Every month the same job comes round: the bank statement arrives, and someone sits with it and ticks it off against the books, line by line. Most of those lines are already in your books, because you entered the receipts and payments as they happened. TamilAccounting now reads the statement for you, finds the entries that are already there, and reconciles them on the statement date. It posts only what is genuinely new.
The problem with a plain statement import
Importing a bank statement sounds like it should save time. But a plain import treats every line as new, and that causes three problems.
- Receipts are entered twice. The customer receipt you recorded last week is on the statement too. A plain import posts it again, and the bank balance in your books is now wrong.
- Dates never line up. A cheque you wrote on the 17th clears on the 20th. A NEFT receipt you entered on the 15th is credited on the 16th. Matching on the exact date misses all of them.
- The reconciliation is dated wrong. The lines end up reconciled on the day you did the work, not on the date of the statement. A statement for September that you reconcile in October then shows up as an October statement.
How TamilAccounting matches the statement to your books
When you import a statement, every line is first compared with the entries in the same bank account that are not reconciled yet.
- Same amount, within a week. A line can only match an entry of exactly the same amount, in the same direction, dated within seven days of the bank's date. That covers cheques that take a few days to clear.
- The narration decides. A cheque number, a UTR or a document reference that appears in both, or the payee's name printed in the narration, makes the match certain.
- Nothing is guessed. If two entries could be the same line, for example two travel advances of the same amount, the line is held for you to match. It is never posted again.
- Reconciled on the statement date. Everything the statement settles is reconciled on the statement date: the last transaction date on the statement, or a date you enter. That includes the entries matched during the import, the entries it posts, and the lines you finish later.
What happens to each line
| The statement line | What TamilAccounting does |
|---|---|
| Is already in your books | Matched to that entry and reconciled. Nothing new is posted. |
| Could be one of two entries | Held as an undefined line. You choose the right one with Match. |
| Is one bank line for several entries, such as a deposit of two cheques | You tick the entries and choose Match Selected. Their total must equal the bank line. |
| Fits one of your Bank Import Pre-settings rules, such as bank charges | Posted to the rule's account and reconciled. |
| Names a customer or supplier and an invoice number | Posted as their payment and allocated to that invoice. |
| Is genuinely new, such as interest | Held as an undefined line. You pick the account and choose Add Bank Transactions. |
| Is new and splits across accounts, such as a loan EMI | Held as an undefined line. Edit makes it a payment or deposit with as many account lines as you need, or a customer receipt, supplier payment, bank transfer or journal. |
A worked example: HDFC, 14 to 26 September
Here is a real month on an HDFC current account. Before the statement arrived, the accountant had already entered these receipts and payments.
| Date | Entry in the books | Payee | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15/09/2026 | Receipt for invoice CCS/1043 | Cauvery Cold Storage LLP | 23,600.00 in |
| 17/09/2026 | Cheque 004512, invoice NC/2317 | Nilgiri Chemicals | 18,880.00 out |
| 20/09/2026 | Travel advance, Coimbatore visit | Karthik R | 5,000.00 out |
| 22/09/2026 | Travel advance, Madurai visit | Priya S | 5,000.00 out |
| 22/09/2026 | Office rent, October (in advance) | Sri Balaji Estates | 45,000.00 out |
| 23/09/2026 | Cheque 118745 | Annapoorna Caterers | 12,500.00 in |
| 23/09/2026 | Cheque 552190 | Kovai Traders | 7,500.00 in |
Then the bank statement arrived as an Excel file, exactly as HDFC net banking gives it.
| Date | Narration | Withdrawal | Deposit | Closing balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14/09/26 | Opening balance | 8,62,535.00 | ||
| 16/09/26 | NEFT CR-CAUVERY COLD STORAGE LLP-CCS1043 | 23,600.00 | 8,86,135.00 | |
| 20/09/26 | CHQ PAID-004512-NILGIRI CHEMICALS | 18,880.00 | 8,67,255.00 | |
| 21/09/26 | IMPS DR-000418-TRAVEL ADVANCE | 5,000.00 | 8,62,255.00 | |
| 22/09/26 | NEFT DR-SRI BALAJI ESTATES-RENT OCT | 45,000.00 | 8,17,255.00 | |
| 24/09/26 | CLG DEP 2 CHQS BATCH 0924 | 20,000.00 | 8,37,255.00 | |
| 25/09/26 | EMI DR-HDFC BUSINESS LOAN-BL5530-SEP26 | 24,850.00 | 8,12,405.00 | |
| 25/09/26 | SERVICE CHG SEP 2026 INCL GST | 354.00 | 8,12,051.00 | |
| 26/09/26 | INTEREST CREDIT HDFC 26SEP | 712.00 | 8,12,763.00 |
One rule was set up in advance under Bank Import Pre-settings: a withdrawal whose narration contains SERVICE CHG is a payment to HDFC Bank, posted to Interest & Bank Charges. Here is what one import did with the eight lines.
