Bank feeds, bank by bank

A bank feed pulls your transactions into the software each day so you reconcile instead of typing. Global products usually build feeds for American and British banks first. Coverage of South African banks varies, and it varies by account type as well as by bank.

The table counts the products whose own pages list a feed with each bank. Treat a vendor's list as a starting point and ask for the feed by name for your account type.

How transactions reach your books

• A direct feed, where the software is connected to your bank and new transactions arrive automatically.
• A feed through a service that links to the bank on the vendor's behalf, which you authorise once.
• A file import, where you download a statement from internet banking and load it. It works with any bank and costs a few minutes each time.

If the product you like has no feed for your bank, a file import is not a failure. It is a slower route, and you should count the time it costs in the comparison.

Ask about your account, not just your bank

• Is the feed for business accounts, personal accounts or both?
• Does it cover credit cards and savings accounts, or only a current account?
• How far back does it pull when you first connect?
• What does it cost? Some vendors charge for feeds or limit them by plan.
• Who sets up the connection, you or your bank? Some banks need a form signed before a feed starts.

Feed or file: what each costs you

Why feeds go wrong

• Your bank changes how it connects, and the feed stops until the vendor or bank fixes it.
• The authorisation you gave expires, and the feed asks you to approve it again.
• Descriptions differ from the statement, so automatic matching rules stop matching.
• A transaction arrives twice, once from the feed and once from a file you imported.

A reconciliation routine

1. Reconcile at least weekly, so that an error is a few lines and not a month.
2. Accept the matches the software suggests only after you have looked at the amount and the description.
3. Create a rule for every repeating item, such as rent, bank charges and salaries.
4. At month end, check that the closing balance in the software equals the closing balance on the statement.

Card and payment service settlements

If you take card or EFT payments through a payment service, your bank shows one settlement that covers many sales, less fees. The software has to let you match one bank line to several invoices and record the fee. Test this with a real settlement, because it is the item that most often stops a reconciliation from balancing.

Test it with your own account

Connect your real account during the trial and reconcile a full month. If lines arrive late, with different descriptions or in the wrong order, you will know before you pay. See how to test software in a free trial.

Security

A feed should only be able to read your transactions. It should not be able to move money. Ask the vendor whether the connection is read only, and who at the vendor can see your bank data. See POPIA and your software vendor.