One monthly expense report from several banks
A checking account at one bank and cards from two others means three statements in three layouts. How to combine them into one accurate monthly report.
Key takeaways
- Put every account's transactions in one list with the same columns before analysing anything.
- Exclude transfers between your own accounts, including card payments, or you'll double-count.
- Group by transaction date and only trust a month once every account covers all of it.
Most people's money is spread out: a checking account at one bank, a credit card from another, maybe a second card for travel. Each sends its own statement in its own layout, and none of them shows the whole month.
Step 1: Collect every statement for the month
Download the statements that cover the month from every account. Card statements won't line up with the calendar, so you may need two card statements to cover one month fully.
Step 2: Normalise into one list
Convert each statement into rows with the same columns: account, date, description, signed amount. Check each statement reconciles to its own balances first — it's much easier to find a missing row in one statement than in a combined list. Our guide to converting statements to Excel covers the options.
Step 3: Take out the transfers
Card payments, savings transfers and moves between your own accounts appear on two statements each. Mark them as transfers and leave them out of the totals, or the month will look far more expensive than it was. Here's why this matters so much.
Step 4: Group by date and category
- Assign each expense to a month by its transaction date.
- Give each expense one category.
- Build a summary: total per category, per month.
- Mark months where an account's statements don't cover every day yet.
Or let it build itself
PaperSpend does these steps for you. Upload statements from any mix of banks and cards, and it recognises each account, reconciles every statement, keeps transfers out of spending, groups by transaction date and shows one dashboard for the month — with an export to Excel or CSV when you need it. See pricing.
Frequently asked questions
How do I combine bank statements from different banks?
Convert each statement to the same columns — account, date, description, amount — then put them in one list. Remove transfers between your own accounts before totalling.
Why is my combined monthly spending too high?
Usually because card payments or transfers between your own accounts are counted as spending. Mark them as transfers.
Which date should I use to group transactions by month?
The transaction date. Statement periods and posting dates don't line up with calendar months.
