Key takeaways
What this article covers, in order:
- Why people go looking for this
- So what is Open Banking, exactly?
- How does connecting a bank actually work?
- What a feed sends you, and what it doesn't
- How often does a bank feed update?
- Is it safe?
An Open Banking bank feed is a read-only connection between your business bank account and your bookkeeping software. You approve it inside your own banking app, and from then on your transactions arrive in your books automatically, so you stop typing them in or downloading statements. Open Banking bank feeds can't move money, and you can switch one off whenever you like.
Why people go looking for this
Tom is a joiner in Bristol. Every few weeks he sits down with a mug of tea, logs into his bank, downloads a statement, opens it in a spreadsheet and copies the lines across. Forty minutes later he's typed £1,240.00 as £1,420.00 and his books are out by £180. He finds it a fortnight later. Maybe.
A bank feed takes that whole routine away. The transactions come in on their own, with the bank's own dates, descriptions and amounts. Tom still has to say what each one is (materials, van fuel, a customer payment), but the copying and the typos are gone.
That's the honest pitch. A feed doesn't do your bookkeeping. It does the boring, error-prone bit at the start.
So what is Open Banking, exactly?
Open Banking is the UK framework that lets you give regulated third parties secure access to your bank data, with your permission. It's been running since Jan 2018, when the largest UK banks were required to open up standard, secure connections. Firms that read your account data have to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (or work through a firm that is).
There are two broad kinds of Open Banking access:
- Account information. Read-only. Someone can see your balance and transactions. This is what a bank feed uses.
- Payment initiation. A service starts a payment from your account, which you then approve. A bank feed doesn't need this and doesn't use it.
So when you connect your bank to bookkeeping software through Open Banking, you're granting look but don't touch access.
How does connecting a bank actually work?
It's quicker than most people expect. The steps look roughly like this:
- In your bookkeeping software you choose "connect a bank" and pick your bank from the list.
- You're sent to your bank's own app or website. You log in there, the way you always do.
- Your bank shows you what you're agreeing to share (usually balances and transactions) and for which accounts.
- You approve, and you're sent back to your bookkeeping software.
- Recent transactions start arriving, and new ones follow as your bank releases them.
The bit people like most is step 2. You never hand your banking password to the bookkeeping software. You log in with your bank, your bank asks you to approve, and the software only ever receives the data you agreed to share.
What a feed sends you, and what it doesn't
Here's where a bit of realism helps. A feed is very good at some things and blind to others.
| A bank feed usually brings in | A bank feed won't tell you |
|---|---|
| Date the transaction posted | What the payment was for (beyond the bank's description) |
| Amount, in or out | Which invoice a customer payment settles |
| The bank's description or reference | How a lump sum should be split, e.g. a card bill |
| Your balance, so you can check against it | Anything still pending that hasn't posted yet |
| Card transactions on connected cards | Cash you took and spent in a shop |
Two of these trip people up all the time.
Pending transactions. Your banking app might show a card payment from this morning as pending. Most feeds only bring in transactions once they've posted, so it may turn up a day or two later. That's normal, and it's why your banking app and your books can disagree for a day or so.
Descriptions. The bank's description is whatever the merchant's card terminal or payment system sent. "AMZNMKTPLACE" tells you it was Amazon. It doesn't tell you whether it was printer ink or a birthday present. You still have to know.
How often does a bank feed update?
It depends on the bank and the software, but expect new transactions to arrive at least daily rather than live to the second. If you've just paid a supplier and want to see it in your books straight away, you might be waiting until the bank posts it.
How far back the first import reaches also varies. Some banks share several months of history when you first connect, others less. If you need older transactions, a CSV statement download from your bank fills the gap.
Is it safe?
This is the question we get most, so here's the straight answer.
- Access is read-only. A bank feed set up for bookkeeping can't send payments.
- You approve it with your bank, not by typing your bank login into someone else's form.
