IN
Tally Prime imports bank statements as Excel, CSV or MT940 files — it cannot read a bank-statement PDF directly. So the workflow is: convert your statement PDF into clean Excel/CSV first, then use Tally's built-in Import Bank Statement to load and auto-reconcile it. This guide covers both halves — getting clean data out of the PDF, and importing it into Tally Prime.
Why you can't import a PDF straight into Tally
A bank-statement PDF is a page layout, not data. Tally's import expects a structured file with proper columns — Date, Description (narration) and Amount — in Excel or CSV. Drop a PDF in and there are no columns to map. So the first job is turning the PDF into a clean spreadsheet, with every row captured and the running balance intact.
This is where most of the time, and most of the errors, hide: a faded scan, a wrapped narration or a page-break can drop a row — and if the numbers don't tie out, your Tally reconciliation won't either.
Step 1 — Convert the statement PDF to clean Excel/CSV
- Open Export Bank Statement and upload your bank-statement PDF — scanned or photographed copies work too, via OCR.
- It extracts every transaction into a clean sheet — Date, Description, Money In, Money Out, Balance — and runs a reconciliation check: opening balance, plus credits, minus debits, has to equal the closing balance. If a row is missing or a figure is misread, the statement is flagged before you download, so a quiet error never reaches Tally.
- Download the result as Excel (.xlsx) or CSV.
Because the totals are checked to balance, what you import into Tally actually ties out to the statement.
Step 2 — Import the Excel/CSV into Tally Prime
First, turn on auto-reconciliation for the bank ledger:
- Open the Bank ledger → Bank Configuration → set Enable Auto Reconciliation to Yes.
Then import the file:
- From the Gateway of Tally, press Alt+O (Import) and choose Bank Statement.
- Select the Bank Ledger, set the File Type (Excel or CSV) and pick your downloaded file.
- Set Show Preview to Yes to check the column mapping, then press Ctrl+A to import.
Tally fills the Bank Date column in the Bank Reconciliation screen and auto-matches the imported transactions against your books.
Getting the file format right
Tally is fussy about the import file. Before you import, make sure the spreadsheet has:
Requirement | What Tally expects |
|---|---|
Column headers | Clear headers — Date, Amount, Description (narration) |
Date format | A format Tally recognises, usually DD/MM/YYYY |
Amounts | Plain numbers — no currency symbol inside the number cell |
The cleaner the spreadsheet, the cleaner the auto-reconciliation — which is exactly why converting with a tool that checks the maths beats copy-pasting from the PDF by hand.
Try it on your own statement
Clean Excel/CSV, with every transaction checked to balance.