HSBC statement to CSV

What a HSBC statement looks like and what the parser handles

Dates abbreviate the month and shorten the year, written 02 Aug 24.

The parser reads them, and the CSV and Xero CSV write them 2024-08-02.

A transaction runs over three lines: the type code and reference, then the counterparty, then the description with the amount and the balance.

The parser joins all three into one row with one amount.

Two payments to the same payee on the same day, where only the second carries a balance.

The parser carries the first amount forward and checks both against the next balance the statement prints.

The list opens with a BALANCE BROUGHT FORWARD row.

The opening balance comes from it, and it is left out of the exported transactions.

The text in this PDF is broken mid-word, so the Account Summary reads "Ope ning Balance" and "Paym e nts In".

The transaction table still reads, because its columns are found by where the figures sit rather than by what the heading says. The summary block does not, so this statement is checked against its running balance and not against its printed totals.

One real HSBC business current account statement has been through this parser: three pages, seven transactions, and every running balance reconciled from the brought forward figure to the closing balance.

Only the HSBC business current account statement has been tested. Scanned or photographed statements are not supported, because the text has to be in the PDF already.

Once it is converted, the import steps for Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB are the same whatever bank it came from.

Questions