The problem
New clients arrive with a year of PDF bank statements and no bank feed, and every line has to be typed in before you can start. If you take on 2 catch-up clients a month, each with 12 monthly statements that take 45 minutes to key, that's 18 hours a month.
What the AI does
DocuClipper converts PDF bank statements into Excel or an import for Xero or QuickBooks, with automatic transaction categorization. Upload the statements, check each month's opening and closing balance against the PDF, then import into the client's Xero and reconcile as normal. You check the coding and the balances; the tool only removes the typing.
A worked example
A bookkeeper in Ipswich takes on about 2 catch-up clients a month, each with 12 monthly PDF statements of about 5 pages. That's 120 pages a month, so they use DocuClipper Starter at 120 pages.
Before
45 minutes to key each of 24 statements: 18 hours a month
After
About 10 minutes to convert, check and import each: 4 hours a month
What it's worth
About $559£420€500A$806C$790 a month in your time, against $25£19€23A$36C$36 to $36£27€32A$52C$51 for DocuClipper. That is 35 minutes saved on each of 24 statements, 840 minutes or 14 hours, at an assumed $40£30€36A$58C$56 an hour. Starter with 120 pages is $25.42£19.11€22.74A$36.69C$35.93 a month billed annually or $36.31£27.30€32.49A$52.42C$51.32 monthly; the client's Xero subscription is separate.
How to set it up
- Start the 14-day free trial (up to 120 pages) with one client's statements.
- Check each converted month's opening and closing balance against the PDF before importing anything.
- Import into the client's Xero and reconcile, checking the suggested categories as you go.
- Keep the original PDFs in the client's file as the source records.
- Delete the documents from DocuClipper when the job is done, in line with your retention policy.
What goes wrong
- A missed page or misread amount throws the balance out. Never import a month whose closing balance doesn't match the PDF.
- Every processed page counts. A client with 10-page statements uses 120 pages on their own, so count before choosing a tier.
- Statements are client financial data under UK GDPR. DocuClipper holds SOC 2 Type II and encrypts data in transit, but its page doesn't say where data is stored.
- Automatic categories are a suggestion. A wrong VAT code imported in bulk is still your mistake.