| Statement line | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 16/09 Cauvery Cold Storage, 23,600.00 in | Matched to the 15/09 receipt | Same amount, one day apart, payee named in the narration |
| 20/09 cheque 004512, 18,880.00 out | Matched to the 17/09 payment | The cheque number is on both, the payee is named; it cleared three days later |
| 21/09 IMPS travel advance, 5,000.00 out | Held for Match | Two advances of 5,000.00 fit, and the narration names neither |
| 22/09 Sri Balaji Estates, 45,000.00 out | Matched to the 22/09 rent payment | Same amount, same day, payee named |
| 24/09 clearing deposit, 20,000.00 in | Held for Match Selected | No single entry is 20,000.00: it is two cheques |
| 25/09 loan EMI, 24,850.00 out | Held for Edit | Nothing in the books, and it splits between the loan and the interest |
| 25/09 service charge, 354.00 out | Posted to Interest & Bank Charges | The SERVICE CHG rule |
| 26/09 interest, 712.00 in | Held to convert | Genuinely new: nothing in the books |
The import reported 8 lines: 3 matched, 1 posted, all reconciled on 26/09/2026, 4 lines left. The last four took a few minutes:
- Match. Priya's advance was paid on 22/09, after this money left the bank on 21/09, so the line is Karthik's advance. Priya's stays open for the next statement.
- Match Selected. Annapoorna Caterers' 12,500.00 and Kovai Traders' 7,500.00 were ticked together. Their total, 20,000.00, equals the bank line.
- Edit. The EMI was opened with Edit and made a payment to HDFC Bank with two lines: 21,300.00 to Bank Loans, and the 3,550.00 left to Interest & Bank Charges.
- Convert. The interest line needs only one account, so it was given the Interest account and added with Add Bank Transactions.
Every entry the statement settled is reconciled on 26/09/2026. On Banking → Reconcile, 26/09/2026 appears as its own bank statement with all of them ticked.
Step by step
1. Import the statement
- Download the statement from your net banking as Excel or CSV. You do not need to change it.
- Open Import → Bank Statements.
- In Select Bank Template choose Any bank (columns found automatically). It finds the Date, Narration, Reference, Withdrawal and Deposit (or Amount with Dr/Cr) and Balance columns by their headings. The older bank-specific templates are still there.
- Choose the Bank Account.
- Reconcile On: leave it at The last transaction date of the statement, or choose The statement date I enter.
- Opening Balance and Closing Balance are optional. If the file has a balance column, they are read from it.
- Choose the file and click Import.
2. Finish the lines that are left
After the import, the Imported Bank Inquiry opens with a summary of what was matched, posted and left.
- Match on an undefined line lists the open entries of the same direction, with the same amount first. Match one entry, or tick several and choose Match Selected.
- For something genuinely new, pick the account on the line, tick it and choose Add Bank Transactions. Use Edit when the line needs more than one account, such as a loan EMI split between the loan and the interest, or to make it a customer receipt, supplier payment, bank transfer or journal. A line left without an amount takes what is left, and the lines must add up to the bank amount.
- Unmatch on a matched entry takes the match back. The entry stays in your books, nothing is voided, and the statement line returns so you can match it again.
3. Add rules for charges and interest (optional)
In Banking → Settings → Bank Import Pre-settings, give a Keyword from the narration, who it is paid to or received from, and the Post to Account. Tick Negative only for withdrawals. From the next import on, those lines post themselves.
Built to be safe
- A statement that does not add up is refused. If the running balance in the file stops adding up, or the opening and closing balances you enter do not agree with the lines, nothing at all is imported.
- Importing again changes nothing. Import the same statement twice, or an overlapping one, and the lines brought in before are recognised and skipped. Two genuinely identical lines on one statement still count as two.
- Your last reconciliation never moves back. Importing an older statement does not change the last statement date or balance on the bank account.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to reformat my bank's Excel?
No. The Any bank template reads the file as your bank gives it: title rows, account details and summary rows are skipped, and the columns are found by their headings. Dates in day-first or month-first order and amounts like 1,23,456.78 or (1,200.00) are understood.
What if a cheque clears a week later?
It still matches. A line can match an entry up to seven days before or after the bank's date.
What if the import matched the wrong entry?
Choose Unmatch on it. The entry goes back to unreconciled, and the statement line comes back so you can match it correctly. Nothing is voided.
Will it post a receipt I already entered?
No. A line that has an entry of the same amount nearby is either matched or held for you. It is never posted again.
Which date is used for the reconciliation?
The statement date: the last transaction date on the statement, or the date you enter under Reconcile On. Never the day you do the work.
Short on time? The highlights in under a minute: Bank statement, matched to your books.
