Common questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most about ZeraBooks Convert, from uploading documents to downloads and plans, each with a link to the full guide.
Getting started
What is ZeraBooks Convert?
A document converter. You upload PDF statements, checks, invoices and other financial documents; Convert reads them, checks them against their own printed totals, and gives you the data as CSV or Excel. See Welcome to ZeraBooks Convert.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Every ZeraBooks plan starts with a 7-day free trial, and there is no free tier. A card is needed at checkout. The trial includes 1,000 pages. See Start using Convert.
Do I need to set anything up before I convert?
No. Open the page for your document, such as Bank & Credit Cards, and upload a PDF.
Documents
What files can I upload?
PDFs only, up to 50 MB each, several at once. Images, CSV and Excel statements are refused with "Only PDF files can be converted." See Upload documents.
Where do I upload documents?
On the page for the document type, such as Bank & Credit Cards or Checks. Click the header's upload button, such as Upload statements, or drop PDFs anywhere on the page. Home has no upload. See Upload documents.
My statement has several accounts. What happens?
Convert splits the transactions by account and checks each account against its own printed balances. Card statements with several cardholders, such as Amex, are split by cardholder. See Bank and credit card statements.
How long does reading take?
Usually under a minute. The document shows Reading until it's done, and the list refreshes by itself.
Why does my statement say "Needs a look"?
An account doesn't tie to the cent, the statement prints no balances to check against, or there's a note to review. Correct a row, move it to the right account, add a missing one or remove an extra one, and the proof runs again. See How Convert proves a statement and Fix a statement.
Can I edit invoices, investment statements or financial statements?
No. Only bank and card statement rows and checks can be edited. For the others, upload a clearer copy of the PDF. See When a document can't be read.
Why don't I see a document I uploaded last quarter?
Convert lists only the documents uploaded in the last 30 days. After that, they drop off the lists. There are no folders.
Downloads
Which format should I choose?
QuickBooks-ready for a QuickBooks Online bank upload, Xero-ready for Xero, Sage-ready for Sage, Money in and out for a spreadsheet with separate money in and money out columns, Standard for a simple three-column file, and All details for every column. See Choose a download format.
Can I choose my own columns?
No. Downloads use fixed, ready-made formats only. All details has every column Convert reads.
Can I combine a month of statements into one file?
Yes. On Bank & Credit Cards, tick the statements in the list, click Download n together, choose One file, and click Download. See Download your data.
Can I get one file per account or per cardholder?
Yes. Under Split, choose One per account or One per cardholder, or leave it on Automatic. In Excel each one is its own tab; as CSV they come together in a ZIP.
Why is there no Download dialog for checks?
Checks, investment statements and financial statements have one format, so there's nothing to choose but the file type. Click Download, then Excel or CSV, and the file downloads at once. See Download your data.
What if a column I want isn't on the document?
ZeraBooks reads each document once and never guesses. A value the document doesn't show is an empty cell in the file. See Blank cells and missing values.
Can I see which columns I'll get?
Yes. For statements and invoices, the Download dialog lists each format's columns under its name. Checks, investments and financial statements have one format, All details. See Choose a download format.
Can Convert send data straight into QuickBooks, Xero or Sage?
No. Convert gives you a file to import. Download the QuickBooks-ready, Xero-ready or Sage-ready format and import it there.
Plans
Where is my plan?
Click ZeraBooks Convert at the top of the sidebar, then Billing. It shows your plan, the pages used this period, changing plan and Manage billing. See Billing.
How are plans priced?
By pages processed: ZeraBooks (1,000 pages a month), ZeraBooks 2,500 and ZeraBooks 5,000, monthly or yearly. See Plans and pages.
Do failed documents use pages?
No. Failed pages never count. See Plans and pages.
What happens when I run out of pages?
New uploads wait, with a Get more pages button that lets you move up a plan right there. Moving up takes effect straight away, and the files that were waiting convert automatically. On monthly billing you can also switch to yearly, which opens the whole year's pages at once. On the top plan billed yearly, click Book a call. See Plans and pages.
Does running out stop a document that's already converting?
No. A document already reading when you reach your pages is read in full. Only the next upload waits for more pages.
How many pages does the free trial include?
1,000 pages, whichever plan the trial is on. When the trial ends, your plan is charged and you get its full pages. To get them sooner, click Start my plan now on Billing. That ends the trial and charges the plan today. See Change your plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Convert keep my books?
No. Convert turns documents into data. If you want ZeraBooks to keep the books, use the ZeraBooks General Ledger: the button at the bottom of Home and the menu at the top of the sidebar both lead there.
Does Convert have an AI assistant I can chat with?
No. ZeraBooks reads and checks documents on its own, and you work from the pages: upload on each document page, fix rows on the document, and download from the document or tick several in the list to download them together.
Where is every error message explained?
In Error messages, grouped by area.
Learn more about Bank statement converter: Statements to checked Excel or CSV, split by account and cardholder.
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