Monzo or Revolut CSV will not import into Xero: what I try

You export from Monzo or Revolut Business, open Xero, and the bank statement import fails or lands wrong. The CSV looks fine in Excel. That is a familiar trap.

These apps export clean enough data for humans. Xero still wants a specific shape. Small mismatches blow up the whole import.

Open the raw file first

Do not start in Excel. Open the CSV in a plain text editor. Check the header row, the date strings, and whether money in and money out are separate columns or one signed amount. Excel loves to rewrite dates and strip leading zeros before you notice.

Columns Xero actually cares about

• A date column in a consistent format
• A clear amount (or separate money in and money out)
• A description or payee field that is not empty on every row
• No second header block halfway down the export

Extra columns are usually fine. Missing or merged amount columns are not.

Dates and locale

UK day-month order is the usual offender. If Excel has already turned dates into serial numbers, what you save out is not what Monzo or Revolut gave you. Import as text if you must use a spreadsheet, or skip the spreadsheet step entirely.

Signs and fees

Card payments, transfers, and fees sometimes land with the wrong sign after a manual tidy. Spot-check a withdrawal, a top-up, and a fee line. One flipped sign can make the statement balance look insane even when most rows are right.

Five-row test before the full statement

Copy five representative rows into a tiny CSV. Import that sample into Xero. Confirm dates, amounts, and descriptions. Only then convert the full export. It is dull and it saves re-uploading a month of transactions.

A shorter route when you are done fighting the file

I built CSVReady for this. Upload the Monzo or Revolut CSV, check the mappings, and download a file shaped for Xero (or QuickBooks Online / FreeAgent). You can try five rows free with no account and no bank login.

Try CSVReady: five rows free →

If a particular export keeps misbehaving, use the CSVReady contact form and leave the real statement data out of the message.