Free trial until 31 Dec 2026
SmartFormular FiBu lite
The Booking Batch Generator: bank statement PDF → booking batch in the DATEV format (EXTF), offline in your browser
The filing deadline is tomorrow, and right now the bank feed is down or was never set up for this account. All you have is the PDF statement. Before you lose hours keying it in by hand: the Booking Batch Generator turns bank statements in PDF format into booking batches in the DATEV format (DatevPro, EXTF), one per statement and month, scanned statements included. It runs entirely in your browser, with no installation and no account, Windows included. A tool for everyday work outside the perfect process. Any accounting software with a DATEV import can read them; more under “About the format” below.
- File
- Booking-Batch-Generator.html
- Version
- b7b368d of 2 November 2026
- SHA-256
4c919af79d8e2b9bafd1c3c4fecfd7b525dfe49c9875729d40e55317e199ae3e
What it does
- Without a template: every transaction is posted to a fixed bank account and contra account, such as a clearing account. Debit and credit follow from the direction of the payment.
- With a template: load the previous month's booking batch as well, and the generator takes the contra account, BU key and posting text from similar postings. Uncertain suggestions are marked. The template sets the rules, though: anything posted wrongly last month is carried over as a confident match. So check the template first.
- Many banks: it recognises the layout of a statement by itself. It has been tested with statements in the style of Sparkasse, Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Postbank, ING, DKB, N26, Wise and Revolut, English-language ones included.
- Scans too: it reads scanned statements, black and white ones included, using text recognition, also offline, in a few seconds per page.
- Balance check: for each statement it compares the transactions read with the balance and, if there is a difference, names the amount that is probably missing.
How it works
- Download the file and open it with a double-click in Edge or Chrome.
- Optionally load the previous month's booking batch. The generator then takes its contra accounts; otherwise a fixed contra account applies.
- Drag in the bank statements as PDF files.
- Click “Create booking batches”, check the postings and export them. The balance check shows whether everything was read.
- Import the booking batch into your accounting software using its import for the DATEV format.
Test it with a test client before using it for the first time.
If something is not right
- With scanned statements, text recognition can get digits wrong. Note the remarks below the balance check; amounts can be corrected in the table.
- If the generator cannot read a statement, you can send its layout without content to robin.vision, or save it and send it by email. It contains no names, amounts or account numbers; support for the layout is then added.
About the format
Each booking batch is a CSV file in the DATEV format, also known as EXTF or DatevPro format: semicolons between the fields, Windows-1252 encoding, a header line that marks the file as a booking batch, then one line per posting with amount, debit or credit, account, contra account, BU key, date and posting text. DATEV is the standard for exchanging bookkeeping data in Germany. Accounting software with a DATEV import reads these files; most systems used in Germany offer one, international systems often in their German edition. Check whether your software has such an import before you start.
Privacy
Bank statements, template and postings are processed only in your browser window. The file connects to robin.vision in two cases only: from 1 January 2027 to sign in and check the licence (email address and licence status, never statements or postings), and when you yourself send the layout of an unrecognised statement without content (letters as x, digits as 9). You see exactly what will be sent beforehand.
What's new
Version b7b368d, 2 November 2026
Licence checking set up: the file now contains the verification key for signing in from 1 January 2027. Nothing changes until then.
Version fc5634f, 2 November 2026
Prepared for 2027: From 1 January 2027 you sign in with a code sent by email – no password. The first four weeks are a free trial, after that there is a licence for one year. Without a connection the tool keeps working for up to 30 days. Nothing changes until 31 December 2026.
Version c6ad334, 1 November 2026
Free to try until 31 December 2026: from 1 January 2027 the file shows a note on how to get a licence for continued use instead of the workspace. Nothing changes until then.
Version 795b806, 17 October 2026
Header without the robin – word mark, title and lead only. Functionality unchanged.
Version 78c5224, 17 October 2026
New name “SmartFormular FiBu lite” in title and header, new look “night and violet” – dark surface, light type, violet as the accent. Functionality, file name and addresses are unchanged.
