Hubdoc Bank Feeds vs Statement Conversion: Which Approach Works Better?

Understanding the trade-offs between live bank feeds and PDF statement conversion for accounting firms managing diverse client portfolios

Published January 29, 2025

8 min read

Try for one week

TL;DR: Key Takeaways

Bank feeds require direct bank partnerships (limited to ~700 supported institutions)
Statement conversion works with ANY bank PDF (no partnership required)
Bank feeds can't access historical data beyond what banks provide (typically 90 days)
Statement conversion handles any date range (clients provide PDFs)
Most CPA firms need BOTH approaches for complete client coverage
Zera Books offers unlimited statement conversion when bank feeds aren't available

How Hubdoc's Two Approaches Work

Hubdoc positions itself as a comprehensive document management solution for accountants, offering two distinct methods for getting bank transaction data into your accounting software: bank feeds and statement conversion.

Bank Feeds

Auto-fetch transactions from 700+ connected financial institutions and sync directly to Xero or QuickBooks. This is Hubdoc's primary approach for ongoing bookkeeping.

Fully automated daily syncs
Real-time transaction updates
Requires client bank permissions

Statement Conversion

Upload PDF bank statements, extract transaction data to CSV format, then manually import into accounting software. Positioned as a fallback option.

Manual upload process
CSV export for import
Limited to supported banks

Key Insight: Hubdoc prioritizes bank feeds as the "modern" solution while treating statement conversion as a legacy workaround for unsupported banks or special situations.

Bank Feed Advantages

When bank feeds work, they offer compelling benefits for ongoing bookkeeping workflows:

Real-Time Transaction Sync

Transactions appear in your accounting software within 24 hours of clearing the bank. No waiting for clients to send PDFs or download statements.

Automatic Daily Updates

Once connected, bank feeds run on autopilot. Hubdoc checks for new transactions every day without manual intervention.

Less Manual Intervention

After initial setup, bank feeds require minimal ongoing management. The workflow becomes: review transactions, categorize, reconcile.

Works Well for Major Banks

Clients banking with Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, and other major institutions typically have reliable feed connections.

Bank Feed Limitations

The limitations of bank feeds reveal why accounting firms still need statement conversion capabilities:

Limited to ~700 Institutions

Many credit unions, regional banks, and international financial institutions lack Hubdoc feed partnerships. This leaves 30-50% of CPA firm clients without automated access.

Historical Data Constraints

Most bank feeds provide only 90 days of historical transactions. Some banks limit this to 30 days. This makes tax preparation and year-end reconciliation impossible without statement conversion.

Frequent Disconnections

Bank feeds commonly disconnect when banks update security protocols, clients change passwords, or multi-factor authentication expires. Each disconnection requires client re-authorization.

Can't Handle Closed Accounts

Once a bank account closes, feed access terminates immediately. CPAs performing historical audits or tax preparation lose access to all transaction data.

No Control Over Data Format

Banks determine what transaction details appear in feeds. Missing check numbers, incomplete payee names, or truncated descriptions create categorization challenges.

Statement Conversion Advantages

Statement conversion provides critical flexibility that month-end close workflows often require:

Works with ANY Bank

No partnership required. If the bank produces a PDF statement, you can extract the data. This covers credit unions, regional banks, foreign institutions, and niche financial services.

Complete Historical Access

Process statements from any date range. Need transactions from 2018 for an audit? Clients download the PDFs, you convert them. No 90-day limitations.

Handles Closed Accounts & Legacy Banks

Client switched banks three years ago? Acquired a business with historical accounts? Statement conversion accesses data that bank feeds can never reach.

Client Controls Data Delivery

No permission grants, no re-authorization hassles. Clients email PDFs when needed. Some clients prefer this level of control over giving ongoing bank access.

Better for Tax Season

Tax preparation demands full-year transaction history. Statement conversion lets you process January-December statements in one batch, regardless of when the client became a client.

Statement Conversion Limitations in Hubdoc

While statement conversion solves bank feed gaps, Hubdoc's implementation has significant constraints compared to specialized statement processing tools:

Limited Bank Format Support

Hubdoc's conversion only works with "top banks in Canada and the US." Smaller institutions, international banks, and non-standard formats fail to convert.

Manual Upload Required

Each statement must be uploaded individually through the Hubdoc interface. No batch processing for firms handling dozens of client statements.

CSV Export Needs Manual Import

Hubdoc extracts to CSV, but you must manually import that file into QuickBooks or Xero. This breaks the "seamless sync" workflow that bank feeds provide.

No AI Categorization

Extracted transactions lack intelligent categorization. You get raw transaction data without the AI-powered category mapping that modern tools provide.

No Batch Processing

Processing 50 client statements means 50 individual uploads, 50 separate conversions, and 50 manual imports. This doesn't scale for accounting firms during tax season.

