Bank Integrations

Your bank, in your books

Connect your bank and credit card accounts and every transaction flows into DishBooks automatically: card deposits, vendor payments, payroll, and more. It’s the foundation for matching payments to bills and closing the month with confidence.

DishBooks connects to most US banks through Plaid, the same secure service used by thousands of finance apps. If your bank doesn’t connect, you can upload a file from online banking instead.

Before you start

• Have your online banking login ready, for a login with full access to the accounts you want to connect (not a view-only or limited user).
• Your entities and locations are set up in DishBooks.
• Know which GL accountGL accountGeneral ledger account. One of the named buckets on your books, like Food Sales or Sales Tax Payable, that every dollar is sorted into. each bank account books to. You’ll pick one, or create a new one, for every account you connect. Use the Bank/Cash type for checking and savings, Credit Card for cards.

Step 1 Connect your bank

1. Go to Banking → Bank Accounts and click + Connect account (top right).

2. Plaid opens. Enter your phone number to save time on future connections, or click Continue without phone number.

   

3. Search for your bank and log in with your online banking username and password. This happens securely inside Plaid; DishBooks never sees your bank password.

4. Choose the accounts you want to bring in (checking, savings, credit cards) and finish.

Your accounts appear on the Bank Accounts page, but they don’t sync yet. DishBooks doesn’t guess which GL account, location or start date they belong to, so you set that up next.

Got accounts at more than one bank? Click + Connect account again for each bank.

Step 2 Set up each account

1. Click More accounts under the bank if you don’t see your accounts. Accounts that aren’t syncing yet are listed there.
2. Click the three-dot button at the end of the account’s row. Account settings opens.
3. Under GL Account, pick the account this one books to, or type a new name to create one (Bank/Cash and Credit Card types only). Once set, it can’t be changed.
4. Choose the Location / Entity the account belongs to.
5. Set Sync From Date, the earliest date to pull transactions from. Pick your go-live date.
6. Turn on Sync Status and click Save.

Transactions start flowing in right away. Do this for each account you want, and leave the rest off.

What you’ll see

The Bank Accounts page groups your accounts by bank. Click the arrow on the left to see each account under a bank.

• Last synced shows when DishBooks last pulled transactions from that bank.

• Blue refresh button: pull the latest transactions now. You’ll see a message that the sync has started.

  

• Needs reconnecting: this badge, with a Reconnect button, appears when your bank needs your login again, for example after you change your online banking password. The gear menu has Reconnect too, or Edit while the connection is healthy.

• Sync: the toggle on each account turns syncing on or off.

• Manual: accounts you add yourself and update by uploading files (see below).

Bank won’t connect? Upload a file instead

Some banks may have issues with Plaid, and some small banks and card issuers aren’t on it at all. No problem: download your transactions from online banking and upload them.

1. First time? On Banking → Bank Accounts, click Add manual account. Enter the bank name, pick or create the GL account, and add the last four digits. If the GL account has no location yet, choose a Location / Entity too.

2. Click Import transactions, then choose the account under Bank account.

3. Upload a QBO/OFX or CSV file downloaded from your online banking, check the preview and click Import.

   

Importing a credit card? DishBooks reverses the signs for card accounts. If charges and payments still look swapped in the preview, click Reverse signs.

Made a mistake? Files imported in the last 7 days are listed under Imported files. Revert one to delete the transactions it added, then upload again. You can’t revert a file once any of its transactions is approved or reconciled.

Tips and common questions

Is it safe to log in to my bank through Plaid?

Yes. Your bank login goes to Plaid, which is used by thousands of financial apps. DishBooks never sees or stores your bank password.

How often do transactions come in?

About once a day. Need something sooner? Click the blue refresh button.

My bank stopped syncing.

Click Reconnect next to the Needs reconnecting badge (or open the gear next to that bank and choose Reconnect), then log in again. This usually happens after a password change or when your bank asks you to re-verify.

Do I need a GL account for my bank first?

You pick one for each account in Account settings, and you can create it right there.

Can I connect business credit cards?

Yes. Connect them just like a bank account, or upload a file.

My bank only gives me PDF statements.

PDFs can’t be imported. Ask your bank for a CSV export, or reach out to our support team for help.

What’s next

Your transactions are in. Next, review and categorize them in Banking → Bank Activity, then reconcile each month.