PDF statements

Extract transactions from a PDF statement when no other format is available.

Last updated: April 16, 2026

When you have a PDF statement and no OFX download is available, PennyBolt can extract transactions from it. Use this as a last resort. PDF parsing is best-effort: PennyBolt reads what the PDF’s structure lets it read, and some transactions may require manual correction.

Supported banks

PennyBolt v1 supports PDF statements from:

Synchrony Bank (credit card statements)

More banks are planned for future releases. If your bank isn’t supported, check Which format should I use? — your bank may offer OFX downloads even if you only have a PDF on hand.

Import a PDF statement

Drag the .pdf file onto the PennyBolt window, or use File → Import. PennyBolt detects that the file is a PDF, identifies the statement type, and opens a preview.

If PennyBolt cannot identify the statement as a supported bank, it will tell you so rather than silently producing incorrect results.

Read the preview carefully

PDF extraction is not as clean as OFX or QIF. Before committing, check:

Every transaction has a date and an amount. If a row is missing either, the extraction missed something. You can add the missing transaction manually after importing.
Amounts have the right sign. Payments (credits) should be positive; purchases (debits) should be negative. PDF layouts vary and sign errors are the most common extraction mistake.
The transaction count matches your statement. Your statement’s transaction summary usually shows a count or a total. Confirm the preview count matches.
The statement period looks right. PennyBolt shows the detected statement date range in the preview header. Confirm it matches your PDF.

If anything looks wrong, don’t commit. Close the preview without importing, correct the underlying issue if you can (see below), and try again.

What can go wrong

Extraction found zero transactions. The PDF may be a scanned image rather than a machine-readable file. PennyBolt can only read PDFs with embedded text — scanned images are not supported in v1.

Some transactions are missing. Page breaks, unusual formatting, or special characters in merchant names can cause a transaction to be skipped. Add the missing transactions manually after importing.

Amounts are wrong. Verify the preview against your paper statement line by line before committing. If amounts are consistently off or have wrong signs, contact support with a sanitized copy of the statement so we can improve the parser.

The file is from an unsupported bank. PennyBolt will tell you it can’t identify the statement type. Check whether your bank offers OFX downloads — most banks that issue PDFs also offer OFX if you look for the “Download transactions” option.

After importing

Review the transactions in the register before reconciling. Because PDF extraction is approximate, a post-import scan takes a few minutes and catches problems before they propagate into reports.