Bank statements, supplier price lists, reports from other departments: tables trapped in PDFs are a daily annoyance. You want them in a spreadsheet so you can sort, filter and add them up.

Will your PDF convert cleanly?

Conversion works best when the PDF has real text and a simple grid.

• Good candidates: exported reports, system-generated statements, tables with clear rows and columns.
• Harder cases: tables with merged cells, several tables on one page, multi-line rows or decorative layouts.
• Scanned PDFs: no text exists yet. Run OCR PDF first, then convert. Expect more clean-up.

To check, try selecting a number in the PDF. If you can highlight it, you have real text.

How to convert

1. Open PDF to Excel.
2. Upload your file (up to 50 MB).
3. Convert and download the spreadsheet.

If only some pages contain the table, use Extract Pages to pull those pages out first. Smaller, focused files convert more predictably.

Check the result before you trust it

This step matters more than the conversion. Spreadsheets feel authoritative, so a wrong number gets used.

1. Compare totals. Add up a column and compare with the total printed in the PDF.
2. Look at the formats. Numbers sometimes arrive as text, which stops formulas working. Look for left-aligned numbers, or a small green warning in Excel, and convert them to numbers.
3. Check dates. Day/month order can flip depending on your settings.
4. Scan for split cells. A single value broken over two cells, or two columns squashed into one, is the usual clean-up job.
5. Spot-check rows at the start, middle and end.

Fix the common issues

• Use Text to Columns in Excel to split a merged column.
• Use Find and Replace to remove stray currency symbols or spaces so numbers convert.
• If the layout is too messy, try Extract Text and rebuild only the part you need.

If you need the whole document editable rather than only the tables, PDF to Word may suit better. Our guide to keeping formatting when converting to Word covers that route.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can it handle several tables on one page?

Often, but the results vary. Splitting the PDF so each table has its own page usually helps.

Why are my numbers left-aligned?

Excel is treating them as text. Convert them to numbers, or use Find and Replace to remove hidden spaces.

Is it accurate enough for financial work?

Treat it as a fast first draft. Verify totals against the source before using the data for anything that matters.

Can I convert a scanned bank statement?

Run OCR first and expect to proofread the figures.