Overview
sevDesk imports work best when the CSV layout is consistent: dates, signed amounts, and description fields must land in the expected columns.
This guide shows how to prepare your statement export and how KontoCSV profiles reduce manual mapping work.
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. Start with a clean export
Export CSV when possible. If you only have PDFs, convert them with KontoCSV to remove headers/footers and keep columns stable.
2. Use signed amounts and consistent date formats
Make sure debits stay negative and credits stay positive. Keep booking date and value date if your workflow needs it.
3. Import and validate with one month first
Test one month, check totals and a few line items, then import larger periods once the mapping is confirmed.
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.
- Prefer re-exporting over manual edits so imports stay repeatable.
- Keep the original PDF archived for traceability.
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)
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