When the bank feed stops short
Need More Than 24 Months of Bank Data in Xero?
Last checked against Xero's documentation: 12 September 2026
Short answer
Short answer
If the period you need is older than the history offered when you connect a Xero bank feed, get the original statements from the bank. Use OFX or CSV if the bank still provides them. If it only provides PDF statements, convert those PDFs to CSV, stop the file before the feed's first complete date, then follow Xero's documented CSV import process.
Xero says most Australian bank feeds provide up to 12 months of history when first connected, while some institutions provide up to two years. That makes a three-year cleanup, an older tax year or a long-neglected account a separate manual-import job.
The 24-month limit is the best case, not a promise
It is tempting to connect the feed first and assume the history will follow. Check what actually arrived. The starting date depends on the institution, and Xero's own Australian page describes 12 months as typical and two years as available only with some banks.
Work backwards from the first complete feed date. That gives you a clean boundary. Convert and import the older statements only, rather than creating a file that overlaps data already sitting in Xero.
The safe workflow
- 01
Check the first complete feed date
Find the earliest date from which Xero has a continuous run of bank-supplied statement lines.
- 02
List the older months
Write down every statement period needed before that date and check there are no gaps.
- 03
Use the bank export first
Choose OFX or CSV if your bank still offers it for those years.
- 04
Convert PDF-only periods
Turn older PDF statements into CSV and check the extracted transactions against each statement.
- 05
Import without overlap
Follow Xero's CSV mapping and review process, ending before the feed history begins.
The Xero actions above follow Xero's published CSV statement import instructions, including column mapping, date-format confirmation and transaction review.
Checks before you complete the import
- The date shown by Xero is the first complete feed date, not simply the first visible transaction.
- Every older statement month is present once.
- The manual file stops before the bank-fed period.
- The imported balance meets the opening position of the feed period.
What Xero itself documents
Xero's manual-import guide says the standard workflow accepts OFX, QFX, QIF, CSV and QuickBooks formats, recommends OFX where available, and directs people with PDF-only statements towards a third-party conversion service.
Xero also documents manual imports for missing lines and transactions from before a feed starts. Its troubleshooting guide says CSV imports can fail because of invalid dates, spaces, blank lines, corrupt files or incorrectly prepared data. That is another reason to review the file before treating an import as finished.
Frequently asked questions
Do all Xero bank feeds provide 24 months of history?
No. Xero says up to 12 months is typical for Australian banks and up to two years is available with some institutions. The actual period depends on the bank.
What if my bank only lets me download old statements as PDF?
Use the PDFs as the source record, convert them to CSV, check the result, and import only the period missing from Xero.
Should I import the whole statement history again?
No. Import only the gap before the first complete feed date. Overlapping a live feed makes duplicate detection and reconciliation harder.
Can I combine several years into one CSV?
You can merge statements from the same account in date order. If the result exceeds Xero's import limits, split it into smaller periods before uploading.