How UPDF Helps to Convert Scanned Financial PDFs into Searchable and Editable Excel Spreadsheets

PDF as a format presents a very useful way to share financial statements. But even though documents in PDF format can be easy to manage and share, financial institutions can find it quite challenging to transfer the data from the PDF to the bank's databases which are often spreadsheets.

One way financial institutions deal with this problem is to hire a team of data entry specialists to enter the values on a spreadsheet and map the values to correspond to the ones the bn uses. This is a very costly and time-consuming process that may be bypassed by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology.

OCR can detect the contents of a scanned PDF and correctly convert the values into a searchable and editable Excel spreadsheet. UPDF is a PDF conversion and editing tool that has built-in OCR specifically designed for this purpose. Here, we will look at how it can help convert scanned financial PDFs into editable spreadsheets.

The Background and Situations

For financial documents to be considered official in most jurisdictions, they need to be in PDF format. But PDF format can make it very difficult for the specific data on the document to be categorized into data values that the bank can use internally.

For example, a manufacturing business applying for a loan may list a truck as part of the company inventory. But in the loan approval process, the bank may need to categorize the truck as a non-current asset, perhaps in the sub-category of vehicle. This can help the bank to calculate or determine certain financial parameters that may determine if the bank can approve the loan or not. The only way for the bank to compare and project the performance of this loan and other similar loans on its books is to categorize information like the truck and the best way to do that is to use a spreadsheet.

The following are some of the other reasons a bank may seek to convert scanned financial PDFs into Excel spreadsheets;

• Having the data in an excel spreadsheet can make it easier for the bank to properly analyze the data. An excel spreadsheet allows the user to sort and filter data in all sorts of ways, making it easier to find the data value they need.
• Spreadsheets can also make budgeting much easier. This is because they can allow the bank to effectively track spending over time, allowing the institution to cut back on spending when necessary.
• An internal spreadsheet is also easier to share within the bank's various departments, facilitating the quick and efficient processing of products and services.

How UPDF Helps Convert Scanned Financial PDFs into Searchable and Editable Excel Spreadsheets

For the longest time banks and other financial institutions have relied on the manual method to convert scanned PDFs into editable spreadsheets. This means the hiring of thousands of data entry experts to manually subscribe the data values to their correct categories. This is an expensive and lengthy exercise that can be easily avoided with the help of a PDF conversion tool like UPDF in banking.

One of the basic features of UPDF is the conversion of PDF documents from one format to another. In this case, PDF would be converted to Excel and since UPDF doesn't alter the document's content or formatting in any way, all data would be converted as is, making it easier to find and use the data on the resultant Excel document.

UPDF goes a step further by providing highly-effective and very easy-to-use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. OCR is a technology that converts image text (such as a scanned PDF) into machine-readable text format. When a document such as a PDF financial statement is scanned, it is saved on the computer in image format, making it impossible to edit any of the text on the PDF. UPDF's OCR feature can convert the image of the scanned PDF into machine-readable text before converting the file to Excel format.

Aside from document conversion, UPDF is useful in document management in various ways that may benefit a financial institution including;

• UPDF can be used to create PDF documents and edit the text and images on them in a simplified and effective way. This makes it the most ideal solution for the preparation of all the financial documents that have to be in PDF format as well as for generating forms and contracts needed for the day-to-day operations of the bank.
• UPDF also has signature features that can make it easy for the bank's customers or bank employees to authenticate the contents of the document. You can use it to add a signature to any section of the document easily and very quickly. The signatures added to the document are legally binding and valid.
• It is also one of the best ways to secure a PDF document. You can ensure the safety of the data on any PDF document by adding a password, restricting editing, or adding a watermark to the PDF document. This is a great way to effectively share sensitive documents without having to worry about sensitive data leakage.
• When integrated with the right cloud platform, UPDF's features can simplify the document workflow, allowing for the streamlining of bank operations and reducing operational costs such as paper storage.
• UPDF's highly useful document converter will convert PDFs (scanned or otherwise) to several editable formats including the popular Excel, Word, PowerPoint, TXT, and many more.

Conclusion

Extracting data from a PDF can be problematic without the correct Machine Learning solutions. This is especially true when there are thousands of documents to be transcribed and only a limited number of data entry specialists to utilize.

Fortunately, there are tools like UPDF with powerful OCR that can convert a scanned PDF to a more editable format like Excel. UPDF is particularly useful as it will intuitively extract the data you need, allowing you to make edits to the file before conversion as needed.