Statement Scout Open the app

GUIDE

How to find your subscriptions

It takes about five minutes the first time. You’ll need a computer and the website login for your bank or credit card.

  1. STEP 1

    Download a statement file from your bank

  2. STEP 2

    Drop it into Statement Scout

  3. STEP 3

    Keep the subscriptions you recognize

1. Download your statement file

Your bank lets you download your recent transactions as a spreadsheet file, called a CSV. That’s the file Statement Scout reads. Open your bank below to see exactly where to click.

For the best results, download 3 to 12 months. Subscriptions are found by spotting charges that repeat, so more history means fewer misses. Use a computer: most bank phone apps can’t export files.
Chase (checking or credit card)
  1. 1 Sign in at chase.com on a computer.
  2. 2 Click the account you want: checking or a credit card.
  3. 3 Above your list of transactions, click the download icon (a small arrow pointing down).
  4. 4 For File type, choose “Spreadsheet (Excel, CSV)”.
  5. 5 Pick a date range (3 to 12 months is ideal) and click Download.

Chase lets you download roughly the last two years of activity. Do each account separately.

Bank of America
  1. 1 Sign in at bankofamerica.com on a computer.
  2. 2 Open the account you want.
  3. 3 Click “Download”, just above your transactions.
  4. 4 Choose your date range.
  5. 5 For File type, choose “Microsoft Excel Format” (it downloads as a CSV), then click “Download Transactions”.

Avoid the Quicken and QuickBooks options: those files are for other software. Credit cards usually allow the last 12 months.

Wells Fargo
  1. 1 Sign on at wellsfargo.com on a computer.
  2. 2 Choose the account you want.
  3. 3 Click “Download Account Activity”.
  4. 4 Enter the From and To dates you want.
  5. 5 For File format, choose “Comma Delimited (ASCII, Spreadsheet)” and click Download.

Wells Fargo’s file has no column titles, which is normal. Statement Scout reads it anyway. Up to about 18 months is available.

Capital One (cards and 360 accounts)
  1. 1 Sign in at capitalone.com on a computer.
  2. 2 Open the card or 360 account you want.
  3. 3 Go to “View Statements” (sometimes “Statements & documents”) and choose “Download Transactions”.
  4. 4 Choose CSV as the file type.
  5. 5 Pick your date range and download.

Each card or account is a separate download. Pending charges show up once they post.

American Express
  1. 1 Sign in at americanexpress.com on a computer.
  2. 2 Go to “Statements & Activity”.
  3. 3 Choose a statement period, or set a custom date range.
  4. 4 Click “Download” and choose CSV.
  5. 5 Save the file.

Amex shows up to about two years of transactions online.

Any other bank or credit union
  1. 1 Sign in to your bank’s website on a computer and open the account.
  2. 2 Look for “Download”, “Export” or “Download account activity” near your transactions.
  3. 3 Choose CSV. It may be called “Spreadsheet”, “Excel” or “Comma delimited”.
  4. 4 Pick a date range of 3 to 12 months.
  5. 5 Download the file.

Skip PDF, Quicken (QFX) and QuickBooks (QBO) files: Statement Scout needs the spreadsheet (CSV) file.

Bank websites change from time to time. If a button has moved, look for “Download” or “Export” near your list of transactions.

2. Drop it into Statement Scout

Open the app, tap Find my subscriptions and choose the file you downloaded. It’s usually in your Downloads folder. Results appear in a few seconds.

  • Have a checking account and a credit card? Add both files at once. Charges that show up in both are only counted once.
  • Your file stays on your device. It’s read by your browser and never sent or saved anywhere. You can even do this in airplane mode.
  • Just curious? Tap Try a sample statement to see how it works with made-up data first.

3. Keep the ones you recognize

Statement Scout suggests. You decide. Each result has a label telling you how sure it is.

Repeats at the same price Charged on a regular schedule for the same amount. Almost certainly a subscription.
Known service A name we recognize, like Netflix or Spotify. It’s worth a look even if it only appeared once or twice in your file.
Repeats, but check this one It repeats, but the timing or price isn’t perfectly regular. Take a quick look before you keep it.
Bill Insurance, utilities or your phone. Listed separately and not counted in your subscription total.
Rent, loan or transfer Repeating payments like rent, a car loan or Zelle. Also set aside, unticked.

Something wrong? Tap Not a subscription, hide it and it won’t come back. Something missing? At the bottom, open charges that repeated but didn’t look like subscriptions and tap It’s a subscription, or use Add one by hand.

Then make it work for you

Set a reminder

Open any subscription and tap Remind me to add the renewal date to your calendar.

Cancel what you don’t use

Tap How to cancel for the steps. Then remove it from your list.

Save a backup

Your list lives in this browser. Under Reminders, save a backup file to keep it safe or move it to another device.

Troubleshooting

It says it found nothing.

Your file probably covers too little time. A subscription needs to show up at least twice to be spotted, so download 3 months or more and try again.

It says the file isn’t a statement.

Make sure you downloaded the spreadsheet (CSV) version, not a PDF statement or a Quicken/QuickBooks file. If you opened the file in Excel and saved it again, download a fresh copy from your bank.

A subscription I know about is missing.

It may be billed through Apple, Google or PayPal, so it shows under their name instead. Check the list of charges that repeated but didn’t look like subscriptions, or tap Add one by hand.

My list disappeared.

Your list is saved in the browser you used. Clearing browsing data, or using a private window, removes it. Restore it from your backup file under Reminders.

Got your file? You’re ready.

Find my subscriptions