Should a header be included when importing bank statement to Xero?

It’s a common question when importing data from a file to a software: “Does it include a header?”.

That’s because the receiving software needs to know how to behave with the first row… should it be considered data, or just a header?

How does the header row work for Bank2Xero?

In Bank2Xero, the export page includes a header to ensure each column is clearly identified. You can see what a column is by looking at it and reading its header.

Knowing this, you need to tell Xero not to import the first row when receiving data. This is done in the Statement Import Options, which look like this:

The options are set on first import of a statement in a bank account.

Should you need to review the options later on, you can access them from the Xero bank account page: the menu at the top right of the page “Manage Account” includes a small greyed link to “Edit Account Details”, which includes a link to “Statement Import Options” (a page looking like the screenshot above).

Should you have issue with the first rows being imported in your Xero, review

1. that your export from Bank2Xero includes the headers and
2. that Xero Import Options is set to know there is a header.