Overview
Marketplace payouts look simple in your bank account, but accounting needs the full breakdown: gross sales, fees, refunds, taxes/VAT, and the net payout.
This guide covers the practical workflow to export the right reports, keep the key identifiers, and produce a CSV that imports cleanly into common accounting tools.
Quick summary:
- PDF statements are usually the most stable source for consistent imports.
- Structured conversion reduces manual cleanup in recurring monthly workflows.
- CSV, Excel, QuickBooks, and Xero can be handled in one process.
3 methods at a glance
KontoCSV
PDF-first conversion with consistent output fields.
Typically ~30 sec per page
Bank export
Native and free, but often limited by period or format.
Typically ~10 min
Manual entry
Works for tiny datasets, scales poorly for multi-page statements.
Typically ~5 min per page
Method 1: KontoCSV (Recommended)
- Automatic parsing of bank-specific PDF structures
- Stable columns for recurring monthly and quarterly runs
- Target profiles for CSV, Excel, QuickBooks, and Xero
- Lower manual correction effort after import
- Use original bank PDFs whenever possible
- Choose target profile explicitly for mixed currency workflows
- Run a short plausibility check before final booking
Method 2: Native banking export
Typical flow:
- Sign in to online banking and open the account
- Select period and open the export section
- Export and validate columns in your target system
Native exports are useful but not always consistent across periods and statement variants. For PDF-heavy bookkeeping, a standardized PDF-to-CSV workflow is often more reliable.
Method 3: Manual entry
Manual copy/paste can work for one-offs but becomes fragile quickly. Error risk rises with each additional page, especially for date, sign, amount, and balance consistency.
Method comparison
KontoCSV
Fast, consistent, and scalable for recurring imports.
Bank export
Free, but often constrained by period and layout changes.
Manual
Best reserved for exceptions, not recurring bookkeeping.
Step-by-step with KontoCSV
1. Export the source reports (not just the bank statement)
Use the marketplace settlement/payout exports so you have gross, fees, refunds and tax lines. The bank statement typically only shows the net payout.
2. Normalize a consistent column set
Keep payout/settlement ID, date, gross, fees, taxes, refunds, and net payout as separate fields. This makes reconciliation and VAT reporting easier.
3. Convert PDFs (if needed) and pick an accounting export profile
If you only have PDFs, upload them to KontoCSV and export as CSV/Excel. Use QuickBooks/Xero profiles to avoid manual mapping.
Best practices
- Use consistent file naming per client/account and month.
- Validate date, amount, sign, and balance before final posting.
- Keep one output profile per recurring workflow to reduce remapping.
- Keep payout IDs in the reference field so you can match lines to your bank statement payout.
- Separate fees and refunds instead of posting everything as one net amount.
- For multi-currency, retain original currency and settlement currency where available.
FAQ
Is the bank statement enough for accounting?
Usually not. The bank statement only shows the net payout. Settlement reports provide the required breakdown for fees, refunds, and VAT.
How do I import this into QuickBooks or Lexoffice?
Use an export profile that matches your tool (QuickBooks/Xero). Then do a small test import first to confirm date and amount signs are correct.
Conclusion
For PDF-based statement workflows, a standardized conversion process is usually the most reliable option for clean, repeatable imports.
It improves consistency across recurring monthly runs and reduces manual follow-up in accounting tools.
Try KontoCSVGerman original (more detail)
For the full German version with deeper context and local wording, open the original article: