PingtailBank statement checklist: what a usable one looks like
Full statement or transaction list? PDF or photo? The six things to check on every bank statement, and how to ask for them.
"Please send your bank statement" sounds like a request nobody could get wrong. Yet it produces phone screenshots, spreadsheet exports, the wrong month, page 1 of 6 on its own, and PDFs that ask for a password.
The client is not careless. Nobody has told them what a bookkeeper means by "statement", or why a list of transactions is not the same thing. This bank statement checklist defines a usable statement, gives six checks to run on every one, and gives you wording that gets the right file the first time.
What counts as a bank statement?
Clients can produce three different things from the same account. Only one is a statement.
| What the client sends | What it has | What it lacks | Usable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full official statement (PDF from the bank) | Bank name, account holder, account number ending, statement period, opening and closing balance, every transaction, page numbers | Nothing | Yes. This is the document you reconcile to. |
| Transaction export (CSV or Excel, or a "transaction history" PDF) | Transactions for a date range the client chose | Official opening and closing balances, proof that the range is complete, often the account holder | For importing transactions only. Not enough to reconcile or to keep as a record. |
| Phone screenshot of the banking app | Whatever fitted on the screen | Almost everything: dates, balances, account details, the transactions below the screen edge | No. |
Explain the reason to clients in one sentence: "The statement is the bank's official record of the opening balance, every transaction and the closing balance for the month, and we check your books against it." Most clients send the right thing once they know why.
The six checks
Run these when the file arrives, not when you start the reconciliation. They take about a minute, and the first four need no accounting knowledge.
1. The right account
Compare the account holder's name and the last four digits with your books. Clients with a business and a personal account at the same bank send the wrong one; clients with checking and savings send only the checking.
2. The right period, with opening and closing dates
Read the statement period on page 1. For an August request it should say 1 August to 31 August, or a cycle the bank uses consistently, such as the 15th to the 14th. Do not trust the file name or the date the PDF was created. The most common wrong file is the previous month's statement, because it was the newest one when the client looked.
3. Every page
Look for "Page 1 of 6" and count. Clients leave out pages that look empty, the page of check images, or the last page with the summary. A statement that ends without a closing balance is missing pages.
4. The opening balance matches last month's closing balance
This one check proves that no month is missing and that you have the same account as last month. If the balances do not match, there is a gap, a different account, or a statement cycle you did not know about.
5. Readable
Every amount and every date can be read without guessing. A downloaded PDF is always readable. A photo of a paper statement can be, if it is taken flat, in good light, one page per photo, with all four corners in the picture.
6. Not password-locked
Some banks protect statement PDFs with a password, and some clients add one. If you cannot open the file you cannot use it, and the password should not travel by email. Ask for a copy that opens without one.
Checks 1, 2, 3 and 6 need no accounting knowledge. Anyone in the firm can do them on the day the file arrives, which is the day the client is most likely to fix it.
How to ask
A good request names the account, names the month, says where to find the file, and says what does not count. A version to copy:
Subject: [Month year] bank statement for [business name]
Hi [first name],
To do your books for [month year], we need the bank statement for [account name, ending 1234].
Please send the official statement as a PDF. You can find it in your online banking: open the Statements or Documents section, choose [month year], and download the PDF. The first page should show the dates [first day] to [last day].
Please send every page, including pages that look empty. A screenshot of the app or a list of transactions does not work for us, because it does not show the bank's opening and closing balance.
If the PDF asks for a password when you open it, please let us know and do not email the password. We will help you save a copy that opens without one.
Could you send it by [due date]? If you cannot find it, reply to this email and we will help.
Thank you,
[your name]
[firm name]
When you send a file back, use the same pattern in two sentences: what you received, and what you need instead. "Thank you, Tom. This is the July statement. We need August: the one that shows 1 August to 31 August on the first page." More follow-up wording is in the email templates for missing documents.
Statements that cover several months
Some accounts produce quarterly statements, some clients download a custom range, and new clients often send one PDF for a whole catch-up period. These are usable with care.
- Accept it if the requested month is inside the range. A statement for 1 July to 30 September is a valid answer to an August request. Do not ask for a separate August file.
- Write down every month it covers, so that nobody requests September again.
- Find your month-end balance. A quarterly statement shows opening and closing balances for the quarter only. For the monthly reconciliation you need the balance on the last day of each month. A running balance column gives it to you; if there is none, calculate it and note that you did.
- Check a custom range for gaps. A "statement" built from a date filter is really a transaction history. Check that it shows an opening and a closing balance, and that they agree with the months on either side.
- File it once, named for the full range: "Acme Cafe checking 2026-07 to 2026-09".
- If the bank only issues quarterly statements, ask the client for view-only access or a monthly transaction history for the months in between, and reconcile to the official statement each quarter.
Where do clients find the statement?
Every bank's website is different, but the path is nearly always the same. These steps are safe to give to any client:
- Sign in to online banking in a web browser. The full website usually has more statement options than the phone app.
- Open the account, then look for a section called Statements, Documents, eStatements or Statements and documents.
- Choose the month. Statements normally appear a few days after the statement period ends.
- Download the PDF. Do not use "Export", "Download transactions" or "Print this page": those produce a transaction list, not the statement.
- Open the file once before sending it, and check the dates on the first page.
Two common snags: the client still gets paper statements and has never turned on electronic ones, or their login cannot see documents for the business account. In the first case a clear scan or photo of every page is fine. In the second, the account owner has to download it or change the user's rights.
Printable bank statement checklist
- It is the bank's official statement, not an export or a screenshot
- Right account: holder name and last four digits match
- Right period: opening and closing dates cover the month requested
- Every page is there, and the last page shows a closing balance
- Opening balance equals last month's closing balance
- Every amount and date can be read
- The file opens without a password
- For a statement covering several months: all covered months noted
Questions
Is a CSV export ever enough?
For importing transactions into accounting software, yes, and it can save typing. For reconciling and for your records, no. Ask for both if the import helps you: the CSV for speed, and the PDF statement as the record you reconcile to.
Can I accept a photo of a paper statement?
Yes, if every page is there and every figure can be read without guessing. Ask for one page per photo, taken flat in good light, with all four corners in the picture. For a client who only has paper, suggest turning on electronic statements, which takes a few minutes in online banking and ends the problem.
The statement period does not match the calendar month. Is that a problem?
No, as long as it is consistent. Some accounts and most credit cards have a cycle that ends on a fixed day in the middle of the month. Reconcile to the statement date every month, note the cycle in the client file, and ask for "the statement that includes most of [month]".
Should a client ever send me their online banking password?
No. Ask for view-only accountant access if the bank offers it, or for the downloaded statements. Shared passwords put the client's money at risk and usually break the bank's terms of use. Say this in your onboarding material, so that clients do not offer.
Doing this with Pingtail
Pingtail runs several of these checks at the moment the client uploads, on the same page, normally within seconds: a statement whose dates are not in the requested month, a "Page X of Y" document with pages missing, a password-locked PDF, a photo too small or too blurred. The check never rejects a file: the client is asked to look again, and can always answer "This is correct, send it anyway", which passes the file to you with a flag. A statement covering several months including the requested one is accepted, and your staff see every month it covers. The account match and the opening balance check stay with you. See how the upload checks work. You can try it on yourself first: send a test request to your own email and upload the wrong file on purpose.