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# Download your American Express statements

Where to find American Express business card statements, how far back they go, and how to get them into ZeraBooks as PDFs.

## Download a statement

American Express keeps your card statements with your account activity.

1. Sign in at americanexpress.com on a computer.
2. Open "Statements & Activity" from the main menu.
3. Choose the billing period.
4. Download the statement as a PDF.
5. In ZeraBooks, click **Banks & Cards** › **Upload statement**, choose the matching account and upload the file. See [Upload a bank or card statement](https://www.zerabooks.com/help/banks-and-cards/upload-a-statement).

## How far back you can go

American Express shows recent statements online. For older months, use its statement archive or ask American Express.

## PDF or CSV

Download the **PDF** statement. ZeraBooks reads the printed opening and closing balances from it and uses them to prove the month is complete. See [How ZeraBooks proves a statement](https://www.zerabooks.com/help/banks-and-cards/how-zerabooks-proves-a-statement).

American Express also lets you download transactions as CSV, Quicken or QuickBooks files. A CSV works in ZeraBooks too, but it usually has no opening or closing balance. After you upload one, enter both balances exactly as printed on the statement with **Fix statement details…** in Reconciliations. See [Fix a month that doesn't tie](https://www.zerabooks.com/help/reconciliations/fix-a-month-that-doesnt-tie).

Only need the transactions in a spreadsheet? Once you have the American Express PDF, convert it to Excel or CSV with the ZeraBooks [bank statement converter](/bank-statement-converter).

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Important:** An Amex statement covers a billing period that doesn't start on the 1st. Upload every statement in order, and upload them into a credit card account in ZeraBooks, not a bank account.
{% endhint %}

## Frequently Asked Questions

<details>
<summary>My Amex billing period runs from the 15th to the 14th. Is that a problem?</summary>

No. Upload each statement as it is, in order. ZeraBooks checks each statement's opening balance against the previous one's closing balance.
</details>

<details>
<summary>Do I need a separate statement for each employee card?</summary>

No. Employee cards appear on the main account's statement. Upload that one statement.
</details>

<details>
<summary>Can ZeraBooks connect to my American Express account directly?</summary>

No. ZeraBooks has no bank feeds and never asks for your American Express sign-in. Download each statement and upload it.
</details>

<details>
<summary>Which statements should I download?</summary>

Every month from the date your books start, for every account, oldest first. Upload one account's statement per file: each statement's opening balance is checked against the previous month's closing balance. See [Upload a bank or card statement](https://www.zerabooks.com/help/banks-and-cards/upload-a-statement).
</details>

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