- You can see and cancel the connection from your bank's app or online banking, as well as from the software.
- From time to time you'll be asked to reconfirm the connection. Mildly annoying, but it's there so access doesn't carry on forever without you knowing.
The weakest link is usually the bookkeeping software login itself. Use a strong password, don't share logins between staff, and give each person their own user. That matters more than the feed.
What still needs a human?
A feed gets the data in. You (or your bookkeeper) still need to:
- Categorise each transaction. Is that £62.40 at a builders' merchant materials for a job, or tools?
- Match payments to invoices and bills. A customer paying £1,800 might be settling two invoices.
- Spot transfers between your own accounts, so moving £2,000 to savings doesn't look like an expense.
- Reconcile the books to the bank balance at month end, so you know nothing's been missed or doubled.
That last one matters even with a feed. Feeds occasionally drop a day, duplicate a line after a reconnection, or hold a transaction back. Reconciliation is how you catch it.
A quick worked example
Say Tom connects his business current account on 1 Oct 2026. Over the first week, five transactions come in:
| Date | Description | In | Out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 2026 | BACS HARRIS KITCHENS | £1,800.00 | |
| 2 Oct 2026 | TIMBER YARD BRISTOL | £412.60 | |
| 3 Oct 2026 | SHELL FUEL | £68.20 | |
| 5 Oct 2026 | TFR TO SAVINGS | £500.00 | |
| 6 Oct 2026 | BANK CHARGES | £6.50 |
His opening balance was £2,150.00. Money in is £1,800.00. Money out is £412.60 + £68.20 + £500.00 + £6.50 = £987.30. So the closing balance should be £2,150.00 + £1,800.00 − £987.30 = £2,962.70.
If his bank app says £2,962.70 too, the feed's complete for that week. If it says something else, there's a missing or duplicated line to find. Notice that the £500 to savings isn't an expense at all. It's a transfer, and it needs treating as one.
Can you have more than one feed?
Usually yes. Most businesses have a current account, maybe a savings account and a business credit card. Each one you connect gets its own feed. Card accounts work the same way: purchases come in as money out, and your monthly repayment shows on both the card and the current account.
If you can't or don't want to connect an account, a CSV statement export from your bank does the same job, just manually. More on the trade-offs between the two in our post on Open Banking feeds versus CSV import.
How HelloBooks helps
In HelloBooks you connect your bank through Open Banking. It works with most UK banks and cards, and if your bank isn't available you can import a CSV bank statement instead.
- The Free plan (£0, no card needed, no expiry) includes one live bank feed and up to 200 transactions a year.
- Pro (£14.99 a month, or £149 a year) gives you unlimited bank connections and AI auto-categorisation.
Whichever route your transactions take, feed or CSV, they land in a review list where you confirm or change the category. When you reconcile, HelloBooks lines your statement up against your ledger and suggests a match for each line, so you only deal with the leftovers. You can see more on the bank reconciliation software page, or compare plans on UK pricing.
FAQs
Can a bank feed take money out of my account?
No. A bookkeeping bank feed uses read-only account information access. It can see transactions and balances, and that's it.
Do I have to give my bank password to the software?
No. You log in with your own bank, inside its app or website, and approve the connection there. The software never sees your banking password.
Why is a transaction in my banking app but not in my books yet?
Most likely it's still pending. Feeds generally bring transactions in once the bank has posted them, which can take a day or two for card payments.
How do I stop a bank feed?
You can cancel the connection from your bookkeeping software, and you can also revoke access from your bank's app or online banking.
Does a bank feed mean I don't need to reconcile?
You still should. Feeds occasionally miss or repeat a transaction, especially after a reconnection. A quick month-end reconciliation catches it.
What if my bank isn't supported?
Download a CSV statement from your online banking and import it. It's more manual, but the bookkeeping afterwards is the same.
A feed won't make the decisions for you, but it'll stop you squinting at statements and retyping numbers, which is a fair trade for five minutes of setup.
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