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See pricingIMPORT GUIDE · SAGE
Sage Accounting imports CSV, XLS, XLSX, OFX, QIF, ASO, BAI2 and CAMT053 statements from Banking, Connect to bank, Import statement. It doesn’t read PDFs. A CSV needs Date, Description, Money in, Money out, in that order. ZeraBooks Convert has a Sage-ready format that writes exactly that from a PDF, proven against the printed balances.
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THE COLUMN SPEC
Sage’s template rules for Sage Accounting, from its knowledge base (last modified August 20, 2026, checked October 22, 2026). Sage’s Canadian article sends you to the same rules through Open file import guide in the import window. Headers go in this order: Date, Description, Money in, Money out for the 4-column layout, or Date, Description, Amount for the 3-column one, with payments out negative. XLS or XLSX files: only the first tab is read. The sample is a fictional September 2026 statement for Harbourview Bike Repair, chequing ending 3318, made with ZeraBooks Convert’s Sage-ready format.
| Column | What goes in it | Example |
|---|---|---|
Date | Separated with slashes, one format for the whole file | 09/02/2026 |
Description | Text, never blank, all on one line | Hydro bill, pre-authorized |
Money In | Numbers only; money in, the other side left blank | 3450.00 |
Money Out | Numbers only, positive; money out, the other side left blank | 1925.00 |
Reference | Optional, one of Sage’s accepted extra headers (others include Cheque number and Payee name); carries the cheque number when the statement prints one | 1043 |
Date,Description,Money In,Money Out,Reference
09/02/2026,"Deposit, Lonsdale Cycling Club",3450.00,,
09/05/2026,"Cheque, parts supplier",,1925.00,1043
09/12/2026,"Hydro bill, pre-authorized",,286.15,
09/19/2026,"Deposit, card settlements",1140.75,,
09/30/2026,Monthly service fee,,18.95,Money in totals 4,590.75 and money out 2,230.10. Opening balance 12,860.40 + 4,590.75 in − 2,230.10 out = 15,221.05, the closing balance printed on the statement, so nothing is missing. Convert checks that before you download. At upload, tell Sage the dates are month, day, year: 09/02/2026 is September 2, not February 9. Then confirm the first sample line (a deposit) as money entering the account.
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A REAL EXPORT
A real run in ZeraBooks Convert: the fictional RBC sample statement RBC_Business_Account_5108_Sept_2026.pdf, already proven to the cent, downloaded Sage-ready as a CSV. The file that came out, Sage-ready - RBC_Business_Account_5108_Sept_2026.csv, has 14 rows with the columns Date, Description, Money In, Money Out, Reference.
The format, picked in Convert
The file that downloaded
FILES AND ACCOUNTS
From Sage Accounting’s Canadian knowledge base, checked October 22, 2026:
| Question | Sage’s answer |
|---|---|
| File types | BAI2, CAMT053, OFX, ASO, QIF, CSV, XLS, XLSX |
| PDF statements | Not a supported import format |
| Accounts that can import | Chequing, Credit Card, Savings |
| Accounts that can’t | Cash in Hand, Loan, Other, and foreign currency accounts |
| OFX or ASO with several accounts | Only the first account in the file is imported |
| Timing | Import historical statements before you connect a bank feed |
For a CSV, the date format is something you tell Sage at upload, so a file written month first imports correctly as long as you pick that order.
STEP BY STEP
Menu names as Sage’s current Canadian help gives them.
Go to Banking and select the chequing, savings or credit card account.
Select the dropdown arrow beside Connect to bank, then Import statement. Open file import guide shows the required headers and example files.
Select Select a file from your device, choose the CSV and select Open, or drag it into the window.
Choose the date format the file uses (month, day, year for a ZeraBooks download), add a comment such as “September 2026 statement”, and select Upload file.
Sage shows one sample transaction. Confirm whether it is money entering or leaving the account; Sage applies the answer to the rest of the file.
Correct anything flagged and select Import transactions. Back in Banking, the lines carry an Imported label, ready to Create, Match, Transfer or Discard.
AFTER THE IMPORT
Each imported transaction takes one of four actions, per Sage’s Canadian help (last modified August 12, 2026):
Record it as an Other Receipt, Other Payment or Payment on Account. You can split one line across several accounts or tax rates.
Link it to a transaction you already entered, which marks that entry cleared. Use this instead of Discard when you entered the item by hand but haven’t reconciled it.
For money moving between two of your own Sage accounts. Match the second account’s line to the transfer created from the first, or you get a duplicate.
For a line already imported or entered and reconciled. Tick several and use the trash icon, which is also the quick way out after importing the wrong file.
BEFORE YOU IMPORT
U.S. AND SAGE 50
Sage retired Sage Business Cloud Accounting in the U.S. as of December 31, 2024, according to its own product page; Sage staff confirmed the Canadian version is not affected. So the steps above are for Sage Accounting users in Canada (and other countries where it is still sold). U.S. businesses that moved to Sage 50 import bank activity through Sage 50’s own tools instead.
In Sage 50 Canada, Bank Services takes CSV or OFX: Banking, Match Bank Transactions, Upload to Bank Services, then pick Month, day, year for a ZeraBooks CSV, verify, Import transactions and Get Transactions. Whichever Sage you use, the file starts the same way, as a list that adds up to the statement. If the statement belongs in QuickBooks or Xero instead, see the QuickBooks CSV guide or the Xero import guide.
WITH ZERABOOKS CONVERT
Convert reads, proves and downloads. You import the file into Sage yourself; there is no Sage connection.
SAGE-READY FORMAT
Choose Sage-ready and CSV in the Download dialog: Date, Description, Money In, Money Out, Reference. Both amounts are positive numbers with two decimals, the empty side is blank, and dates are written MM/DD/YYYY with slashes. One file per account, so each goes to its own Sage bank account. Convert makes CSV and Excel only, not OFX or QIF. Other layouts are in convert a bank statement to CSV.
Choose a download format
PROVEN FIRST
Every statement is checked against its printed opening and closing balance, to the cent. One that doesn’t tie is flagged for review before you download, so your Sage reconciliation starts from a complete list instead of a hunt for a missing line.
How Convert proves a statement
MORE IMPORT GUIDES
No. PDF isn’t one of Sage’s import formats. Turn it into a CSV first; ZeraBooks Convert’s Sage-ready format writes Date, Description, Money In, Money Out and Reference, checked against the statement’s balances.
Date, Description, Money in, Money out for the 4-column layout, or Date, Description, Amount for the 3-column one, with payments out negative. Extra columns need Sage’s accepted header names. Other programs use their own layouts; see Wave bank statement import and Zoho Books bank statement import.
The sample line was confirmed the wrong way at upload, or a 3-column file has money out as positive. Discard the lines, re-upload and confirm the sample correctly, or use separate Money in and Money out columns.
The date format chosen at upload didn’t match the file. A ZeraBooks download is month, day, year; pick that, and keep one format for every row.
No. Sage says Sage Business Cloud Accounting (US) was retired as of December 31, 2024. The Canadian version continues.
No. ZeraBooks Convert makes the Sage-ready file and you import it. Convert is part of the ZeraBooks subscription: 1,000 pages a month from $79 a month billed annually, after a 7-day trial.
FREE SETUP + CATCH-UP
Upload the PDF to ZeraBooks Convert, choose Sage-ready and import it in Sage. 1,000 pages a month from $79 a month billed annually; see pricing. ZeraBooks also offers AI bookkeeping if you’d rather keep the books there.