Presiesby Grey Matter

Bank statements

From the bank's PDF to a file Sage imports.

Presies reads the statement, checks every figure against what the statement prints itself, and gives you a file in Sage Business Cloud Accounting's bank import format.

Request a trialSee a sample file

One statement, start to finish. 1 min 26.

How it works

Three steps, and none of them is retyping.

  1. Step 1

    Upload the PDF

    The statement your client downloaded from the bank. A PDF from the bank converts in seconds. Scans can be read too, under a stricter test. Drop a whole batch at once if you like.

  2. Step 2

    Presies checks it

    Every row against the running balance, where the bank prints one, and against the statement's own totals, where it publishes them. The checks are listed below.

  3. Step 3

    Import it into Sage

    The file is named for the client, the account and the period, so three months of one account are three different file names. Sage takes up to 2,000 rows per import, so a longer statement comes as numbered parts.

The checks

What has to hold before you get a file.

  • Every row against the running balanceWhere the bank prints a running balance, every row is worked out again and compared with it. A misread row breaks the chain.
  • The statement's own totalsWhere the bank publishes totals, those are checked too. It is the one check that does not depend on how we read the rows. On a layout with no running balance, such as an FNB business credit card, the totals are the whole proof.
  • Dates inside the statement's periodWhere the statement states its period, every row has to fall inside it.
  • Scans read twiceA scan is read twice, independently. A figure is accepted only when both readings agree and the balance chain still closes.

Upload several months of one account together and Presies also checks that each opening balance matches the previous closing balance. That is the only way to spot a month you were never given.

When it refuses

It tells you why, in plain words.

The balance check failed
It names the rows. Open the PDF there and compare.
This layout cannot be read yet
No check ran, so it says nothing about your client's books. Send it to us and we will look into it.
The scan could not be read reliably
The two readings did not agree. Scan it again more clearly, or get the PDF from the bank.
This is a transaction history
Download the monthly statement instead.
This is a photo
Download the PDF from internet banking, or scan the statement.
This PDF could not be opened
It is password protected or damaged. Download it again from the bank.

A statement that is refused costs nothing.

Banks and software

The banks we read today.

  • FNB
  • Absa
  • Standard Bank
  • Nedbank
  • Capitec
  • Investec Private Bank
  • Discovery Bank

PDFs downloaded from the bank, and scans. Most banks print more than one layout. If a statement will not convert, send it to us and we will look into it.

Live with Sage Business Cloud Accounting.

Tested end to end on a Sage test company with five banks: every row count and closing balance matched the statement. Run something else? Tell us which when you ask for a trial, and we will tell you plainly whether it works today.

The same statement twice.

Sage does not notice a statement imported twice. It adds every transaction again. Presies warns you first, and keeps only a one-way fingerprint of the account and period, never the account number.

Already converted

This statement (1 to 31 March) was converted by someone else in your practice on 03/04/2026. Importing it again would put the bank balance out by R26,431.90.

Illustration.

Sample

See the file before you try it.

A made-up statement and the exact file Presies makes from it. Open them side by side and compare.

Sample statement (PDF)Example Trading, March 2026, in Capitec's business statement layout. Made-up business and figures.The file Presies makes (CSV)Example Trading_1234567890_2026-03-02_to_2026-03-31_SageAccounting_Format.csv
Date,Description,Amount
02/03/2026,Card purchase hardware store,-1245.9
03/03/2026,EFT received customer payment,8500
05/03/2026,Debit order insurance,-1870
06/03/2026,Monthly service fee,-95
09/03/2026,EFT paid supplier,-4320.75

The first rows of the sample file. Dates as day/month/year, one amount column, money in positive and money out negative: the layout Sage's bank import expects.

Run your own client statements through it.

Seven days and about 165 statement pages. No card needed.

Request a trialSee pricing