Convert American Express statement to CSV for Xero — accurate & reconciled
Upload your Amex PDF below. You'll get a clean CSV for Xero file — and a reconciliation report proving beginning balance + transactions = ending balance. Free, and your file never leaves your browser.
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How Amex statements are structured
American Express card statements are built around card accounting, which runs the opposite way from a checking account. The statement opens with an Account Summary showing Previous Balance, Payments and Credits, New Transactions, and New Balance, and the detail pages split activity into two sections: Payments, Credits and New Transactions. Payments and credits reduce what you owe and print with minus signs; purchases increase the balance and print positive. Rows also carry the card member's name when you have employee or additional cards, since Amex itemizes spend per card. Our parser reads the sign exactly as printed — payments and credits negative, charges positive — and keeps the card-member attribution in the description so your export shows who spent what. For exports headed to accounting software, charges land as expenses and payments land as transfers from your bank account. Reconciliation runs against the card math: Previous Balance minus payments and credits plus new transactions must equal the New Balance printed on the statement. If an annual fee, refund, or adjustment throws that equation off, we flag the exact row involved instead of forcing the totals to match.
What Amex gives you natively
American Express lets you download recent activity as CSV or Excel from the Statements & Activity page, but the download covers recent activity rather than complete historical statements. Full monthly statements come as PDFs, typically going back a couple of years online.
Step by step
- Log in at americanexpress.com and open your card account.
- Go to Statements & Activity and pick the statement month.
- Download the PDF version of the statement.
- Upload the PDF to ReconCSV and select CSV, Excel, or QBO.
- Check the reconciliation summary — payments, credits, and charges all counted.
- Download the converted file.
Amex conversion FAQ
Why are payments negative in my converted Amex file?
An Amex statement is a bill, not a bank account: charges increase the balance you owe, and payments and credits decrease it. We export exactly that sign convention — purchases positive, payments and credits negative — which is what QuickBooks and most accounting tools expect for a credit card account.
Does American Express let me download activity as CSV or Excel?
Yes, recent activity can be downloaded in CSV or Excel format from the Statements & Activity page, but it does not cover full historical statements. For older months the PDF statement is the source, and that is what this converter takes.
My Amex statement lists transactions per card member. Is that kept?
Yes. When a statement itemizes spend per card, the card member's name stays attached to the transaction in the export. You can filter or subtotal by cardholder once the data is in Excel or your accounting software.
How is reconciliation different on a card statement?
The math runs the card way: Previous Balance, minus payments and credits, plus new transactions must equal the printed New Balance. If a refund, fee, or adjustment breaks that equation, we flag the row and the amount instead of forcing the totals to agree.
How far back can I download Amex statements?
American Express typically makes PDF statements available online for the most recent couple of years; older ones usually require a request to customer service. Any PDF you have, from any year, converts here.