A bank statement holds a lot: your name, your address, your account number, and every place you spent money. Most online converters ask you to upload that PDF to their server. They promise to delete it later. You have to take their word for it.
MyBankToExcel works another way: the PDF never leaves your computer. This guide explains how, and how to check it yourself in a minute.
How it works
- You pick your statement PDF. It opens in your browser, on your computer.
- Your browser reads the words on each page. If the page is a scan, your browser reads the picture with OCR.
- Only the words, and where they sit on the page, are sent to us. Our server sorts them into rows: date, description, amount, balance.
- The rows come back to your browser, locked (encrypted). They stay in your browser for 24 hours, then they expire.
- You download the file for Excel, QuickBooks, Xero or Quicken.
The PDF itself is never sent. We never keep the words, and we never use them to train AI.
How to check it yourself
You don't have to trust us. Your browser can show you everything a page sends.
- Open tools.ltd/my-bank-to-excel in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
- Open the developer tools: press F12, or Cmd+Option+I on a Mac.
- Click the Network tab.
- Choose a statement PDF and press Read my statement.
- Look at the list. You will see one request named parse-items. Click it and open Payload: it holds the words from your statement, not the PDF.
You won't see the PDF file go anywhere. That is the point.
What this means for you
- Nothing to delete. The file was never on our server, so there is nothing to clean up.
- Fine for client files. Bookkeepers can convert statements for many clients without sending their files to a third party.
- It still checks your numbers. We check that your balances add up before you download, so you know no row was missed.
Hiding details before you share
Need to send a statement to someone else, with your account number hidden? Use TrueRedact. It also works in your browser, and it really removes the text, not just covers it.
Frequently asked questions
Is anything sent to tools.ltd at all?
Yes, the words. Your browser reads the PDF and sends only the words it found and where they sit on the page, so we can sort them into rows. The PDF file itself is not sent. We never keep the words.
Do you use my statement to train AI?
No. We never keep the words, and we don't use them to train AI.
What about scanned statements?
Scans are read in your browser too, with OCR. The picture of the page stays on your computer. Only the words it finds are sent.
Why does it matter if the file is uploaded?
An uploaded file sits on someone else's server, at least for a while. Even if they promise to delete it, you have to trust that they do. A file that never leaves your computer can't be kept.