Import a Bank Statement Into Stessa (CSV/QIF)

Why Stessa won't import your PDF

Stessa tracks rental-property finances, and it takes transactions in three ways: an automatically linked bank account, a file upload of a QIF or CSV, or manual entry one at a time. What it will not read is a PDF bank statement, which is a printed page rather than a list of dated transactions. So when a bank is not linked, or you need history from before you connected it, the statement you have is a document Stessa cannot use. Converting it to a QIF or CSV turns those pages into rows Stessa can import, so a month of rent and expenses lands on the Transactions page instead of being typed in line by line.

The Import button and assigning a property

The upload lives on the Transactions page. Click Import in the upper right, and Stessa walks you through the details it needs: which property the transactions belong to, which connected account to assign them to, and the transaction type, then you choose the file. That per-property step is the point of Stessa, since the whole app is organized around each rental's performance. You can assign the entire file to one property during upload, or include a Property column in the file, in which case the property name has to match the one in your Stessa account exactly. After upload, the transactions appear on the Transactions page ready to categorize.

QIF or CSV: which to convert to

Stessa accepts both, but it prefers the structured formats. A QIF, QFX, or OFX file imports with less preparation because the fields are already defined, so Stessa's own guidance is to use CSV only when none of those is available. A CSV works, but you should start from Stessa's official CSV template and include only the required fields, with no extra columns or stray metadata that could disrupt the import. Converting your statement straight to a QIF sidesteps most of that fuss, giving Stessa a clean file in the format it handles most smoothly, while CSV remains the fallback when you specifically need a spreadsheet.

When to use file import vs a linked bank

A linked bank account is the smoothest option for ongoing activity, so file import is the path for what linking misses: a bank Stessa cannot connect, an account you have not linked, or transactions older than the connection pulls in. That is exactly when a converted statement earns its place. Bringing a back period in by QIF or CSV fills the gap between when a property's account opened and when you started tracking it in Stessa, so the property's history is complete rather than starting mid-stream.

From tracking to Schedule E, and privacy

Getting the transactions into Stessa is also what feeds the year-end picture. With rent and expenses tracked per property and categorized, the figures roll up toward the Schedule E view a rental owner needs at tax time, which is far easier than reconstructing it from raw statements in April. Because these files hold real account activity, they are processed to build the QIF or CSV and then deleted automatically, with nothing retained on a server afterward. For an owner converting statements across several properties, that automatic deletion keeps account data out of a third-party tool once the import is done.

Frequently Asked Questions