{"id":18683,"date":"2023-12-08T05:27:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T10:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=18683"},"modified":"2026-02-12T04:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:11:17","slug":"bank-feeds-save-time-accounting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/bank-feeds-save-time-accounting\/","title":{"rendered":"How to save time on your accounting with bank feeds"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to save time on your accounting with bank feeds\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2023-12-08T05:27:00-05:00\">December 8, 2023<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How to save time on your accounting with bank feeds\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/bank-feeds-save-time-accounting\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/author\/gracekudom\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img alt='Grace Kudom' src='https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/sage\/dist\/images\/avatars\/author-fallback.svg' srcset='https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/sage\/dist\/images\/avatars\/author-fallback.svg 2x' class='avatar avatar-40 photo avatar-default entry-author__image' height='40' width='40' \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Grace Kudom<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Bank feeds are great for keeping a hold of your business\u2019s cash flow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may be running the financials yourself or outsourcing this task to an accountant, so using bank feeds can save you time as well as give you visibility of your business incoming and outgoings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a nutshell, bank feeds are designed to help you manage your money \u2013 and they\u2019re free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A win-win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what we cover in this article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#what\">What are bank feeds?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#how\">How do bank feeds help to manage cash flow?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#are\">Are bank feeds easy to set up?<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#to\">Final tips to consider<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Get your cash flow template<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Our easy-to-use template will help you understand the cash coming in and going out of your business so you can make smarter decisions.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-8fd32b11-050f-4828-89a5-aae504126966\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/GettyImages-561609507-1024x576-1-e1672917871162.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/01\/GettyImages-561609507-1024x576-1-e1672917871162.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what\">What are bank feeds?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A bank feed is a secure connection between a business owner\u2019s bank account and\u202faccounting product, which enables you to match your transactions for full visibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bank feeds allow transactions to be imported from your bank account so they can be linked to a payment or receipt already entered into the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is this important? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/openbanking.foleon.com\/live-publications\/the-open-banking-impact-report-june-2022\/\">June 2022 report<\/a> into small businesses by The Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), an overwhelming majority (77%) of respondents said they now have more immediate and accurate insights into their financial position at any given time as a result of using cloud accounting services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an extra benefit, of those using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/accounting-software\/\">cloud accounting services<\/a>, 59% said they had delivered internal savings and 64% external cost savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how\">How do bank feeds help to manage cash flow?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re managing accounting and day-to-day financials, as well as other responsibilities that come with running a business, it can be frustrating and time-consuming to do this manually, especially if you\u2019re encountering duplicate information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without the beneficial reconciliation function of bank feeds, you\u2019d have to retrieve a list of transactions from your bank records, as well as a list of income and outgoings from business records, run through the bank deposits, withdrawals and expenses on the books in an attempt to match the transactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s a lot of work, and an important task with no room for inaccuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using bank feeds can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Save time by eliminating the need to manually enter each transaction to reconcile bank statements. \u200b<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increase accuracy through the automatic reconciling process, reducing the risk for error.\u200b<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Help you gain peace of mind, as they\u2019re easy to use, with only a few steps required to start<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improve workflows by having everything in one place<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provide full visibility of the incoming and outgoing of your business<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Free up time that can be spent on other important tasks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give confidence knowing that your data is being shared in a secure connection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In the video below, sole trader Luke Owen talks about how using bank feeds helped his business:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-container-wrap -mode-full\"><div class=\"video-container\"><video\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"sage-video video-js vjs-default-skin \"\n\t\t\t\twidth=\"640\"\n\t\t\t\theight=\"360\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-setup='{ \"controls\": true, \"aspectRatio\" : \"16:9\", \"poster\": \"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/Sn3P9sgfp1A\/maxresdefault.jpg\", \"techOrder\": [\"youtube\"], \"enablejsapi\": 1, \"origin\": \"https:\/\/www.sage.com\", \"sources\": [{ \"type\": \"video\/youtube\", \"src\": \"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Sn3P9sgfp1A\"}], \"youtube\": { \"ytControls\": 0, \"cc_load_policy\": 3, \"modestbranding\": 1, \"hl\": \"en_US\", \"playsinline\": 1 } }'\n\t\t\t\tcrossorigin=\"\"><\/video><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"are\">Are bank feeds easy to set up?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, they are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firstly, find out if your bank account is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/accounting-software\/\">supported in your accounting software<\/a>. In most solutions, you\u2019ll need to search for your bank, follow the instructions to set up and verify the bank account using login credentials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t have this, it can be requested from your bank. Note that some feeds will need to be authorized by your bank and this can take three to 10 days to set up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bank feeds will usually update on a daily basis. Once your feed has been created, you\u2019ll be able to import your transactions and browse through your debits and credits to match and reconcile your account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re unable to match a transaction, you can easily create a new transaction manually to complete the process bank. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or, use bank rules to automatically help you create transactions once they\u2019re imported. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each rule has a combination of conditions \u2013 such as reference, amount, etc \u2013 which it will use to recognize the transaction in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a bank feed isn\u2019t available to you, you may have the option to upload your transactions via file import.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"to\">Final tips to consider<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Through the ups and downs of running a business, it\u2019ll always be important to keep on top of cash flow \u2013 here are a few final recommendations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol style=\"list-style-type:1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go  for accounting software that provides an automated import of transactions to save time and reduce the time it takes to do your business admin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You may be managing the financials yourself or this may be outsourced to your accountant \u2013 choose software that easily allows access between both parties for tasks to get done.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accounting solutions that capture, automatically categorize, and publish financial documents such as receipts, invoices and bank statements to your accounting software will save time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: This article was first published in May 2023 and has been updated for relevance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to our Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get our latest business advice delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-ab515c6e-7e90-4c2f-a67e-113872516e8b\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working from home with tea in hand\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover how using bank feeds can help you to save time and increase accuracy when it comes to managing your business finances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1651,"featured_media":18687,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":true,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[2,110],"business_type":[312],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[222,209],"coauthors":[929],"class_list":["post-18683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","tag-accountants","tag-accounting-101","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Grace Kudom","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/GettyImages-734165167-760x760-1.jpg","imagine_tags":{"222":"Accountants","209":"Accounting"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice 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