Connect your bank

A bank connection brings in new transactions every morning, so you don't have to download statements. Balancivo connects through Plaid. You sign in to your bank in Plaid's window, and Balancivo never sees your bank password. It can read transactions and balances, but it can't move money.

Before you start

• Turn on two-step sign-in. If you signed in on a trusted device (without a code), Accounts shows "Enter a code from your authenticator app to connect or change a bank." Type the code there. See Turn on two-step sign-in.
• Your plan must have a bank connection left. See Your free trial, plans and usage.

Steps

1. Go to Accounts. Find Bank connections at the top.
2. Click Connect a bank. Plaid's window opens.
3. Pick your bank and sign in in Plaid's window.
4. Choose what to bring in. Under Which accounts should Balancivo bring in?, set Bring it in as for each bank account:
   • A new account creates a new account in Balancivo. Set Starting from to the day its books should start.
   • An account under An account already in Balancivo matches the bank account to one you already import statements for, so nothing is counted twice.
   • Don't bring it in leaves it out. Use this for personal accounts.
5. Click Bring in (it shows how many accounts). New transactions are waiting in Review.

Sync and status

• Sync now at the top pulls new transactions from every connected bank right away. Each bank also has its own Sync now link.
• Connected means the connection is working.
• Needs you means the bank wants you to sign in again, or has stopped sharing your accounts with Balancivo (Chase and other banks let you choose which accounts to share, and can turn sharing off). Click Fix connection, sign in through Plaid and choose the accounts to share. Only owners can do this; bookkeepers see a note asking them to ask an owner. Owners also get an email when a connection has needed them for an hour, and one reminder three days later if it still does.
• If the bank's screen shows no accounts to choose, the bank has turned off sharing with Balancivo on its side. Allow it again in the bank's own website or app, then click Fix connection again. At Chase: Security center → Linked apps & websites, find Balancivo or Plaid and allow your accounts. Other banks have a similar page, often called connected apps or third-party access.
• Problem means the last sync didn't work. The reason shows in red under the bank's name. Try Sync now again later. You can keep importing statements in the meantime.
• Each bank line shows which accounts are linked and when it last synced.

Good to know

• For a new account, Balancivo works out its starting balance from today's bank balance and the transactions since the start date. Check it against a statement with Edit on the account.
• Connected accounts show a Connected label and the bank's own balance, with "matches" or "off by" an amount. A small difference is usually pending charges and evens out in a day or two. If it stays off, a transaction may be missing from before the connection started.
• You can keep importing monthly statements too. Balancivo matches them to what the bank already sent.
• Transactions in months you've already closed are skipped.
• To link more accounts from the same bank later, click Add accounts (or Choose accounts if none are linked yet).
• Add accounts only lists what the bank already shares. To share a different account (or one you left out when you last signed in), click Change shared accounts, sign in to the bank and check it. If a linked account stops being shared, the bank shows Needs you and names the account.
• To stop the connection, click Disconnect, then Disconnect again to confirm. Everything already imported stays in the books.
• Each connected bank counts toward your plan's automatic bank connections. Statement imports are unlimited.