A Beginners Guide to Bookkeeping with Bank Feeds

Bookkeeping is absolutely essential in a business, but typing in the details of all your transactions can also be very time-consuming. And boring. And there might be typos. In short – it’s not great. Using bank feeds can help business owners automate some of the bookkeeping process, helping to save both time and resources as well as reducing the risk of data-entry errors.

So how can your business access this time-saving magic and begin using bank feeds to help with bookkeeping? We’ve put together a quick walk-through to get you started.

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 enter them in manually.

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 information to refresh on a timer.

Why are bank feeds so useful for businesses?

Incorporating bank feeds into digital bookkeeping software helps businesses streamline their bookkeeping by:

What else can I do?

Some bookkeeping software (again, like Pandle!) also allows users to set up bank rules which categorise transactions and assign tax codes automatically.

This means that transactions can be processed into your bookkeeping in a way that makes sense, rather than leaving you with a big list of records to work through next time you sign in.

Automating even more of the bookkeeping process 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?

The first step is to find out whether the bank account you use is compatible with your bookkeeping software. If you’re a Pandle user then you can check which banks are supported using our online tool.

Setting up Bank Feeds for Pandle users

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 you’re ready to go.

We’ve spent time with our developers to ensure you can work with Bank Feeds both with ease and as error-free as humanly possible! This means safety tools are in place that stop things like currency errors within your Bank Feeds.

Do I need to verify the connection?

You might be asked to refresh the connection between your bank account and your bookkeeping software as regular intervals, especially if you use multi-factor authentication. This is a security feature which helps to ensure your data is only accessible to people who have permission.

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 the guides in our Help Centre 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.