Guide · AI and automation
Bank feeds keep breaking: a fix-it checklist for bookkeepers
A broken bank feed doesn't announce itself. Transactions just stop arriving, and you find out at the close. This checklist covers a weekly routine to catch broken feeds early, what to check first in QuickBooks Online and Xero, and how to ask clients to reconnect without a back-and-forth.
Why feeds break
The bank changed something.
A new card, a new account number or a renamed account.
The login changed.
A new password, or a different person reconnected with different access.
Not every account was shared.
The client chose only some accounts when the bank asked.
The feed is just late.
Some banks send transactions on their own schedule, and pending transactions don't come through until they clear.
A weekly routine that catches problems early
Check the last transaction date for every account.
Anything older than a few working days needs a look.
Check for connection warnings.
Look for any account flagged as needing attention.
Refresh feeds that need it.
Some connections only bring in new transactions when refreshed.
Note what you found.
A short log shows which clients' feeds break most often.
First steps in QuickBooks Online
Use the fix option first
Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Bank transactions, find the account with the warning and select Fix now. Sign in with the current bank details, and when the bank asks which accounts to share, choose all of them. Map the account to the existing account in QuickBooks Online rather than creating a new one, so the history and rules stay in place.
Two habits that prevent most repeat problems
Intuit recommends that one person handles all bank connections for a company, and that you always share all accounts when the bank asks, even if only some are used in QuickBooks Online.
First steps in Xero
Check whether the feed is just late
In the Accounting menu, select Bank accounts, open the menu for the account and select View Status Updates to see known delays for that bank. Some feeds don't send anything on days with no transactions, and pending transactions only arrive once they clear.
Refresh, then find what's missing
Feeds run through a third party may need a manual refresh. If statement lines are still missing, compare Xero's bank statement report with the client's online banking, then import the missing lines from a statement file exported from the bank.
Ask the client to reconnect
Subject: Please reconnect your bank feed for (account)
Hi (first name),
Your bank feed for (account) has stopped sending transactions to (software). It usually takes a few minutes to fix: sign in to (software), find the account with the warning, select the fix or reconnect option and sign in to your bank. When your bank asks which accounts to share, please choose all of them.
If anything looks unfamiliar, reply and we'll walk you through it.
(your name)
Common mistakes
Finding out at the close.
A weekly check costs minutes; a missing month costs hours.
Creating a new account when reconnecting.
It splits the history and can create duplicates.
Several people managing connections.
Each reconnection can change which accounts are shared.
Keying transactions by hand while the feed is down.
They can duplicate when the feed catches up.
Questions
Should I reconnect the feed myself or ask the client?
Bank logins belong to the client. Ask them to reconnect, and keep the steps short and clear.
What if the bank stops supporting the feed?
Import statements from the bank's own export until a connection is available again, and note it in the client file.
How do I avoid duplicate transactions?
Don't enter transactions by hand while waiting for a feed. Wait for the feed or import the statement, then match.
Want feeds and rules set up for your clients?
The Bank feeds and automated receipt capture Fix Pack connects bank feeds and configures rules for your clients, and sets up receipt capture with a simple client routine.
See how much time manual data entry takes your firm.
The free Snapshot takes about 3 minutes and works from your own answers.