Why OFX is the easy route into Sage Accounting
Sage’s help describes OFX as an industry-standard format that you can upload without editing (Sage: Supported file formats for bank statement imports, checked October 2026). A CSV, by contrast, has to follow Sage’s own layout: either Date, Description and Amount, or Date, Description, Money in and Money out, with slash-separated dates, money out as a negative number and no blank descriptions. A bank’s own CSV rarely matches that exactly. Converting to OFX skips the template.
How to import the file into Sage Accounting
- In Sage Accounting, go to Banking and open Actions on the bank account.
- Choose the option to import a bank statement, select the .ofx file and upload it.
- Review the transactions. Sage then treats them like bank feed transactions, and your bank rules apply to them.
Sage’s menu labels vary slightly between Sage Accounting and Sage Accounting Start, so follow the wording on your screen.
Things Sage checks
- One account per file: Sage imports one bank account from each OFX file and skips the rest. Convert each account or card separately and choose Credit card in step 3 for cards.
- File size: OFX files can be up to 250 MB, far more than a year of transactions needs.
- Overlapping periods: if the account already has a bank feed, start the download the day after the last transaction Sage already has, so nothing is imported twice.
- Day-first dates: UK exports are read day-first. Check a date after the 12th in the preview before you download.
Only have a PDF statement? Convert it with PDF bank statement to Excel first, choose OFX as the output there, and import that file.
How your data stays private
- Your browser reads the file. The converter is JavaScript that runs on this page and opens your file on your own device.
- Nothing is sent to a server. Your file and its contents are never uploaded, to us or to anyone else. The page also loads Google Analytics and Google ads; useme4’s code never passes your file to them.
- It works offline. Once this page has loaded, you can disconnect from the internet and the converter keeps working.
You can check this yourself in about a minute: how to verify that your file never leaves your browser.
What this converter can’t do
- PDF statements. This converter reads CSV, Excel and OFX/QFX/QBO files. For a PDF, use PDF bank statement to Excel.
- Old .xls files. Excel 97–2003 workbooks aren’t supported. Open the file in Excel or Google Sheets and save it as .xlsx or CSV first.
- Files over 25 MB. Download a shorter date range from your bank instead.
- Dates that could go either way. If every date in a file could be day-first or month-first (like 03/04/2026), the converter follows your region and warns you. Check the preview.
- Checking your bank’s file. It can only convert what the bank exported. Compare the transaction count and totals with your statement before you import.
Frequently asked questions
Can Sage Accounting import my bank’s CSV file?
Only if it matches Sage’s CSV layout (Date, Description, Amount, or separate Money in and Money out columns). An OFX file from this converter imports without that editing.
Does Sage import more than one account from a file?
No. Sage imports the first bank account in an OFX file and skips the others, so convert and import each account separately.
Will my bank rules work on imported transactions?
Yes. Sage applies bank rules to imported statements as well as bank feed transactions.
Can I convert a PDF bank statement for Sage?
Yes. Use the PDF bank statement converter, choose OFX as the output, and import that file into Sage.
Is my bank file uploaded?
No. The conversion happens in your browser and the file never leaves your device.