used to train AI models.

Before you start, download the account statement from your bank as a PDF. Nestbalm reads statements of one current account. It does not read:

  • scanned or photographed statements (PDFs without selectable text),
  • credit-card statements or interest settlements,
  • statements longer than 50 pages. Split a long period into shorter statements instead.

Uploading the statement

Section titled “Uploading the statement”
  1. Open Import bank data.
  2. Drag the PDF onto the upload area, or select the area and choose the file.
  3. If Nestbalm asks for permission to use AI, read the notice, then select Allow. The upload starts. If you select Not now, the PDF is not uploaded and nothing is sent.
  4. Wait for the entry in the Import log. Success means the transactions are in Nestbalm. Failed means nothing was imported.

How the reader checks its work

Section titled “How the reader checks its work”

The reader works in three steps. It identifies the document, reads the opening and closing balances, then reads every transaction.

Before anything is imported, Nestbalm adds up the transactions itself. The result must match the closing balance printed on the statement, to the cent. If it does not match, the reader tries once more. If it still does not match, nothing is imported and the log shows Failed. The reason is in Budget Operations.

The AI model only copies what is printed. Nestbalm converts the amounts and dates and does the arithmetic.

What changed

Section titled “What changed”

The new transactions arrive as pending, like any other import. A pending transaction is one that has arrived but that nobody in the household has confirmed yet. Everyone in the household sees them on the Transactions page.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”