Overview
Statements in Beeswax serve two purposes: importing bank statement data for reconciliation, and generating client-facing invoice statements as PDFs.
Bank statements are uploaded as CSV files (or PDF via OCR), parsed into individual line items, and then matched against your accounting records during reconciliation.
Key characteristics:
- Bank-account linked — Each statement is associated with a specific bank account (transaction account).
- CSV import — Upload bank-exported CSV files and configure column mappings to match your bank's format.
- PDF upload — Upload bank statement PDFs for OCR-based extraction of transactions.
- Line item parsing — Each row in the CSV becomes a line item that can be matched to invoices, expenses, or payments.
- Reconciliation integration — Parsed line items feed directly into the bank reconciliation workflow.
A bank reconciliation turns green (Reconciled) only when the Difference is exactly zero and every transaction dated in the period is ticked. Blue (Awaiting next statement) means it balances with some transactions still to tick; red (Unreconciled) means there is a Difference. A tick on another statement, or on another payment from the same bank feed line, counts. See Bank Reconciliation for the workflow.
Uploading a Bank Statement
Click New Statement to upload a CSV or PDF file from your bank.
Fields
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bank Account | Yes | The transaction account (bank account) this statement belongs to. |
| CSV File | Yes (CSV) | The bank-exported CSV file. Maximum size: 50 KB. |
| Start Date | Yes | The start of the statement period. Defaults to the first day of the current month. |
| End Date | Yes | The end of the statement period. Defaults to the last day of the current month. |
PDF Upload
You can also upload a PDF bank statement. The system will use OCR to extract transactions, opening balance, closing balance, and statement period automatically.
Configuring CSV Columns
Different banks export CSV files in different formats. When you upload a CSV for the first time, Beeswax will ask you to map the columns.
Column Mapping
| Column | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Date | The transaction date |
| Description | The transaction description or reference |
| Credit | Money coming in (deposits) |
| Debit | Money going out (withdrawals) |
| Amount | A single column combining credit and debit (positive for credit, negative for debit) |
You can use either separate Credit and Debit columns, or a single Amount column — not both.
Configuration Options
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Date Format | How dates appear in the CSV (e.g. DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY). Defaults to DD/MM/YYYY. |
| Has Headers | Whether the first row contains column headers. Auto-detected where possible. |
Once configured, the mapping is saved and reused for future uploads to the same bank account.
Line Items
After a CSV is parsed, each transaction row becomes a line item.
Line Item Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | The transaction date from the bank statement |
| Description | The transaction description from the bank |
| Credit | Amount deposited |
| Debit | Amount withdrawn |
| Allocation Status | Whether the line has been allocated, and how far it is towards the bank reconciliation |
Allocation Statuses
A bank line shows Review until it is allocated, then Reconciled. Ignored lines need no allocation. See Bank Feed Allocations and the Banking Glossary.
Duplicate Detection
When parsing a CSV, the system checks for duplicate transactions across the entire bank account by comparing the date, description, credit, and debit values. Duplicates are skipped automatically.
Client Statements
Beeswax can generate PDF statements for your clients showing their outstanding invoices.
Generating a Client Statement
From the statements page, select a client company and generate a PDF showing their invoice history and balances.
Emailing Statements
You can email statement PDFs directly to clients. Specify:
- Recipients — The client contacts to receive the statement
- CC — Additional recipients
- Subject — The email subject line
- Body — A custom message
How-to Guides
Understanding Client Statements
Statements summarise outstanding invoices for your clients. Before sending a statement, ensure your bank reconciliation is current so that all payments are reflected accurately. Accounts Payable departments at client businesses may request statements for their own account reconciliation purposes.
Permissions by Role
| Action | Owner | Super Admin | Manager | Accountant | Basic | Client |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upload statements | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Configure CSV | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| View statements | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Delete statements | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| View client statements | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Download statement PDF | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Basic Plus follows Basic for the actions in this table; its extra access is to account-wide tasks and read-only projects. See Roles.
Key Notes
- Managers cannot manage bank statements or reconciliation features.
- Accountants have full access to statement management.
- Clients can view and download their own account statements (invoice summaries) but cannot access bank statement data.
- Basic users and Contractors cannot access statement features.