Bank Link
Bank Link enables you to connect and sync transactions from your financial institution(s) to an account of your choosing in ChurchTrac's Church Accounting Software.
- Linking Bank Accounts
- Matching Bank Accounts
- Syncing Transactions
- Review Transactions
- Automatic Reconciliation
- Relinking or Unlinking an Account
- Bank Sync FAQS
Linking Bank Accounts
Step 1: On the Accounting dashboard, select Actions, then Link Accounts.
Step 2: In the flyout that opens, select Link Accounts.
Step 3: Select or search for your bank or financial institution. Follow the prompts to sign in. Depending on your bank, you may also need to complete two-factor authentication.
Step 4: Select only the accounts you want to link. Stripe selects "All accounts" by default, so uncheck any you don't want to connect.
Matching Bank Accounts
Next, match each linked account to its account in ChurchTrac. On the Accounting dashboard, select Actions → Link Accounts, then choose the ChurchTrac account for each linked account.
Syncing Transactions
Step 1: Open the account's register and select Import / Bank Link in the top right corner.
Step 2: From the Import/Link screen, select the "Actions" button. Then, select "Sync New Transactions" to sync transactions from your linked bank/financial institution.
Note: Bank Link doesn't add transactions in real time. Repeat these steps whenever you want the latest transactions from your bank. You can bring in transactions from up to 180 days before today.
Review Transactions
Every transaction is reviewed before it's added to your register.
Start with Needs Attention
The review screen sorts transactions into Needs attention, Ready to add and All. Work through Needs attention first.
Review each Transaction
Select a transaction in the list. The date, payee, Category, Fund, and amount may fill in automatically from your Import Rules and from what ChurchTrac has learned about your past transactions. Edit anything that is blank or that doesn't match your records.
To split a transaction across Categories or Funds, select Edit Transaction, and then Add Line. Then choose to add or skip it.
Watch for Possible Duplicates
ChurchTrac flags transactions that look like ones already in your register, such as a check you entered by hand. If it's already there, skip it.
Step 3: Check the transactions you want to add, then select Actions and Add Checked Items.
Automatic Reconciliation
Bank Link works with rolling reconciliation. When an account's Auto-reconcile switch is on, ChurchTrac reconciles the account after you finish reviewing, once your register matches the bank's balance.
The switch is off by default. To turn it on, select Edit Account.
Then, enable the Auto Reconcile option.
See How to Reconcile Bank Accounts for details.
Relinking or Unlinking a Bank Account
Your bank may disconnect the link from time to time for security, much like your online banking logs you out.
Step 1: On the Accounting dashboard, select Actions → Link Accounts to see your connected accounts.
Step 2: Select Unlink Account next to the disconnected account.
Step 3: Select Link Accounts again and follow the linking steps above.
Bank Sync FAQS
Bank Link is included with your ChurchTrac subscription at no additional cost.
Yes. ChurchTrac's Bank Link works with credit cards and other account types such as money market accounts and loans.
ChurchTrac receives new transaction data once a day from most banks (some banks or credit cards may have a much longer delay). If new transactions are visible when you log in to your bank, those entries may not appear in ChurchTrac until the following day. Also, transactions that show as “pending” on your bank or credit card company’s website will not appear until they are no longer in a pending status.
Bank Link is only available in the United States.
Stripe doesn't support every bank yet. You can still upload statements instead: a PDF statement (requires our most current plan) or an OFX, QFX, QIF or QBO file. You can also ask your bank to join Stripe's Financial Connections program.
Watch this helpful Pro Tip video to learn more about what you can do if your bank isn't an option to sync.
New transactions are available daily. If there’s a transaction missing from your sync, try again tomorrow.
No, syncing transactions is not an automatic, real-time process. Even after linking your bank account, transactions will not flow into ChurchTrac automatically. You must manually sync transactions each time you want to import new data.
No, we recommend that you pick one method and stick with it.
No. Although we use Stripe for making the bank connections and syncing transactions, you do not need a Stripe or online giving account for Bank Link to work.
When you link your bank account to ChurchTrac, you are giving ChurchTrac permission to connect to your bank and retrieve transactions. We do not have access to your bank account or your banking data. We cannot create charges or transactions in your bank account. We handle your transaction data in the same way as we do the rest of your data in accordance with our privacy policy.
Occasionally, there can be transactions that you will want to skip. This could include transactions that have already been accounted for and reconciled.
Yes. Our church bookkeeping software is smart like that :-)
Each financial institution determines how frequently new transaction data is made available for syncing. Depending on your bank, this may be daily, weekly, or even monthly. If your newest transactions aren't appearing in ChurchTrac, they may not be available from your bank yet.
For security purposes, your financial institution may periodically require you to reconnect your bank account. This is determined by your bank and may happen daily, every few days, or weekly. It's similar to how your online banking portal automatically logs you out after a period of time.