CommBank · Categorised export
Categorise CommBank Statements by Spending Type
CommBank statements list every transaction the same way NetBank shows them. This turns that list into a CSV with a category already attached to each row.
Supports PDF files up to 10MB
What comes out
| Description (from statement) | Category |
|---|---|
| WOOLWORTHS 3045 SYDNEY AU | Groceries |
| KFCAU PRAHRAN PRAHRAN | Dining & Takeaway |
| NETFLIX.COM 866-579-7172 | Subscriptions & Software |
| AGL SOUTH AUSTRALIA | Bills & Utilities |
Real examples from CommBank statements used during testing.
Why CommBank statements need their own rules
CommBank often glues a merchant name straight to a country or state code with no space between them, so "KFC" in the raw PDF text can come through as "KFCAU". A category matcher built for other banks and pointed at CommBank data will miss that merchant completely, because it's looking for the word "kfc" bounded by spaces that were never there.
The same statements are also where a specific ordering bug showed up during testing: a transaction description like "KFC Own Casino Southbank" was landing in Entertainment because a generic "casino" keyword matched before the more specific "KFC" one did. It's now checked in the right order, chain and merchant names win over generic venue words regardless of what suburb they happen to be in.
CommBank statements also cover CommSec trading accounts, which show up in the same PDF export format as everyday transaction accounts. Both are handled by the same pass.
Categories used
Every category comes from a fixed list of keyword and pattern rules, not a model guessing at intent. Anything that doesn't match a rule is left as Uncategorised rather than assigned incorrectly, so you can see exactly what still needs a manual look.
Built without AI
Categorisation runs as static pattern matching in the same request that already parses your PDF. Your CommBank statement is never sent to an AI model to work out what your transactions mean, and nothing about your spending is stored afterwards to train one. It's a fixed set of rules, applied the same way every time.
What Our Customers Say
“Banks like Westpac only let you download CSV files for the past 18–24 months. If you need older data, you're stuck downloading PDFs and manually extracting transactions from pages of formatting and bank jargon. That job is a real slog. Your product handled it instantly and gave me clean data.”
Mark
Manufacturing, former HR/Finance Systems Consultant
“As someone preparing tax returns, going through PDF bank statements manually is a real hassle. This tool dumps everything into Excel format instantly. Huge time-saver.”
David
Director, Tax & Accounting Firm
“Great tool for dealing with PDF statements from clients. The data comes out clean and ready to import, which saves a lot of repetitive work. I had one client with statements going back several years, and this handled them all without a hitch. Highly recommend for accountants and bookkeepers.”
Tamara
Bookkeeper, Self-Employed
“Converted several years of bank statements in minutes and saved me a lot of effort. I initially wasn’t sure if it would handle my older statement formats, but once I tried it, it worked well. Would recommend if you’re dealing with PDFs.”
James
Owner, Construction Company
Questions
Does this use AI to categorise my CommBank statement?
No. Categories are assigned with static keyword and pattern matching, not a language model. Nothing in your statement is sent to an AI provider, and nothing is stored to improve a model over time.
How accurate is the categorisation?
On real CommBank statements tested during development, coverage sits around 78–100% of transactions, depending on account type and how many one-off, unpredictable merchant names appear. Anything not matched is labelled Uncategorised rather than guessed at.
Can I edit the categories afterwards?
Yes. The CSV is a normal spreadsheet column, open it in Excel or Google Sheets and adjust anything that isn't quite right before you file it or hand it to your accountant.