Overview

Bank Settings is where you connect your bank or financial institution to Accounting Seed, map downloaded transactions to the correct Bank GL Account, Ledger, and configure how those transactions become Cash Receipts, Cash Disbursements, or Journal Entries. This article covers one-time setup, ongoing usage, and provider-specific connection details.

In this article:

• One-Time Setup for Your Bank/Financial Institution
  • Step 1: Add Your Bank/Financial Institution Account
  • Step 2: Map Your Financial Institution Account
  • Step 3: Set Up the Scheduled Bank Download Job
  • Step 4: Configure Match Settings
  • Step 5: Set Up Add Settings
• On-Going Use
• Connecting a Bank Pre-Summer '26 Release
• Migration Considerations
• Reference: What Each Setting Means
• Reference: Provider-Specific Screens
• Sandbox Testing with Plaid or Salt Edge
• Yodlee's Open Banking API

Before You Begin

• You should already have your Ledger(s) and the Bank GL Account(s) set up with the steps in Bank Direct Connect - Configuration.
• Ensure the user configuring settings has the AS Full Admin permission set assigned.
• Navigate to Accounting Home > Create Entries > Banking menu > click Bank Direct Connect, then on Bank Direct Connect click the Bank Settings tab.

One-Time Setup for Your Bank/Financial Institution

Step 1: Add Your Bank/Financial Institution Account

Accounting Seed uses a single search box to connect to any supported bank. You do not need to know or select which aggregation provider (Plaid, Yodlee, or Salt Edge) is used behind the scenes. It's determined automatically based on the institution you choose.

Note:

• If your Bank Settings tab still shows a Manage Providers button instead of a + New Connection button, your org has not yet received this update. Instead of doing this Step 1, complete the steps in the Connecting a Bank Pre-Summer '26 Release section in this article, then follow Step 2 in the One-Time Setup for Your Bank/Financial Institution and remaining steps.
• If you want to connect to a non-regulated bank through Salt Edge, upgrade to Summer '26 (after testing in your sandbox) first and then follow these steps.

To connect your bank:

1. On the Bank Settings tab, click + New Connection.
2. Type your bank's name into the search box. Results appear after you've typed at least three characters. There is a brief delay while results load; this is expected.
3. Review the search results, which show each matching institution's name, logo, and provider badge.
4. Select your institution. You'll be routed automatically into that provider's connection screen, pre-loaded to the institution you selected. See Reference: Provider-Specific Screens below for what to expect on each provider's connection screen, including credential entry and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
5. Once connected, continue to Step 2: Map Your Financial Institution Account.

Step 2: Map Your Financial Institution Account

After connecting, map the new Financial Institution Account (FIA) to a Ledger and Bank GL Account:

1. Ledger: If your organization has only one Ledger, it displays automatically. Otherwise, select one from the drop-down. Foreign-currency FIAs can be mapped to a Ledger with a different currency.
2. Bank GL Account: Select the account this FIA's transactions should post to. Best Practice: map credit card FIAs to a credit card liability account with the Bank checkbox selected, and cash FIAs to a cash account with the Bank checkbox selected.
3. Initial Start Date: Sets how far back your first transaction download goes.
   1. Note: After your first download, every later refresh automatically pulls transactions from 14 days before the last successful run, regardless of the Initial Start Date. This only controls your first-time download and is expected behavior.
   2. Additionally, up to 365 days of history can be downloaded for Plaid, Yodlee, and Salt Edge.
      1. For Plaid specifically, historical transactions older than 30 days may take up to 24 hours to become available. Use the Download button on the Bank Transactions tab for Plaid-linked FIAs once available.
      2. To include up to 365 days of history on an existing Yodlee connection, you must delete the FIA and re-add it through Yodlee FastLink, then re-map it. See On-Going Use below for what deleting an FIA affects.
4. Click the Save button on top right.
5. The Single FIA per Bank Account checkbox (selected by default) prevents mapping more than one FIA to the same Bank GL Account. If you intentionally want to map multiple FIAs to one Bank GL Account (for example, a pooled account), deselect this checkbox. If multiple FIAs remain mapped to one Bank GL Account, that account cannot be reconciled to a single bank statement. You will need to uncheck the checkbox, make your changes, and then click Save.

Step 3: Set Up the Scheduled Bank Download Job

This is an optional step, but recommended so that any bank transactions are automatically imported daily.

