Wave + Accountants: Faster Bank Import
Accountants spend hours manually entering client bank statements into bookkeeping software. With hundreds of transactions per client per month, this is the single biggest time drain in practice. If you use Wave for your accounting, you need a fast way to get bank statement data into the system.
BankScan AI for Accountants Using Wave
BankScan AI converts any bank statement PDF to CSV formatted for direct import into Wave. BankScan AI lets you drag-and-drop any client's bank statement PDF and get a formatted Excel spreadsheet in seconds — ready to import into Xero, QuickBooks, or Sage.
The Accountants + Wave Workflow
Accountants typically receive client bank statements monthly, reconcile them against purchase and sales ledgers, post adjusting entries, and prepare management accounts. During year-end, they batch-process 12 months of statements for annual accounts preparation and corporation tax filings.
Key terms you'll encounter: nominal ledger, bank reconciliation, trial balance, management accounts.
How It Works
Upload any bank statement PDF
Supports all major banks. Saves an average of 45 minutes per client per month on bank reconciliation, or 6+ hours per week for a typical practice with 30 clients
AI formats for Wave
Output as CSV with Date, Description, Amount — Wave supports both single amount column and separate Income/Expense columns — dates in YYYY-MM-DD or MM/DD/YYYY.
Import and reconcile
In Wave, go to Banking > Connected Accounts > Upload a bank statement (CSV). Select the file, map columns to Date, Description, and Amount, then import. Wave's invoicing is tightly coupled with bank imports — when you import a bank deposit, Wave suggests matching it to outstanding invoices automatically.
Supported Banks
BankScan AI works with all major UK and US banks, including:
Wave Features for Accountants
- Wave ready — Output formatted as CSV matching Wave's expected column structure
- Smart integration — Wave's invoicing is tightly coupled with bank imports — when you import a bank deposit, Wave suggests matching it to outstanding invoices automatically.
- Built for Accountants — Saves an average of 45 minutes per client per month on bank reconciliation, or 6+ hours per week for a typical practice with 30 clients
- Software compatible — Output works directly with Xero, Sage, QuickBooks
Import Steps for Accountants Using Wave
As an accountant, here's how to get bank data into Wave:
- In Wave, go to Banking > Connected Accounts > Upload a bank statement (CSV)
- Select the file, map columns to Date, Description, and Amount, then import
Common Import Issues
Wave's free tier has occasional processing delays on large files. Also, Wave uses MM/DD/YYYY by default which conflicts with UK DD/MM/YYYY — select the correct format during import.
Wave Import — Built for Accountants
Completely free with no paid tier for accounting features (monetised through payment processing). Popular with budget-conscious startups and side-hustlers.
Try Free — Wave + Accountants