What is a bank feed in accounting software?
Quick answer
A bank feed is a connection that pulls transactions from a business's bank and card accounts into its accounting software automatically, so nobody has to type them in. Each transaction still has to be matched or given an account by a person or a rule before it lands in the books.
Last updated
Take the free module →Module 6 of the free AI for Accounting & Bookkeeping Firms course, about 11 minutes. No account needed.
Updated · By Robert Breen
Why it matters for a small business
Bank feeds save bookkeepers hours of data entry, which is why most small business books run on them. The cost is a new kind of error. The same payment can arrive twice, once from the feed and once entered by hand from the bill, or a feed can resend a batch. A transaction can also come in with a vague bank description and no account, so it sits outside every line of the reports.
Neither error is loud. A duplicate quietly doubles a cost, and an uncategorized row quietly leaves one out. Both change the profit and loss statement an owner relies on. The fix is a habit: check the export for repeated date, name, number and amount combinations and for blank accounts before anyone builds a report, then fix the books, not just the copy you analyzed.
Two bank feed problems and what to do
| Problem | How it shows up in an export | Who decides the fix |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate entry | Same date, name, number and amount twice | The accountant: remove or reverse one copy |
| Uncategorized row | Blank account, vague memo like CARD PURCHASE | The accountant: assign the right account |
| Unmatched deposit | In the bank but not in the books | The accountant: record it |
The first two rows are the problems found in the free P&L lesson. The third comes from the free bank reconciliation lesson.
In a real lesson: Analyze a Client's P&L Export with ChatGPT (Accounting & Bookkeeping Firms)
In the free Analyze a Client's P&L Export lesson, ChatGPT checks the Profit and Loss Detail export for Copper Pot Kitchen, a made-up restaurant client of the made-up Millbrook Accounting. It finds 4 transactions that appear twice with the same date, name, number and amount: two Valley Produce Co. bills, a Harbor Linen Service bill and a Blue Flame Propane payment, $3,475.00 of costs counted twice.
You tell it they are bank-feed entries that came in twice and to remove the second copy of each. It also finds 9 rows with a blank account, such as a card purchase with the memo CARD PURCHASE 0104 #2291, and you park them in Needs review until you categorize them yourself.
Try this lesson free or read the step-by-step guide.
Common confusions
Bank feed vs bank statement
The statement is the bank's official monthly record. The feed is a running copy of transactions sent to your software. Reconcile the books to the statement, not to the feed.
Bank feed vs bank reconciliation
The feed brings transactions in. A bank reconciliation proves, once a month, that the books and the statement agree.
Tips
- Before any analysis, ask the AI to list rows that repeat on date, name, number and amount.
- Fix duplicates and blank accounts in the accounting software, not only in the file you uploaded.
Related terms
More Business terms
Where you use it: free lessons
- Analyze a Client's P&L Export with ChatGPT (Accounting & Bookkeeping Firms) (ChatGPT, 11 min)
- Month-End Bank Reconciliation with ChatGPT: 20 Minutes, Not 3 Hours (ChatGPT, 12 min)
- Build an AI Agent That Categorizes Business Expenses (n8n, 12 min)
- OLVA: Listen in Interviews and Debrief Against the Scorecard (OLVA, 8 min)
Prompt templates that use it
Frequently asked questions
- Why does my bank feed show duplicate transactions?
- Common causes are a payment entered by hand and then matched again from the feed, or a feed that resends transactions. Check repeated date, name and amount pairs and remove one copy in your software.
- Can AI find bank feed duplicates?
- ChatGPT can list rows that repeat in an export, as the free lesson shows. You still decide whether each one is a real duplicate and fix it in the books.