How to Setup QuickBooks Bank Feeds

One of the most time-saving automations QuickBooks offers is live bank feeds. Live bank feeds pull all of your bank transactions into your account automatically, so you don’t have to.

We’ll teach you how to connect your bank account directly to your QuickBooks account in these five simple steps. First, though, let’s take a look at why you should enable live bank feeds and how to determine if your financial institution is supported by QuickBooks.

Why You Should Enable Live Bank Feeds

If you’re like most small business owners, you have a pretty full plate. Anything that you can automate can help you save time to focus on more important tasks.

While you can input your financial transactions manually into QuickBooks, this is a lengthy and tedious process. Enabling live bank feeds is a more efficient option, allowing you to import transactions instantly and automatically. Not only does this save you time, but you also don’t have to worry about mistakes like you would with manual data entry since transaction data is pulled directly from your bank.

Some business owners hesitate to enable live bank feeds due to security concerns. If you’re worried about your data, don’t be — QuickBooks has security measures in place to protect your financial data. When obtaining your bank feeds, QuickBooks uses a one-way “read-only” connection. This means that while QuickBooks can “read” transactions that are transferred to your software, it is not authorized to process payments or obtain personal data on you or your business.

Since QuickBooks Pro is locally-installed software, you will have to do your part to keep your data private and secure. Check out our article, How To Keep Your Locally-Installed Accounting Software Secure, to learn more about the steps you can take to boost your software’s security.

Supported Financial Institutions

Before you enable live bank feeds, you need to ensure that your financial institution is supported. Fortunately, QuickBooks supports over 1,400 financial institutions. Some of the most popular financial institutions are supported, including:

• Bank of America
• Chase Bank
• Citibank
• Wells Fargo
• PNC Bank
• U.S. Bank
• TD Bank

These are just a handful of the most popular national banks, so if your institution isn’t on this shortlist, don’t worry. In addition to national banks, many credit unions, smaller local banks, and other financial institutions are supported. You can learn more by contacting your bank directly or starting the live bank feed process detailed below to search for your financial institution.

One more thing to note is that some banks may charge a connection fee when you enable live bank feeds. Contact your bank to learn more about any applicable fees associated with enabling live bank feeds.

How To Enable Live Bank Feeds In QuickBooks

Before you get started, make sure you have already created an account in QuickBooks for each bank account you’re adding. To learn how to add an account to your chart of accounts, read How To Add A Bank Account To QuickBooks Pro.

To begin, go to Banking>Bank Feeds>Set Up Bank Feed for Account.

You may see the notification below. Save and close any information you currently have open, then click “Yes.”

Step 1: Find Your Bank

Search for your banking institution.

Select the right bank from the search results.

Step 2: Adjust Bank Settings

Once you select your bank account, you’ll be taken to a screen that says “Direct Connect.” At this point, you’ll want to go to your banking institution and enroll in “Direct Connect.”

Each banking institution handles integrations differently, so contact your bank directly for instructions on allowing a QuickBooks connection.

Once you’ve enabled QuickBooks to connect to your account, click the blue “Continue” button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Step 3: Log In To Your Bank Account

Now that you’ve connected to your account, you’ll be asked to log in. Some banks ask for your login credentials, while others ask for your bank number and pin. Follow the instructions on the screen, then click “Connect.”

Step 4: Choose Accounts

QuickBooks will now pull up all accounts associated with your bank login. Select the accounts you wish to include in QuickBooks Pro. Use the drop-down menus to select which account (from your chart of accounts) to connect to your bank account.

Step 5: Connect

Click “Connect” to complete the bank connection. Go to your Bank Feeds Center to see the transactions that QuickBooks automatically pulls in from your bank.

For troubleshooting issues, check out the QuickBooks Community or call QuickBooks directly. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our QuickBooks Desktop Pro 101 Series to learn how to add a bank account, reconcile a bank account, enter credit card payments in QuickBooks Pro, and more.

Overwhelmed by QuickBooks Pro? Maybe it’s time to switch to QuickBooks Online. QBO is easy to use, cloud-based, and affordable. Best of all, you can easily import your QuickBooks Desktop data into QuickBooks Online.

Outgrown QuickBooks Pro? Switch to QuickBooks Premier. It’s the same QuickBooks Desktop software you love but with more users and advanced, industry-specific features.