Tabs3 Bank Reconciliation and Trust Accounting Import from PDF Bank Statements

How do I do a bank reconciliation in Tabs3 Trust Accounting?

In Tabs3 Trust Accounting, open Checks, then Reconciliation, and pick the trust bank account. Confirm the beginning balance Trust calculates, enter the ending balance, interest and service charge from the bank statement, then tick the Clr column for each cleared check, deposit and journal entry. Finalize becomes available only when the reconciliation is in balance.

Tabs3 General Ledger works the same way for operating and credit card accounts under Maintenance, then Reconciliation. Both programs store the finished Reconciliation Report as a PDF, and Trust adds the Three-Way Reconciliation Report that compares the client ledger total, the bank balance and the reconciled balance.

The ticking is the slow part when the statement is a 14 page PDF. Tabs3 can do most of it for you if you give it a bank file, and that is the step this page is about.

Can Tabs3 import bank transactions?

Yes. Tabs3 Trust Accounting and Tabs3 General Ledger both have Import Bank Transactions under Maintenance, also on the Bank Account Manager window. Tabs3 documents three formats: .OFX, .QFX and .QBO, and its help says a file your bank labels for Microsoft Money, Quicken or QuickBooks will work. The one exclusion is QuickBooks Direct Connect. A CSV file is not accepted by Import Bank Transactions.

During the import Tabs3 matches the account number inside the file to the Tabs3 bank account, or asks you to choose the account when the number is not assigned yet. It then matches each imported item to an existing check, deposit or journal entry. In Confirm Transactions you confirm the matched items, which marks them Cleared, and you Create or Match anything on the Unmatched tab.

What if my bank only gives me PDF statements?

That is the gap. Import Bank Transactions only helps when the bank lets you download a QuickBooks, Quicken or Money file, and many banks limit those downloads to recent months, often around 90 days, in online banking. Months before that, closed accounts, IOLTA accounts at small banks without Web Connect, and statements a client or a prior bookkeeper hands you as PDFs all arrive without a file Tabs3 can read.

BankXLSX converts the PDF statement into a .QBO file on the Plus plan. The QBO carries the account number field Tabs3 reads, every transaction with its date, amount, description and check number, and a unique ID per line. Import it through Import Bank Transactions like a bank download, then confirm the matches. On Starter you get Excel and CSV, which work for ticking the Clr column by hand against a sorted list.

1. Upload the PDF statement for the trust or operating account and check that the opening balance plus deposits minus withdrawals equals the ending balance.
2. Download the QBO file (Plus) or the Excel file (any plan).
3. In Tabs3, run Import Bank Transactions, select the QBO, and assign it to the right bank account if Tabs3 asks.
4. Open Confirm Transactions, confirm the matched items, and Create or Match the rest.
5. Run Reconciliation, enter the statement ending balance, interest and service charge, and Finalize at a zero difference.

Why does Tabs3 say the file is not properly formatted?

Tabs3 lists "The file is not properly formatted. Import aborted." as a known problem with some .QBO files in older versions, fixed in Version 2023 (Build 23.1.22). If you see it on an older build, update Tabs3 first. If it persists, open the file in a text editor and make sure it starts with OFXHEADER and contains a BANKACCTFROM or CCACCTFROM block; a QBO saved from a spreadsheet program instead of downloaded is the usual cause.

A second known issue matters for trust work: before Version 2026 (Build 26.1.11), Tabs3 could match two transactions with the same date and amount even when the descriptions differed. Retainer deposits of identical amounts on the same day are common in trust accounts, so on older builds check those matches by hand before you confirm.

Does Tabs3 have bank feeds?

We found no bank feed in Tabs3. The 2026 Trust Accounting and General Ledger guides, the Tabs3 knowledge base and the Tabs3 Financials pages describe file import only, with no Plaid, Yodlee or direct bank connection. That means how far back you can import depends only on what your bank lets you download, and everything older starts as a PDF.

Three-way reconciliation and trust audits

Many state bars require regular, often monthly, three-way reconciliation of IOLTA and other trust accounts, and an auditor or bar examiner usually asks for the bank statements, the reconciliation reports and the client ledgers for a run of months. Firms that fell behind, changed bookkeepers or switched to Tabs3 mid-year need to rebuild those months before the review. Converting a year of trust statements to QBO, importing them month by month and finalizing each reconciliation is the fastest honest way to get there, because every cleared item ties back to the bank. Our three-way trust account reconciliation guide covers the report itself.

What does Tabs3 cost, and what does this add?

Tabs3 lists Cloud from $89 per user per month (Billing, Financials, Tabs3Pay and Connect) and OnSite from $69 per user per month, with PracticeMaster as an add-on at $35 or $32 per user. Tabs3 Financials means Trust Accounting, General Ledger and Accounts Payable, so the import described here is part of what a Financials firm already pays for.

BankXLSX Starter is $49 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly, for 800 pages with unlimited users and Excel and CSV output. Plus is $149 a month, or $74 billed yearly, and adds QBO export and bulk upload of 50 statements at once, which is the plan a firm needs for Tabs3 imports. New accounts can convert 15 pages once before paying, to see the rows for their own bank.

If your firm runs on another system, the same approach is covered for Clio Accounting, CosmoLex and MyCase Accounting.