1. From Accounting Home > click Setup > in the Automations menu, click Automated Jobs.
2. Under Add/Edit a Scheduled Job, select Scheduled Bank Download.
3. Select a Preferred Start Time to run this (usually after work hours).
4. Click Add Scheduled Job button.

Once scheduled, this job automatically downloads all posted Bank Transactions for every connected bank across all supported providers at the preferred time every day.

Step 4: Configure Match Settings

Bank Transactions can be matched to Cash Receipts, Cash Disbursements, JE Lines, Bank Deposits, and Bank Disbursements. You can do this manually or have the system match for you. For matching to occur, the source document must match the amount exactly and must be within the date range you specify.

1. The Cash-in Default Matching Setting has a default value of 5 days. Update this if the bank transaction's date is likely to be more than five days before or after the date set on the source document (Cash Receipts, Debit JEL, or Bank Deposit).
2. Similarly, update the Cash-out Default Matching Setting if needed. It has a default value of 60 days. (Source documents that can be matched to include Cash Disbursements, Refund Cash Disbursements, Credit JEL, or Bank Disbursements.)
3. Optionally, select Enable Global Automated Match to have the system automatically match Bank Transactions when there is only one source record whose amount matches the Bank Transaction amount exactly and the dates fall within your configured day range. If you want to match transactions manually, leave this unchecked.
4. Click Save.

Step 5: Set Up Add Settings

Add functionality lets you create or add a source document from a downloaded Bank Transaction when there is no existing source document found that matches it.

Prerequisite: Add functionality requires, at a minimum, the Account and the GL Account so it can set this on the source document being added. You can do this in two ways:

• For simple pre-population, select Pre-populate Account Info to have the system compare a Bank Transaction's Description field against the Account's Name or File Import Match Name fields. File Import Match Name takes priority over Account Name if both are populated. This applies only to Account records with Accounting Active selected and all three Accounting Types of Customer & Vendor, Vendor, and Customer, and reviews up to 40,000 Account records per refresh.
  • For Cash-In bank transactions, in addition to the Vendor being populated this way, the system can also pre-populate the GL Variables if populated on the Account.
  • For Cash-Out bank transactions, in addition to the Vendor and GL Variables being populated this way, the system can also pre-populate the Debit GL Account with the value in the Default Expense GL Account field on the Account.

• For more robust pre-population with more flexibility, you can set up Bank Rules.

Once this is done:

1. If needed, you can update the Cash-In Default Source Record Type, which is Cash Receipt by default, and the Cash-Out Default Source Record Type, which is Cash Disbursement by default. You can change either to Journal Entry.
2. Optionally, select Enable Global Automated Add if you want Bank Transactions that have no matches to be added automatically as new source records. This requires required fields, per source record type, populated using Bank Rules, and no proposed matches found. Best practice is to keep this unchecked until you are familiar with the process and then enable it. This is because if Enable Global Automated Add and the auto-post setting are both active, Cash Receipts created this way post to the General Ledger immediately, with no manual review.

If you use Person Accounts, Account Name is a compound field (First Name + Last Name), and a match requires the Bank Transaction's Description to equal or contain the First Name and Last Name, in that order.

Description on Bank Transaction	First Name	Last Name	Account     Match
John Green & Sons	John	Green	Yes
Brown & Jackson Realtors	Jackson	Brown	No
Greenville North		Greenville	Yes

 

On-Going Use

New, Refresh Connection, Refresh Credentials, and Delete Buttons

• New: Start connecting another bank (see Step 1 above). Only this button is enabled until you've connected at least one Financial Institution.
• Refresh Connection: Available for Yodlee and Salt Edge connections only (grayed out for Plaid, which does not need it). Pulls transactions since the last pull. May prompt for updated credentials if they've expired.
• Refresh Credentials: Use this if your connection stops working because your bank login changed. Re-enter your credentials or scan a QR code as prompted.
• Delete: Permanently removes the bank connection from Bank Settings. While the Bank GL Account mapping is retained, it is made inactive. If you later re-add the same institution and map it, a new mapping record is created. Therefore, any Bank Rule that references this bank individually must be manually re-updated after re-adding it.

Add or Update Bank Rules

Bank Rules determine how required fields are populated on a Bank Transaction before Global Automated Add or Global Automated Match can process it. See Bank Rules for how to create and configure them.

Add or Update File Import Match Name on Accounts

As you add more vendors and customers, you can populate the File Import Match Name on their Account records if you want values pre-populated on the Bank Transaction.

