When a small business banks with Banco de Galicia in Argentina, month-end close often stalls on one task: getting the statement into Xero. The goal of this guide is simple: import Banco de Galicia statement into Xero cleanly, so transactions arrive with the right dates, descriptions, and peso amounts, ready to match against invoices and bills. The statement itself downloads as a PDF, and Xero cannot import a PDF, so the workflow is download, convert to CSV, import, and reconcile.
Galicia statements are familiar to anyone who banks in Argentina: Spanish labels, day-first dates, and peso amounts with comma decimals. None of that is a problem if the conversion preserves it. Problems start when a converter reorders dates, shrinks amounts by misreading decimals, or truncates descriptions. This guide shows how to check each of those points, so the import lands correctly the first time and reconciliation takes minutes.
Download the right Galicia statement PDF
Log in to Banco de Galicia online banking and open the business account you want to reconcile. Choose the statements section, pick the account and the period, and download the PDF. If the business holds a checking account and a separate card account, download each one separately. Card statements and bank account statements reconcile against different Xero accounts, and mixing them into one CSV creates matches that make no sense.
Open the PDF and verify the full cycle before converting. The opening balance should match the previous statement's closing balance, and the last page should show the closing balance for the period. Look for saldo anterior and saldo final as the Spanish labels for those balances. A partial download that starts mid-month will reconcile to a difference equal to the missing opening transactions, which is a frustrating way to discover a bad download. For background on the bank, see our Banco de Galicia bank page.
Convert the PDF to a Xero-ready CSV
Upload the PDF to a converter and review the CSV column by column. Xero needs Date, Description, and Amount, with a clear sign rule for money in and money out. If the converter gives you separate Debit and Credit columns, map those to Withdrawals and Deposits in Xero. If it gives you a single Amount column, negatives must mean money out and positives money in, consistently, across every row.
Check the Argentine formatting traps before import. Dates are day-first, so 12/04/2026 is April 12. Amounts use a comma for decimals and a dot for thousands, so 2.400,75 is two thousand four hundred pesos and seventy-five centavos. Spot-check at least five amounts and five dates against the PDF. Also watch for long merchant descriptions that wrap across two lines in the PDF: a good converter stitches them back together, but a split description makes matching in Xero harder. Fix any broken rows in the spreadsheet now, while the PDF is still open beside you. For the general conversion method, see our guide on how to convert a bank statement PDF to Excel.
Import the CSV into Xero and review the preview
In Xero, open Accounting, then Bank Accounts, and select the account that matches the statement. Confirm the account currency is Argentine pesos (ARS) before importing. From the account menu, choose Import a Bank Statement, upload the CSV, and map the columns: date to Date, description to Payee or Description, and amounts to Amount or to Withdrawals and Deposits.
The preview screen is the most valuable step in the whole workflow. Xero shows the rows it is about to import, and you can cancel without consequence if anything looks wrong. Look for three things: dates in the right order, amounts with the right sign, and descriptions that read like real merchant names rather than fragments. If the preview passes those checks, confirm the import. If it fails any of them, fix the CSV and preview again. A two-minute preview saves a thirty-minute cleanup.
Reconcile the Galicia account in Xero
Open the reconciliation screen and let Xero suggest matches against invoices, bills, and expenses. Match the clear ones first, then work through the rest. Unmatched transactions usually fall into a few buckets: a payment recorded under a slightly different payee name, a transfer between your own accounts that Xero has not linked yet, or a fee or interest row that was never entered manually. Handle transfers as transfers so they do not inflate income or expenses.
Finish by comparing the reconciled balance with the PDF closing balance. If they differ by a round amount, hunt for a missing or doubled transaction of that size. If they differ by a small odd amount, check bank fees, taxes on transactions, and interest rows. Once the balances agree, lock the period in your routine and note the imported date range, so next month starts exactly where this one ended. For more detail on matching, see our guide on how to reconcile a bank statement.
Frequently asked questions
Does Xero accept Banco de Galicia PDFs?
No. Xero imports CSV, OFX, and QIF files. Convert the PDF to CSV first, then import through the bank account menu.
Should card and checking statements go into the same Xero account?
No. Keep them in separate Xero bank or credit card accounts so each one reconciles against its own statement closing balance.
What causes dates to swap month and day?
Day-first Argentine dates read by software that expects month-first dates. Use YYYY-MM-DD in the CSV to remove the ambiguity entirely.
How often should I import?
Monthly, right after the statement posts, works for most small businesses. Weekly imports suit high-volume accounts and make duplicates easier to spot early.
One clean month sets the template for every month after it. If you convert statements in volume, check pricing for plans that cover more pages, and begin from the ConvertStatement home page.