Converting several months of bank statements
Merging statements into one file destroys the only accuracy check available. Convert separately, then combine - and check the joins.
A year of bookkeeping means twelve statements. The instinct is to combine them into one PDF and convert once. It is the wrong order, and it costs you the only guarantee worth having.
Why one file at a time
A statement proves itself. It prints an opening balance, a closing balance, and the transactions between them:
opening balance + sum of transactions = closing balance
That equality is what shows no row was dropped, and it only works inside one period. Merge January to December into a single PDF and no single pair of balances spans it. The check cannot run, and a converter that says nothing about accuracy is only retyping your statement faster.
Convert each month on its own. Each is verified separately, so if eleven reconcile and one does not, you know exactly which month to look at.
Combining afterwards
Once each month is verified, stack them:
- Convert each statement, confirming each says it reconciled.
- Open the resulting files.
- Copy the rows into one sheet, keeping the header once.
- Sort by date.
Then check the joins: the closing balance of one month should equal the opening balance of the next. Where it does not, a statement is missing from the sequence - the other common error in a year-end file, and one no single statement can reveal.
Watch for gaps
Sorted by date, a missing statement shows as a jump in the month column. Far easier to see in the combined sheet than in a pile of PDFs, which is a good reason to build it.
Size limits
Up to 50 MB and 400 pages per file. A normal monthly statement is three to six pages, so the limit only bites on merged files - another reason to keep them apart.