Beginning + Σ credits − Σ debits = ending
ProofRows enforces a beginning and ending balance check on every statement. If the math doesn't reconcile to the cent, the export button stays disabled. The bookkeeper is told the variance before they ever ship a file.
What the validation page shows
The opening balance as printed on the statement. Sourced from the PDF text; manually override-able in the review screen.
Sum of every credit transaction on the statement. Computed from the reviewed transaction rows.
Sum of every debit transaction on the statement. Computed from the reviewed transaction rows.
Beginning + Σ credits − Σ debits. Computed live as the bookkeeper reviews and edits.
The closing balance as printed on the statement. Sourced from the PDF text.
The difference between the calculated and statement endings. The export button is disabled while Δ ≠ $0.00.
Why this is the feature we will not ship without
- Wrong-signed transactions are a class of error that survives spreadsheet cleanup. A $1,200 deposit that imports as a withdrawal is a real reconciliation break weeks later.
- Crossed-page transactions are caught at validation. A deposit that splits across two pages adds up to a different total than the printed ending balance. The variance tells the bookkeeper which page to look at.
- OCR’d amounts are flagged when they don’t reconcile. Even a 99% confidence model produces an occasional $0.40 mistake. The balance check is the second pair of eyes.
How to resolve a variance
- 01Sort the table by amount descending
Large transactions are usually the source of a variance. The biggest items first.
- 02Re-check the source line in the PDF
Click each row; the source line highlights. Verify the amount and the sign.
- 03Check for crossed-page transactions
A deposit or check that spans two pages may have been split into two rows by the extractor. Merge or correct.
- 04Re-check the beginning and ending balance
If the statement printing is ambiguous (e.g. a carryover line at the top of a multi-page statement), set the beginning balance manually.
- 05Re-validate
The validation card re-renders live. When Δ = $0.00, the export button is enabled.
Try it on a real statement
The math has to add up — every statement, every export.
150 free pages. No credit card. The validation card is unambiguous.
Frequently asked questions
- Can ProofRows convert bank statement PDFs to CSV?
- Yes. ProofRows extracts transactions from bank-statement PDFs — text-based or scanned — and lets bookkeepers review, edit, validate, and export the results as CSV. The QuickBooks-ready and Xero-ready CSV profiles import cleanly into those tools through their native bank-import wizards.
- Does ProofRows work with scanned bank statements?
- Yes. Scanned and image-only statements are read with built-in OCR, then parsed into transactions the same way as text PDFs. Low-confidence rows from rough scans are flagged for review, and every statement still has to pass the balance check before export.
- Can I import ProofRows exports into QuickBooks?
- ProofRows exports QuickBooks-ready CSV (for the Banking → Upload from file wizard) and .qbo Web Connect files that QuickBooks Online and Desktop import natively. A direct QuickBooks Online API push is on the roadmap and should not be described as live yet. ProofRows is not affiliated with or endorsed by Intuit.
- Can I import ProofRows exports into Xero?
- ProofRows exports a Xero-ready CSV that supports Xero's bank-import workflow (Accounting → Bank accounts → Import a statement). A direct Xero API push is on the roadmap. ProofRows is not affiliated with or endorsed by Xero.
- Does ProofRows export to Excel (XLSX)?
- Yes — XLSX export is supported today. CSV files produced by ProofRows also open cleanly in Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, and Google Sheets.
- Is ProofRows a replacement for bookkeeping software?
- No. ProofRows is a statement-cleanup workspace. It prepares transaction data for import or reconciliation in accounting tools like QuickBooks Online or Xero. It is not a ledger of record.
- Who is ProofRows built for?
- ProofRows is built for solo bookkeepers, small bookkeeping firms, accountants, tax preparers, QuickBooks ProAdvisors, cleanup bookkeeping specialists, and fractional CFOs who receive bank statements as PDFs.
- How long do you keep my client's bank statements?
- Source PDFs are auto-deleted after the per-client retention window (default 30 days, configurable). The extracted transactions and export-log audit trail stay for the life of the account. Account deletion cascades and removes every row, file, and auth artifact in a single transaction.
- Do you train AI models on my client's bank statements?
- No. We do not train models on customer data. The extraction provider we use is contracted not to train on API requests, and our application does not write statement text back to the database from the model — the only path through is a strict schema validation.
- How accurate is the extraction?
- Confidence scores are surfaced per row so the bookkeeper can see which transactions the model is less sure about. The validation page enforces a beginning + Σ credits − Σ debits = ending balance check before any export. We do not claim 'perfect AI extraction' — every export is human-reviewed.
More questions? Contact support or read the full FAQ.