A US bank statement puts a whole payment on one or two lines, so most of a description is codes and abbreviations. Banks do not all use the same ones, but a small set covers nearly every line you will see.
The ACH codes
ACH, the Automated Clearing House, is the network behind most direct deposits, bill payments and transfers between banks. Each ACH payment carries a three-letter code, its Standard Entry Class (SEC), that says how it was authorized. Many banks print it in the description.
| Code | What it means | Money |
|---|---|---|
PPD |
A payment a person authorized in advance, such as a payroll direct deposit or a recurring bill. | Either |
CCD |
A payment between businesses, such as a vendor payment or a payout from a payment processor. | Either |
WEB |
A debit you authorized online or in an app. | Usually out |
TEL |
A debit you authorized by phone. | Out |
CTX |
A payment between businesses that carries the invoice details with it. | Either |
ARC, BOC, POP |
A paper check you wrote that the payee turned into an ACH debit. | Out |
IAT |
An ACH payment that crossed a border. | Either |
The ACH fields
Some banks print the ACH payment's fields in full, each with a label. The labels vary from bank to bank, but they usually look like this:
| Label | What it is |
|---|---|
ORIG CO NAME |
The company that sent the payment or collected it. |
CO ENTRY DESCR |
The company's word for the payment, such as PAYROLL or BILL PAY. |
SEC |
The ACH code from the table above. |
IND NAME, INDN |
Your name as that company has it. |
IND ID |
An ID for you at that company, such as a customer number. |
TRN |
The payment's trace number, which your bank can look up. |
The other codes
| Code | What it means | Money |
|---|---|---|
ACH CREDIT, ACH DEBIT |
An ACH payment in or out. | In / Out |
POS, POS DEBIT |
A debit card payment at a register, from "point of sale". | Out |
DBT CRD, CHECKCARD, CARD PURCHASE |
A debit card payment. | Out |
RECURRING CARD PURCHASE |
A card payment a company takes on a schedule, such as a subscription. | Out |
ATM |
Cash from a cash machine, or a deposit at one. | Either |
Zelle |
A transfer to or from a person through Zelle. | Either |
WIRE, FEDWIRE |
A wire transfer, often for a large sum. | Either |
RTP, FedNow |
An instant payment through the RTP or FedNow network. | Either |
ONLINE TRANSFER, BOOK TRANSFER |
Money moved between accounts at the same bank. | Either |
CHECK, CHK |
A paper check, with its number. | Out |
REMOTE DEPOSIT, MOBILE DEPOSIT |
A check you deposited from your phone or a scanner. | In |
NSF |
Non-sufficient funds: a payment was refused because the balance was too low, often with a fee. | Out |
OD FEE |
An overdraft fee. | Out |
RETURNED ITEM |
A check you deposited bounced, and the bank took the money back. | Out |
INTEREST PAYMENT |
Interest the bank paid you. | In |
SERVICE FEE |
A monthly fee from the bank. | Out |
DDA |
Demand deposit account: the bank's name for a checking account. | — |
Where the code ends up in your spreadsheet
When you convert a statement with BankPDFtoXLS, we keep the description as your bank printed it, codes and all, so you can filter on them. We also keep the statement's own columns. Some banks give the check number a column of its own, and so does your spreadsheet:
| Date | Number | Description | Additions | Subtractions | balance | Ledger |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/3 | Deposit from A CLIENT | 128.79 | 2,140.29 | filled | ||
| 10/3 | Purchase authorized on 10/02 HARDWARE STORE | 51.72 | 2,088.57 | ok | ||
| 10/6 | 1042 | Check | 300.00 | 1,788.57 | ok |
The rows above are an example, not a real statement.
Banks such as Wells Fargo print the balance only once a day, against the
day's last transaction. Where your bank printed no balance, we work it out
from the rows around it, fill it in, and mark the row filled in the Ledger
column. Where your bank printed one, we check it against the row before it,
and mark the row ok, or break if it does not follow.
Many US statements print a date as "10/3", with no year. In the files for QuickBooks Online and Xero, which the Standard and Plus plans give, we write every date in full, with the year we read from the statement.
Codes and your Schedule C
A code tells you what kind of payment a row is, not what it was for. When you
mark a year of rows for a tax return, the code helps you sort them: a PPD
from your employer, a CCD from a payment processor, a WEB debit to an
insurer. Bank statements for Schedule C
shows how to total them.
A code you do not recognize
- Look for a key on the last page of the statement. Many banks print one.
- Search for the
ORIG CO NAME. It is the company that took the money. - If a payment you do not recognize leaves your account, call your bank. For a personal account, federal rules (Regulation E) give you 60 days from the statement to report an electronic transfer you did not authorize.