Bank feeds bring enormous efficiency benefits to the businesses which incorporate them into their bookkeeping. Saving both time and resources by removing the need to manually enter bank transactions, bank feeds simplify accounting and reduce the amount of errors that occur.
But how does a business begin using bank feeds to help with bookkeeping? We have put together a quick-read walk-through to help businesses benefit.
How do bank feeds work?
Bank feeds are basically a tool which connects accounting or bookkeeping software to a bank account. That connection enables the software to update its bookkeeping records using transaction data from the bank account, without needing to manually enter them in.
It’s all thanks to the Open Banking initiative which means banks must share the data if their customer asks them to.
The connection is highly encrypted to ensure security, and only regulated software providers (like Pandle!) who meet strict criteria can provide this service. We’re also glad to say that Pandle uses a type of connection called Direct Bank Feeds.
This means that banking transactions will update in Pandle in real time as they happen at the bank, rather than users having to wait for the next refresh.
Why are bank feeds so useful for businesses?
Incorporating bank feeds into digital bookkeeping software helps businesses streamline their bookkeeping by:
- reducing the amount of time they have to spend entering transaction data into their records manually, or going through the process of importing it.
- lowering the risk of errors appearing in their bookkeeping, because information is taken from the bank, rather than entered manually.
Pandle also allows users to set up bank rules which categorise each transaction and assign tax codes automatically. That way, the transactions which show in the bookkeeping are up-to-date, and they’re recorded efficiently too. It allows the software to take care of more of the heavy lifting involved in business administration
How do I set up a bank feed for my accounts?
It’s really simple to get started with bank feeds. The first step is to find out whether the business account used is compatible with the bookkeeping software. Businesses getting started with Pandle can easily find out which banks are supported using our checking tool.
In Pandle, head to the ‘Enter Transactions’ section, select ‘Banking’ and edit the entry method to ‘Bank Feed’. Select the bank and the feed start date, confirm the initial transactions and it’s ready to go.
Find more detailed setup information for connecting bank feeds in Pandle here.
Do I need to verify the connection?
Once a bank feed is linked to bookkeeping software, unless a business changes bank accounts, no further verification is required. The exception to that rule is where multi-factor authentication is set up. In these cases, businesses may be asked to refresh their connection to confirm their usage from a security perspective.
What about online wallets?
A business might also use online wallets such as Paypal or Stripe to conduct transactions. These are setup as separate feeds, but integrate seamlessly just like bank feeds do. Use our set up guides to get started with them in Pandle:
Discover more about how Pandle users are already benefiting from bank feeds, as well as our other time-saving features. Check out our Features, or get started with your free trial of Pandle Pro.