Connecting a Bank Pre-Summer '26 Release

Alternative Step 1 if your org is on a release before Summer '26: if your Bank Settings tab shows a Select Aggregation Provider drop-down and a Manage Providers button instead of + New Connection, use the steps below instead of Step 1 above to connect your provider, then bank.

A. Pick the Provider and Register (Manage Providers)

Before connecting a bank for the first time, you must register with at least one Aggregation Provider: Plaid, Yodlee, or Salt Edge (Salt Edge is available for EMEA and United Kingdom customers only).

1. Click Manage Providers. The Manage Aggregation Providers dialog box displays.
2. Swipe right to enable the toggle next to each Provider you want to register with.
3. Click Save, then click Yes to confirm.

Warning: Deregistering a Provider disconnects all Financial Institutions/Financial Institution Accounts registered under it and deactivates their GL Account Mappings.

B. Once registered, continue below for your provider.  You can refer to the Reference: Provider-Specific Screens section for more detail.

Plaid

1. From the Select Aggregation Provider drop-down, select Plaid.
2. If your Financial Institution and Account Name already display, skip to Step 2: Map Your Financial Institution Account. Otherwise, continue.
3. Click New, then click Continue.
4. Search for and select your bank.
5. Enter your Bank Credentials (username and password) and click Submit. If multi-factor authentication (MFA) is required, enter it when prompted.
6. Select the checkbox for the account(s) you want to include, then click Continue.
7. Click Continue again. The Bank Settings page refreshes with Plaid as the selected Provider and your new bank selected.

Yodlee

1. From the Select Aggregation Provider drop-down, select Yodlee.
2. Select your bank from the Select Financial Institution drop-down. If your Financial Institution and Account Name already display, skip to Step 2: Map Your Financial Institution Account. Otherwise, continue.
3. Click New, then select or search for your Financial Institution.
4. Enter your username and password to verify your credentials, then click Submit. If MFA is required, wait for the prompt to appear rather than resubmitting.
5. Click View Accounts to view all accounts linked to the Financial Institution.
6. Close the Linked Account window. Repeat for additional Financial Institutions as needed.

Salt Edge

Note: The email address of the user who configures Salt Edge is shared with Salt Edge in case they need to contact the account holder about regulatory edge cases.

1. From the Select Aggregation Provider drop-down, select Salt Edge.
2. Click New. If the page refreshes to the Bank Transactions tab without letting you add a new bank, enable Popups and Redirects in your browser settings.
3. Enter your bank name in the search box and select your bank.
4. Enter your credentials and click Proceed.
5. Select the checkbox to allow updates with Accounting Seed, then click Confirm.
6. When the "Successfully connected" message displays, click Return to your application, or wait to be redirected automatically.

 

C. Once connected, continue with Step 2 above

Follow Step 2: Map Your Financial Institution Account above and the rest of the steps.

Migration Considerations

If you're moving a bank connection to a new provider, for example from Plaid to Salt Edge or from Yodlee to Plaid, follow the steps below to avoid duplicate transactions:

1. If you have Enable Global Automated Add or Enable Global Automated Match turned on, uncheck them temporarily during migration.
2. Ensure the Scheduled Bank Download job is disabled and that any other users do not attempt to import transactions while migration is in process.
3. Note the Last Refreshed Date on your existing Financial Institution Account you're migrating from.
4. Disconnect the FIA-Bank GL Mapping you're migrating from. In the Select Aggregation Provider picklist, choose the provider you are migrating from, then the FIA, and click Delete. This removes the listing in the Mapping table and deactivates the mapping, but your imported transactions will remain for you to match or add.
5. Next, connect your same bank account/FIA using the provider you want to migrate to (see Step 1: Add Your Bank/Financial Institution Account).
6. Important: Set the Initial Start Date to 14 days after the old connection's Last Refreshed Date. If you think you may be missing some transactions, lower the 14 days so that the effective start day includes the dates with missing transactions.
7. On the Bank Transactions tab, click Update All and download the bank transactions from the new provider. Once this completes, review your Bank Transactions for duplicates covering the overlap period. Create a Custom Tab if you need to isolate transactions for review.
8. Re-enable Enable Global Automated Add or Enable Global Automated Match if they were previously enabled. Similarly, add back the Scheduled Bank Download job.
9. Reconcile the Bank GL Account balance to your actual bank statement balance as of the cutover date to confirm nothing was missed or duplicated.

