Bank feeds and matching: putting your bookkeeping on autopilot
Written by Ilias Aarrass7 min read · Published on · Last reviewed on 
In short
A PSD2 bank feed gives your bookkeeping software read access to your business account, after which you match every transaction to an invoice or receipt; the permission has to be reconfirmed every 180 days.
- The feed only grants read rights: the software sees transactions but cannot make payments.
- Only connect your business account, otherwise hundreds of private transactions end up in your records.
- Only create recognition rules for fixed charges with a fixed VAT rate, otherwise you automate the same error twelve times.
- Cash turnover, private payments and unpaid purchase invoices do not come from the bank; you book those separately.
The biggest time saving in a freelancer's records is not typing faster, but no longer typing at all. A bank feed pulls your transactions from your business account every day, after which you only have to match them to the right invoice or receipt. That matching is the core of modern bookkeeping software. This article explains how to set up the feed, what the 180-day rule means, how to make matching a routine and which mistakes to avoid when you automate a lot.
How a bank feed works
Under the European payment directive PSD2 you may give a software supplier permission to read your transactions. You give that permission not to your bookkeeper but to the software, and you do so in your own bank's environment with your own login. The software then gets read rights: it sees your credits and debits, but cannot transfer money.
That permission is not valid forever. Every 180 days you have to confirm it again. That is a legal requirement, not a shortcoming of your package. You do not have to rebuild the feed: you simply reconfirm that the software may read along. Most packages send an email about ten days in advance. Do not ignore it, because an expired feed means your records stand still exactly when you are not thinking about it.
- In your bookkeeping package, choose the bank where you hold your business account.
- Log in at your bank and give permission to read that specific account, not your private account.
- Choose the date from which transactions are pulled in; usually you can go back several months.
- Check that the opening balance in your books equals the bank balance on that date.
- Set a reminder for the renewal after 180 days, or rely on your supplier's email.
Matching: tying a transaction to an invoice
An imported transaction is not yet an entry. Only when you match it to a sales invoice, a purchase invoice or a cost item does your bookkeeping know what happened. For a payment from a client, the software looks for the open invoice with the same amount or invoice number in the description. If the suggestion is right, you confirm with one click and the invoice is marked as paid.
It works best when your invoices are well numbered and clients include that number. So put the invoice number prominently on your invoice and in your payment request. See invoice numbers and consecutive numbering. With costs it works the other way round: you upload the receipt, the software reads the amount and the supplier, and matches it to the debit. How to store receipts is explained in storing receipts and invoices digitally.
| Transaction | How you match it |
|---|---|
| Payment from a client | match to the open sales invoice |
| Partial payment or two invoices paid together | split it and match to both invoices |
| Debit from a supplier | match to the purchase invoice or receipt |
| Transfer to your private account | book as a [private withdrawal](kb:prive-opname-prive-storting), not a cost |
| Payment to the tax authorities | book against the relevant tax debt, not as a cost |
| Bank charges | book as a cost; see [VAT on bank charges](kb:zit-er-btw-op-bankkosten) |
Recognition rules: handy, but not blind
Most packages let you create rules: if a debit comes from a certain name, post it automatically to a fixed cost account. For fixed charges that are identical every month, such as your phone subscription or your software licence, that really saves time. Only create such rules after you have booked manually for a few months, so you know the entry is correct.
Be cautious with rules for costs whose VAT can differ. A supplier who sometimes invoices with VAT and sometimes with reverse charge, or a purchase from a foreign party, does not fit a fixed rule. If you automate it anyway, you multiply the same error over twelve months and only see it at year-end. See also receiving and booking reverse-charged VAT.
A twenty-minute monthly routine
- Step 1
- open the list of unmatched transactions from the past month
- Step 2
- confirm the suggestions that are right, usually the bulk of them
- Step 3
- find the missing receipts for the debits that remain
- Step 4
- check that the closing balance in your books equals your bank statement
Result: Anyone who does this monthly ends the quarter with a VAT return that only needs checking. See [the monthly routine for your records](kb:administratie-maandroutine) and [checking your VAT before you file](kb:btw-controleren-voor-je-aangifte-indient).
What a feed does not do for you
A bank feed shows what passed through your account, nothing more. Cash turnover, payments received on your private account, costs you accidentally paid privately and purchase invoices not yet paid are not in it. So anyone who only matches what the bank delivers misses part of their figures. Keep cash receipts separately in a cash ledger, see cash records and cash payments.
The retention obligation does not change either. The transaction lines from your bank do not replace the underlying invoices and receipts: you must keep those for seven years, and ten years for real estate. A feed makes entering easier, it does not make keeping records unnecessary. See the retention obligation for your records.
- Missing receipts stay missing; the bank provides the amount, not the proof.
- Payments via a payment provider often arrive as a bundled amount, including withheld fees you must book separately.
- A credit card or savings pot you use for business is connected separately or booked manually.
- After switching banks or getting a new account number you have to set up the feed again.
Frequently asked questions
Is a bank feed safe?
The feed only grants read rights: the software sees your transactions but cannot make payments. You give the permission in your own bank's environment and you can withdraw it there too.
Why do I have to give permission again every 180 days?
That is a requirement of the European payment rules. You do not have to rebuild the feed; you simply confirm that the software may keep reading. Your package usually warns you about ten days in advance.
My balance in the books does not match my bank. What now?
Almost always a transaction has been imported twice or a period was not pulled in. Compare the closing balance of your bank statement with that in your books month by month and find the first month where they diverge.
Do I still need a bookkeeper if everything runs automatically?
The data entry runs itself, the judgement does not. Whether something is a cost or private, which VAT rate applies and whether an investment must be capitalised is not decided by the software. See doing your own books or outsourcing.
Sources
- New payment services legislation (PSD2)Rijksoverheid · rijksoverheid.nl
- PSD2: what does it mean for you?AFM · afm.nl
Sources checked on
This article provides general information based on the rules known for 2026 and does not replace personal tax advice. For your specific situation, we're happy to take a look with you.
