Import a Bank Statement Into AceMoney (OFX/QIF)

Why AceMoney won't import your PDF

AceMoney, the long-running desktop money manager, reads QIF, OFX, QFX, OFC, and CSV files, and a PDF is not on that list. A statement PDF is a printed document, not transactions AceMoney can post to an account. So whatever your bank gives you has to be one of those file types first. When the bank only offers a PDF, converting it, ideally to OFX or QIF, is what produces a file AceMoney accepts, so the month's activity imports into the register instead of being keyed in. As you will see, the format you pick makes a real difference in how smooth that import is.

The File, Import menu

The import itself is simple: launch AceMoney, open the File menu, choose Import, and select the file you converted. AceMoney reads it and brings the transactions into the account you point it at. On Windows there is a small helper, AceMoneyImporter, that registers the .qif and .ofx file types so those files open straight into AceMoney, which makes repeat imports a double-click. The menu path is the same regardless, and a converted OFX or QIF flows through it without any extra handling.

AceMoney's fixed CSV column order

Here is where AceMoney differs from most apps: its CSV import does not offer a mapping screen. Instead it expects the columns in a specific order, transaction or check number, date, payee, category, status, withdrawal, deposit, total, then comment. Because every bank arranges its CSV differently, a raw bank CSV almost never matches, so you would have to open it in a spreadsheet and reorder or insert empty columns to fit AceMoney's layout before it will import. That manual reshaping is exactly the friction you avoid by not using CSV in the first place.

Why OFX or QIF is the easier route

Given the fixed-column requirement, OFX and QIF are the formats to reach for. They carry structured transaction data that AceMoney reads directly, with no column arranging, so converting your statement straight to OFX or QIF skips the spreadsheet step entirely. AceMoney's own guidance even points people toward converting a CSV to QIF rather than wrestling a bank CSV into its column order. Converting the PDF to OFX or QIF from the start is the cleaner path: you hand AceMoney a file it imports on the first try.

Accuracy and privacy

Because a statement is dense and AceMoney is exacting about format, every transaction is reviewable in the converter before export, so a misread payee or amount is fixed up front rather than after a failed import. The output comes ready as an OFX or QIF that AceMoney takes as-is. Since the statement holds real account activity, the file is processed to build it and then deleted automatically, with nothing retained on a server afterward, so the transactions end up only in your own AceMoney file.

Frequently Asked Questions