Bank Feeds vs Statement Conversion: Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Bank Feeds	Statement Conversion
Bank Coverage	~700 institutions	Any bank with PDF statements
Historical Data	90 days typical	Unlimited (client provides)
Automation	Fully automated	Manual upload required
Closed Accounts	Not supported	Fully supported
Client Permission	Re-auth required periodically	One-time PDF delivery
Format Control	Bank-determined	Full control
Tax Season Readiness	Limited	Excellent

When Each Approach Makes Sense

Bank Feeds Work Best For:

Ongoing bookkeeping - Current month reconciliation workflows
Clients with major banks - Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi
Real-time transaction monitoring - Daily transaction review needs
Clients comfortable with permissions - No hesitation about bank access

Statement Conversion Works Best For:

Tax preparation - Need full 12+ month transaction history
Regional banks & credit unions - Institutions without feed partnerships
Closed account reconciliation - Historical accounts no longer accessible
Foreign bank accounts - International financial institutions
Privacy-conscious clients - Prefer PDF delivery over bank access
Month-end close with comparisons - Historical period analysis

The CPA Firm Reality: You Need Both

The theoretical "bank feeds for everything" vision doesn't match the practical reality of managing diverse client portfolios:

30-50%

of CPA firm clients bank with institutions that don't support Hubdoc feeds (credit unions, regional banks, international institutions)

12+ months

of transaction history required for tax preparation, but bank feeds typically provide only 90 days

15-25%

of clients refuse to grant ongoing bank access permissions, preferring to send PDFs when needed

100%

of closed account reconciliations require statement conversion (bank feeds terminate when accounts close)

The Typical Firm Breakdown

Most accounting firms use bank feeds for approximately 70% of ongoing client work, relying on statement conversion for the remaining 30% plus all historical/tax preparation needs.

This means you can't choose between bank feeds OR statement conversion. You need BOTH capabilities to serve all clients effectively.

Why Statement Conversion Flexibility Matters

No "this bank isn't supported" conversations - Accept any client regardless of their financial institution
Access any historical period for audits - Process statements from any date range for compliance or analysis
Handle client transitions seamlessly - Switching banks, mergers, acquisitions, closed accounts
Work with international clients - Process statements from any country's banking system
Maintain control during bank feed outages - Continue work when feeds disconnect or banks update systems

Related Resources

Best Bank Statement Converter

Compare top bank statement conversion solutions

Pricing

See our unlimited conversion pricing

Tax Preparation

Historical data for tax season workflows

Beyond Hubdoc: Statement Conversion Alternatives

Hubdoc's statement conversion limitations (supported banks only, no batch processing, no AI categorization) create opportunities for specialized alternatives that focus exclusively on making statement conversion exceptional:

Zera Books: Universal Statement Processing

What Makes It Different

Universal bank format support (no "supported banks" list)
AI categorization auto-maps to QuickBooks/Xero charts
Multi-account detection splits combined statements automatically
Batch processing uploads 50+ statements at once

Practical Benefits

Direct integrations pre-formatted for all accounting software
Unlimited processing at $79/month (no per-page fees)
Client management dashboard organizes by firm/client
Processes 4 document types (statements, financials, invoices, checks)

The key difference: Hubdoc treats statement conversion as a fallback for when bank feeds fail. Zera Books treats it as the primary workflow, building features that make conversion faster, more accurate, and more valuable than bank feeds for tax preparation and historical reconciliation.

Choosing the Right Statement Conversion Tool

When evaluating statement conversion capabilities beyond Hubdoc's basic offering, prioritize these factors based on your firm's workflow:

Bank Format Coverage

Does the tool process "any bank" (universal) or maintain a "supported banks" list? Universal coverage eliminates client acceptance constraints.

Historical Data Handling

Can you process statements from any date range? Critical for tax preparation and audit support workflows.

AI Categorization

Does extraction include intelligent mapping to accounting software categories, or just raw transaction data? AI categorization cuts reconciliation time by 30-45 minutes per client.

Batch Processing

Can you upload 50+ statements simultaneously for tax season volume, or must you process one at a time?

Pricing Model

Unlimited monthly rate vs per-page fees. Per-page pricing creates "conversion anxiety" and unpredictable tax season costs.

Integration Depth

CSV export (requires manual import) vs direct QuickBooks/Xero integration with pre-mapped fields and categories?

"My clients send me all kinds of messy PDFs from different banks. This tool handles them all and saves me probably 10 hours a week that I used to spend on manual entry."

Ashish Josan

Manager, CPA

Ready to Handle Any Bank Statement Format?

Zera Books processes statements from any bank worldwide with AI categorization and unlimited conversions. Stop worrying about bank feed coverage gaps.

Try for one week