Reference: What Each Setting Means

Setting	What it means
Provider	The aggregation service used for this connection: Plaid, Yodlee, or Salt Edge. Determined automatically by the institution you search for and select.
Connection	For Plaid or Salt Edge, you can have multiple connections (different credentials) to the same institution. Each is named Connection_1, Connection_2, and so on.
Ledger	The Accounting Seed Ledger this Financial Institution Account's transactions post against.
Bank GL Account	The GL account this Financial Institution Account's transactions map to. Changing this mapping applies only to Bank Transactions downloaded or matched after the change. It does not retroactively update the GL Account on source records or GL transactions already posted under the prior mapping.
Initial Start Date	How far back your first download for this Financial Institution Account goes. Does not affect later refreshes.
Last Refreshed Date	The date the provider last updated its data from your bank.
FIA Status	Green: connection is working. Go to the Bank Transactions tab and click Update All to pull the latest transactions. Red: see Bank Direct Connect - Connection Messages to resolve the connection error.
Reverse Sign	Salt Edge only. Reverses the Cash-In/Cash-Out sign of downloaded Bank Transaction amounts before source records are created from them. Use this if your bank's transactions are downloading with an inverted sign. This does not modify any GL entry. Disabled once any Bank Transactions exist for the FIA, so set it correctly before your first download.
Single FIA per Bank Account	Selected by default. Prevents mapping more than one Financial Institution Account to the same Bank GL Account. Deselect only if you intentionally want to combine multiple accounts into one GL balance (for example, a pooled account). Doing so means that GL account can no longer be reconciled to a single bank statement.
Enable Global Automated Add	Automatically creates a source record (Cash Receipt, Cash Disbursement, or Journal Entry) from a Bank Transaction when no match is found and required fields are populated via Bank Rules. See the warning under Step 5 before enabling.
Enable Global Automated Match	Automatically matches a Bank Transaction to an existing source record when the amount, date range, and Bank GL Account all agree and only one match is possible.
Pre-populate Account Info	Pre-fills Account Name, GL Account, and GL Variables on a Bank Transaction by comparing its Description to your Account's Name and File Import Match Name.

Reference: Provider-Specific Screens

The screens below appear after you select an institution in Step 1. Which one you see depends on the provider tied to the institution you searched for.

Plaid Connect Screens

Enter your online banking username and password when prompted. If your bank requires multi-factor authentication (MFA), an extra verification step such as a code sent to your phone, enter it when prompted, then select the account(s) to include.

Salt Edge Connect Screens

Enter your credentials, then select the checkbox to allow updates with Accounting Seed.

Note: The email address of the user who configures a Salt Edge connection is shared with Salt Edge, as required under open banking regulations, in case Salt Edge needs to contact the account holder directly about the connection.

If the page redirects to the Bank Transactions tab without letting you add a new bank, your browser may be blocking popups. In Chrome, click the popup-blocked icon in the address bar and choose Always allow.

Yodlee FastLink Screens

Enter your username and password to verify your credentials. If MFA is required, wait for the prompt to appear rather than resubmitting. Once connected, click View Accounts to see all linked accounts (checking, credit cards, and so on).

Sandbox Testing with Plaid or Salt Edge

You can test Bank Direct Connect with your real bank credentials and bank transactions in a Sandbox org or non-production org.  To do this:

1. Install the Spring '26 version (not Summer '26) in your sandbox/non-production org.
2. Navigate to Bank Direct Connect, add follow the steps outlined in the 'Connecting a Bank Pre-Summer '26 Release' section to add the provider, then connect to your bank or Financial Institution Account.
3. Then follow the usual steps to import your bank transactions. 

If you want to test Bank Direct Connect with the test or fake banks provided by Salt Edge and Plaid, please create a Support ticket and grant subscriber access.

 

Yodlee's Open Banking API

Accounting Seed uses Yodlee's Open Banking API for banks that support it, a more secure connection method than Yodlee's standard method. New accounts on Open Banking-enabled banks connect automatically through the API. If your bank isn't on the list below, it still connects through Yodlee's standard method with no extra action needed.

To update an existing account to the Open Banking API: locate and select the Financial Institution, click Refresh Credentials, re-enter your credentials, click Update, then click Close.

Banks currently Open Banking-enabled through Yodlee: Citibank, Chase, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, Brex, Novo, Wells Fargo, Chime, Capital One, Yotta, NFCU, and TD Bank.

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