Import a Bank Statement Into YNAB (CSV/OFX)

Why YNAB won't import your PDF

YNAB brings transactions in two ways: a direct connection to your bank, and File-Based Import, where you upload a file. The file import reads OFX, QFX, QIF, and CSV, but not a PDF, which is a printed statement rather than a list of transactions. So when your bank is not supported for a direct connection, or you need history from before you linked it, the statement you have is a document YNAB cannot read. Converting it to a YNAB-format CSV or an OFX gives you a file File-Based Import accepts, so a month of transactions lands in the account ready to categorize instead of being entered one at a time.

The YNAB CSV format

YNAB is particular about its CSV. The first line must be a header, either Date, Payee, Memo, Outflow, Inflow, where each transaction fills only the outflow or the inflow, or the simpler Date, Payee, Memo, Amount with a single signed amount column. Any field except the date can be blank. Two rules catch people out: the Outflow column expects positive numbers, so a 47.99 purchase is entered as 47.99 rather than negative, and the file has to be saved as UTF-8 with a single header row and nothing above it. A converter that outputs this layout directly saves you from reshaping a raw export by hand.

File-Based Import step by step

In YNAB, open the account you are importing into and choose the File-Based Import option, then select the file you converted. For a CSV, YNAB shows a mapping step where you confirm which columns are the date, the payee, and the amount or the outflow and inflow; get that right and it previews the transactions. An OFX or QFX skips the mapping entirely and imports automatically, since the fields are already defined. After the import, the transactions appear as ready to approve, where you assign categories before they settle into the register.

OFX vs CSV, and when to use file import

Both formats work, and the trade-off is convenience. An OFX or QFX imports with no mapping and carries clean transaction data, so it is the smoother file to hand YNAB. A CSV is the fallback when that is all you can produce, and it just means confirming the column mapping once. Either way, File-Based Import is the path for what a direct connection cannot cover: a bank YNAB does not support, an account you have not linked, or older transactions the connection will not pull. Converting your statement is what turns a stranded PDF into either of those importable files.

Accuracy and privacy

Because a bank statement is dense and YNAB is strict about format, every transaction is reviewable in the converter before export, so a mis-read payee or amount is caught up front rather than after a failed import. The output already carries the header, the positive outflow convention, and UTF-8 encoding YNAB wants. Since the statement holds real account activity, the file is processed to build the CSV or OFX and then deleted automatically, with nothing retained on a server afterward, so your transactions end up only in your own YNAB budget.

Frequently Asked Questions