Why PDF-to-Excel conversions break—and what to check.

PDF stores a page’s appearance, not necessarily its rows and columns. The right fix depends on whether the source contains a real table, positioned text, or only an image.

The spreadsheet is empty: The PDF may be an image-only scan. OCR must run before table reconstruction. Also check whether the visible page is a protected image or embedded object.
Several columns merged into one: The PDF may position words visually without storing column boundaries. Define the desired column names, then extract values against that schema.
Descriptions split into extra rows: Wrapped text was mistaken for a new record. Use dates, transaction identifiers, or populated amount columns as row anchors.
Amounts shifted to the wrong transaction: Blank cells, continuation lines, or inconsistent spacing changed the inferred alignment. Validate page boundaries and compare totals.
Headers repeat throughout the data: Each source page contains a header. Remove it using exact header patterns while preserving genuine rows that happen to contain similar words.
Dates or numbers are wrong: OCR commonly confuses 0/O, 1/I, 5/S, decimal points, and minus signs. Apply column type checks and inspect exceptions manually.
The result looks right but will not sort: Numbers may be stored as text, multiple values may share one cell, or merged cells may preserve appearance at the expense of structure. Normalize types and keep one record per row.

Choose the right workflow

Clean digital table: direct extraction may be sufficient. Scanned or irregular table: use OCR, schema-based extraction, and review. Multiple changing layouts: start with a sample and custom scope rather than promising automatic accuracy.

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