Download PayPal Business statements (PDF) and convert to Excel

PayPal Business account statements are often provided as PDFs to accountants when clients can't share account access. These statements include payment processing activity that requires special handling.

Download a PayPal Business PDF statement

1. Log in to PayPal Business (if you have access) or request PDF from client.
2. Go to Activity or Reports.
3. Select Download Statement and choose PDF format.
4. Select the statement period (monthly recommended).
5. Download the PDF statement—ensure it includes all transactions, fees, and balances.

Convert to Excel for reconciliation

• Upload the PDF to StatementScribe for extraction.
• PayPal statements include payment processing fees—validate these separately.
• Export to Excel with columns: date, description, transaction ID, amount, fee, net amount, balance.

Common challenges

• PayPal statements include payment processing fees that reduce net amounts.
• Refunds may appear with different transaction IDs than original payments.
• Holds and pending transactions may clear on different dates.
• Multi-currency transactions may have FX fees and exchange rate differences.

Tips for accountants

• PDF statements are essential when clients can't provide PayPal account access.
• Request monthly PDF statements directly from clients or via PayPal's secure portal.
• Separate payment processing fees from transaction amounts in your Excel reconciliation.
• Keep original PDFs as audit evidence for payment processing and fee documentation.