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Kuberan AI Help

Connect a Bank Account

Connecting a bank account via Plaid brings transactions directly into Kuberan Books, eliminating manual CSV exports from the bank’s website. Once connected, new transactions appear automatically — typically within one business day — ready for you to categorise.

Before you begin

  • Confirm that the client’s bank or credit union is supported by Plaid. Most major Canadian institutions are — RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, National Bank, Desjardins, and most credit unions. You can verify on Plaid’s institution search page.
  • Have the client’s online banking credentials ready, or arrange for the client to complete the Plaid authentication step themselves via the client portal.
  • Ensure Books setup is complete (accounting method, fiscal year, and chart of accounts configured). See Set up client books if you have not done this yet.

Connect the bank account

  1. Navigate to Bank Accounts

    Inside the client’s Books, click Bank Accounts in the left navigation. This screen shows all connected and manually-managed bank accounts for this client.

    Bank Accounts screen showing an empty state with a Connect Bank button
    The Bank Accounts screen before any accounts are connected.

  2. Click Connect Bank

    Click the Connect Bank button in the top-right corner. The Plaid Link modal opens.

  3. Search for the financial institution

    In the Plaid search box, type the name of the bank or credit union. Select it from the results list.

  4. Authenticate with the bank

    Plaid displays the bank’s login screen. Enter the online banking username and password. Many institutions also require multi-factor authentication — Plaid handles this inline (SMS code, security question, or push notification depending on the institution).

  5. Select which accounts to connect

    After authentication, Plaid displays all accounts held at that institution (chequing, savings, credit card, line of credit). Select the accounts relevant to this client’s bookkeeping. You can connect multiple accounts in one session.

    Plaid account selection screen showing chequing, savings, and credit card accounts with checkboxes
    Select the accounts you want to import. You can always add or remove accounts later.

  6. Click Connect

    Plaid secures the connection and Kuberan begins the initial transaction import. You are returned to the Bank Accounts screen, where the newly connected accounts appear with a status of Syncing.

Initial transaction import

Plaid imports up to 24 months of historical transactions on the initial sync, depending on what the bank makes available. This process usually completes within a few minutes.

When the import is complete, each account shows:

  • The current balance as reported by the bank
  • The number of transactions imported
  • The date and time of the last sync

Go to Bank Transactions in the left navigation to see all imported transactions. They are listed newest-first, with a status of Uncategorised until you assign them to accounts.

Verify the imported balances

Before categorising any transactions, verify that the imported balance matches your bank statement:

  1. Locate the most recent bank statement for each connected account.
  2. Compare the closing balance on the statement with the balance shown on the Bank Accounts screen.
  3. If they match, you are ready to proceed.
  4. If they do not match, there may be a delay in the Plaid sync — wait 15 minutes and refresh. If the discrepancy persists, see the troubleshooting section below.

Troubleshooting Plaid connection issues

“Institution unavailable” or “Connection failed” Some institutions have intermittent Plaid availability due to maintenance windows or security changes. Wait a few hours and try again. If the problem persists for more than 48 hours, use the manual CSV import as a temporary workaround.

Multi-factor authentication not completing Ensure you have access to the phone number or email associated with the bank account before starting the connection. If the client uses a hardware token, you may need them to complete the Plaid link themselves.

Missing accounts after authentication Some institutions only expose certain account types to Plaid. If a credit card or line of credit is not appearing, it may need to be linked to the main online banking profile first from within the bank’s own platform.

Balance discrepancy A small discrepancy (usually less than a day’s transactions) is typically a sync timing issue — Plaid updates balances at different intervals. Refresh the connection by going to Bank Accounts, clicking the three-dot menu on the account, and selecting Refresh. If the discrepancy is large or unexplained, compare the Plaid transaction history against the bank statement line by line.

“Re-authentication required” Banks periodically require Plaid to re-authenticate (usually every 90 days, or when the client changes their password). When this happens, you see a banner on the Bank Accounts screen. Click Fix connection and repeat the authentication steps.

Adding a bank account manually (without Plaid)

If a client’s bank is not supported by Plaid, or if the client prefers not to use automated feeds, you can add an account manually:

  1. Click Add Account (Manual) on the Bank Accounts screen.

  2. Enter the account name, account type (chequing, savings, credit card, etc.), and the opening balance as of your Books start date.

  3. Click Save. The account appears in Bank Accounts with a status of Manual — no live feed.

  4. Import transactions for this account via CSV or OFX file. See Import transactions for the full workflow.

What to do next