Version a396da5, 15 October 2026
- New name: Booking Batch Generator – the English edition of the Buchungsstapel-Generator, built from the same source with an English user interface.
- Scanned statements: text recognition offline in the browser; image preparation, split amounts and date groups are reassembled, a second pass follows when the balance check finds a difference; an unreadable date no longer costs a transaction.
- Layout without content: all letters are masked, including é, ô and ñ; sent at the click of a button.
- PDF reader: Wise and other English-language statements (date below the transaction, 1,234.56, balance column); date format 01-10-2026; “balance” in the purpose line is recognised.
- Security: protection against CSRF, XSS and CSV injection, strict checks of local model servers, Content Security Policy with checksums.
Questions and answers
Which banks does the Booking Batch Generator recognise?
It recognises the layout of a statement by itself. It has been tested with statements in the style of Sparkasse, Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Postbank, ING, DKB, N26, Wise and Revolut. If it cannot read a statement, you can send its layout without content and support for the layout is added.
Does it work with scanned bank statements?
Yes. It reads scanned statements, black and white ones included, using text recognition, also offline, in a few seconds per page. The balance check for each statement shows whether every transaction was read; amounts can be corrected in the table.
What is a booking batch in the DATEV format (EXTF)?
A CSV file in the DATEV format, also known as EXTF or DatevPro format: semicolons between the fields, a header line that marks the file as a booking batch, then one line per posting with amount, debit or credit, account, contra account, BU key, date and posting text. Accounting software with a DATEV import reads these files.
Are my bank statements uploaded?
No. Bank statements, template and postings are processed only in your browser window. The file does not connect to the internet, with one exception that you trigger yourself: voluntarily sending the layout of a statement without content.
How do I import the booking batch into DATEV?
Through the import for booking batches in the DATEV format (in DATEV Kanzlei-Rechnungswesen under Bestand → Importieren). Other accounting software with a DATEV import reads the file as well. Test it with a test client first and check every batch before finalising it.
What does the Booking Batch Generator cost?
Nothing. Download without sign-up, use in your firm or company permitted; the terms of use on this page apply. I am glad to receive comments and questions by email; the newsletter announces new versions. This does not create any entitlement (see the terms of use).
What's next
Also free to try until 31 December 2026: E-Rechnung lite – read, check and pay e-invoices by GiroCode. Two more are in the making as a beta: SmartFormular FiBu turns bank statements and documents into the checked booking batch of the month – for bank, payables and receivables, linked to your open items; SmartFormular Abschluss is the working paper for year-end accounts that thinks ahead and does the groundwork. Beta access in the member area on request. Request beta access.
Terms of use
As of: 16 October 2026
Provider. Robin James Lewis, Höchststr. 32, 72336 Balingen, Germany (legal notice).
Use. Until 31 December 2026 you may try the tool free of charge, for yourself and in your company or practice, and pass on the unaltered file. You may not modify it, sell it or distribute it as your own offering. Continued use after that requires a licence; the terms will be posted on this page in good time.
No advice, check the result. The tool is a technical aid and not tax or legal advice. Check every booking batch before importing it and before finalising it; the balance check for each statement helps with this.
Warranty and liability. The tool is provided free of charge. I am liable only for intent and gross negligence, and for defects only if I fraudulently concealed them. Liability for injury to life, body or health and under the German Product Liability Act remains unaffected.
Further development. There is no entitlement to updates, support or permanent availability.
Trademarks. DATEV is a registered trademark of DATEV eG. The tool is not affiliated with DATEV eG and is neither reviewed nor endorsed by it. Other names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners.
Licences. The tool contains pdf.js (Mozilla Foundation) and Tesseract with tesseract.js for text recognition, both under the Apache License 2.0, and the typeface EB Garamond (SIL Open Font License 1.1). The licence texts are in the file under “Notes, privacy and licences”.
German law applies. These terms are a translation; in case of doubt, the German terms of use of the Buchungsstapel-Generator apply.
Auf Deutsch
Eine deutsche Fassung des Werkzeugs gibt es als Buchungsstapel-Generator: gleiche Funktionen, deutsche Oberfläche.