Formats Sage Accepts
Sage’s knowledge base pages list several file types for bank statement imports, including OFX/ASO, QIF, CSV and XLS/XLSX; one article also lists BAI2 and CAMT053. Supported types and wording can differ by product and region, so this guide reflects the Sage UK knowledge base pages we read.
For CSV and Excel files, Sage says the file must contain specific headers. The two layouts are below.
The 3-Column and 4-Column Layouts
Sage’s page describes these header sets, in this order:
• 3 columns: Date, Description, Amount. Payments in and out share the Amount column, and payments out must be negative.
• 4 columns: Date, Description, Money in, Money out. Payments in go in Money in and payments out go in Money out.
Rules that apply to both: separate dates in the Date column with a slash, such as 04/01/2021; the Description must contain text, cannot be blank and must stay on one line; and the amount columns must hold numbers only.
You can add optional columns such as a transaction reference, payee name or address, but their headers must match the accepted list on Sage’s page.
Date,Description,Amount
02/10/2026,CLIENT PAYMENT,1500.00
05/10/2026,OFFICE SUPPLIES,-84.20
11/10/2026,SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION,-49.00Date Order and Sign Checks
The page we read does not say whether the slash-separated date should be day/month or month/day. Sage’s review step does ask you to select the date order that your file uses, so confirm that selection matches your file rather than assuming.
Sage does not state a sign convention beyond the 3-column rule above. After import, transactions are shown as money in or money out; if the signs are reversed, Sage’s help points to the Switch transaction types option.
Sage’s pages state a 250 MB maximum for OFX/ASO and QIF files. They give no size, row or transaction limit for CSV or XLS/XLSX files.
Multi-Account Files and Spreadsheets
For OFX/ASO files, Sage imports only the first bank account in the file and ignores the rest. For XLS/XLSX files, only the first tab is processed, so keep your transactions on the first sheet or save a CSV.
Pre-Import Checklist
Check that the headers match one layout exactly and in order, that every Description has text on a single line, that amounts hold only numbers, and that the date separator is a slash. If you are working from a PDF statement, PDFtoRow converts statement PDFs to Excel/CSV, with a free 10-row preview.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Sage’s page describes Date, Description and Amount for the 3-column layout, or Date, Description, Money in and Money out for the 4-column layout, in that order. Optional columns must use header names from Sage’s accepted list.
The pages we read state a 250 MB limit for OFX/ASO and QIF files but give no size or row limit for CSV or XLS/XLSX. Check Sage’s current help for your region if you have a very large file.
Primary Evidence & Official References
- Sage UK Knowledge Base: Import bank statement (supported formats and CSV layouts) — gb-kb.sage.com (Verified 2026-10-29). Official source documentation →
- Sage UK Knowledge Base: Import bank statements — gb-kb.sage.com (Verified 2026-10-29). Official source documentation →