This is part of our Bank Feeds and Reconciliation series (Chapter 3 of the Xero tutorial hub):

• Lesson 1: Connecting Your Bank Feed to Xero
• Lesson 2: Daily Reconciliation in Xero Made Simple
• Lesson 3: Setting Up Bank Rules in Xero to Save Time
• Lesson 4: Handling Personal Spend and Owner Drawings in Xero

A connected bank feed is what makes Xero actually save you time. Here is how to set one up.

1. Find the bank feeds setup

Under the Accounting menu, select Bank Accounts, then Add Bank Account, and search for your bank.

2. Authorise the connection

You will be taken through your bank’s own login process to authorise Xero to receive your transaction data. Xero does not store your online banking password.

3. Wait for transactions to start flowing in

Once connected, transactions usually start appearing within a day or two, and continue arriving automatically each day after that.

4. If your bank is not supported

Not every smaller or regional bank has a direct feed. In that case you can usually import a statement file manually as a fallback.

Xero’s official YouTube channel has a walkthrough of connecting bank feeds: watch the official Xero tutorial. Our offsite bookkeeping team can help troubleshoot if your feed will not connect.