Importing a bank statement

SynkriaOps accepts bank statements in OFX, CSV and Excel formats from the main CEMAC partner banks. Each imported transaction automatically creates a record with status TO_PROCESS in the BNQ bank journal linked to the account, ready for posting.

Supported formats

Bank	Recommended format	Notes
Afriland First Bank	OFX	Export from the Afriland online portal
BICEC	CSV (; separator)	Columns: Date ; Description ; Debit ; Credit ; Balance
SCB Cameroun	Excel .xlsx	Signed amount column (debit = negative)
Ecobank Cameroun	OFX	Export from Ecobank Online
UBA Cameroun	CSV	Request the “accounting export” format
Other bank	CSV or OFX	Map columns if non-standard

Tip

OFX is a universal format that requires no column mapping. Prefer it whenever your bank offers it.

Prerequisites

Before importing, verify that:

1. The bank account is configured in Settings → Banking & Mobile Money (see Setting up a bank account).
2. The associated 521xxx account exists in the SYSCOHADA chart of accounts.
3. The fiscal year covering the statement period is open.

Downloading the statement from your online banking portal

Afriland First Bank

1. Log in at https://www.afrilandfirstbank.com → Online customer portal.

2. Go to My accounts → Transaction history.

3. Choose the desired period (e.g. 01/04/2026 – 30/04/2026).

4. Click Export → OFX format.

5. Save the .ofx file to your computer.

BICEC

1. Log in to your BICEC online portal.

2. Go to Account statement → Download.

3. Select the period and CSV format.

4. Save the .csv file to your computer.

SCB / Ecobank / Other

Consult your bank’s help documentation for statement export. For non-standard formats, SynkriaOps provides a column mapping wizard during import (see step 5 below).

Importing the statement into SynkriaOps

1. In the main menu, go to Banking & treasury → Imports.

2. Click New.

3. In the Bank account field, select the relevant account (e.g. Afriland – Main current account).

4. Drag and drop your file into the import zone, or click Browse to select it. Maximum sizes: 20 MB for OFX/CSV, 50 MB for Excel.

5. (Non-standard CSV only) The mapping wizard opens if columns are not automatically recognized. Match each column from your file to the corresponding field (Date, Description, Debit, Credit, Balance).

6. The preview is displayed with:

   • Number of detected transactions
   • Period covered (e.g. 01/04/2026 – 30/04/2026)
   • Total debits (e.g. 3,450,000 XAF) and total credits (e.g. 1,890,000 XAF)
   • Statement closing balance
   • Potential duplicates detected (flagged in orange)

7. Review the preview. If duplicates are flagged, click View duplicates to decide whether to include or exclude them.

8. Click Confirm import. Transactions are created with status TO_PROCESS in the BNQ journal.

Processing imported transactions

After import, each transaction must be assigned an offset accounting account:

1. Go to Banking & treasury → Transactions.

2. Filter by status TO_PROCESS and by bank account.

3. For each transaction, click Process:

   • Verify the description and amount.
   • Select the offset account (e.g. 411xxx for a customer receipt, 401xxx for a supplier payment, 521xxx for an inter-account transfer).
   • If an accounting document already exists (paid customer invoice, settled supplier invoice), click Reconcile with a document to link the transaction to that document.

4. Click Validate. The transaction moves to status POSTED.

5. Once all transactions are processed, run a bank reconciliation to confirm that the accounting balance matches the statement.

Handling duplicates at import

SynkriaOps detects potential duplicates by comparing each transaction in the imported file against the combination date + amount + description of transactions already present in the period.

Signal	Meaning	Recommended action
Orange background – “Potential duplicate”	Same date + amount but slightly different description	Manually verify if it is a truly distinct transaction
Red background – “Certain duplicate”	Identical date + amount + description triplet	Exclude from import (already present)

Common errors

| Error | Cause | Solution | | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | “File format not recognized” | Wrong extension or corrupted file | Re-export from the banking portal without modifying the file | | “Date column not found” | CSV with non-standard separator (tab, |) | Use the mapping wizard or convert to OFX | | “Fiscal year closed for this period” | Statement period covers a closed fiscal year | Import only transactions from the open fiscal year; contact your accountant for closed-year transactions | | “Account 521xxx not found” | Sub-account not created in the chart of accounts | Create the sub-account then re-run the import | | “File size exceeded” | Excel file too large (>50 MB) | Split into monthly statements |

Further reading

• Import a Mobile Money statement →
• Performing a bank reconciliation →
• Accounts receivable/payable matching →