Connect a new bank account to Open Banking in QuickBooks Online

Get the full picture of your business finances.

Connecting your banks and credit cards is the fastest way to get a complete, real-time view of your finances and cash flow. By letting your transactions flow into QuickBooks automatically, you can save hours every week on manual data entry and reconciliation. You can get set up in a few minutes.

Open Banking is Australia's new standard for sharing financial data securely, and is mandated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) as part of the Consumer Data Right (CDR). Banks are phasing out older bank feed types in favour of this more reliable, next-generation connection. 

The good news? Open Banking puts you in control of which apps can access your account, and delivers real-time data through a safer, more secure connection.

This article will guide you through the process of setting up a new Open Banking feed in QuickBooks.

We’ll be guiding you through the following steps:

• Before you start: Your checklist
• Step 1: Check if your account needs a data sharing delegate assigned
• Step 2: Connect your Open Banking feed
• Additional information (managing your feed and FAQs)

Before you start: Your checklist

Work through the checklist below before connecting your bank feed. This will ensure you have everything you need for a smooth setup process.

• Enable pop-ups in your web browser settings. You do this by selecting the three vertical dots (menu) in the top-right corner of your browser. Select Settings. Search for “pop-up” and follow the prompts.
• Have your Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN) ready.  Can’t find your ABN? Use the ABN Lookup website to find it quickly. For an ACN, visit the ASIC Organisations and Business Name search. If you don't have a business but manage a rental property or a hobby, you may qualify to apply for an ABN. Check your eligibility at the ATO website.
• Categorise any pending transactions in QuickBooks before connecting to ensure your books are up to date. To categorise transactions, go to Accounting then Bank Transactions and post the transactions in the Pending tab. 
• Have your mobile phone nearby — your bank will send a one-time password to verify your identity.

Step 1: Check if your account needs a data sharing delegate assigned

Under the Open Banking rules, some bank account types — including companies, partnerships, and trusts — require you to nominate a “data sharing delegate” before you can connect the bank account to QuickBooks or any other accounting software.

This step authorises a person or persons to share the bank account data - and is different to an account signatory or someone authorised to operate the bank account. For more detail, refer to the Nominating a Representative factsheet from the Consumer Data Right website.

To check if you need to appoint a data sharing delegate for any of your bank accounts:

1. Go to the CDR Ready website.
2. Select Get Started.
3. Follow the prompts to verify your details and to consent to temporarily sharing your data so the site can check if your account(s) is ready to connect to QuickBooks.
4. Follow the prompts to access your bank.
5. Select the bank account(s) you want to connect to QuickBooks. These are the accounts the site will check to confirm if ready to connect to QuickBooks.
6. Select Confirm to proceed.
7. Next, the accounts that are ready to connect to QuickBooks are displayed.
   • If the account(s) you want to connect to QuickBooks are displayed, select Yes, all of my accounts are here.
     • Proceed to Check Accounts for another bank or select I’m Done
   • If any accounts are missing or not displayed, select No, not all of my accounts are here.
     • Select the link provided for instructions on how to set up a data sharing delegate for your bank
     • Once set up, come back and complete Step 1 again.
8. Once the account(s) you want to connect to QuickBooks is displayed, proceed to Step 2.

Watch the CDR Ready process demo here.

Step 2: Connect your Open Banking feed

Now that Step 1 is finished and your accounts have been assigned a data sharing delegate where required, you can proceed to QuickBooks to disconnect your current bank feed and connect your Open Banking feed.

1. Go to All apps, select Accounting, then Bank transactions (Take me there).
2. Select Connect account.
   • Note: If you’ve already connected an account, select Link account on the Bank transactions page.
3. Search for your bank by URL or name, or select a bank from the list.
4. Select Yes, this is for business purposes.
5. If this is your first time connecting to Opening Banking, specify the business account and enter the relevant Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN).
6. Review the consent details and select Agree.
7. Sign in with your online banking credentials and follow any required security steps.
   • Please note: you may see both a personal and a business profile. You would typically select the business profile. If you only see personal accounts, go back and switch to the business profile. This is the single most common reason business accounts don't appear in the setup process.
8. Select the account(s) you want to connect to QuickBooks Online. You can select more than one.
   • If an account is missing or not displaying, check if these apply:
     • You're signed in to the personal profile, not the business profile — go back and switch to the business profile
     • You're not set up as a data sharing delegate — complete Step 1 or leave for up to 1 business day to be reflected in the bank’s system.
     • The account type isn't yet supported by your bank for Open Banking (some credit cards, loan accounts, and specialist accounts are still being added). These transactions will need to be imported via a CSV file.
9. Connect the feed to the required Chart of Account code or Account name in the picklist. Do this for each bank account you want to connect to QuickBooks. If you’re connecting a bank account to QuickBooks for the first time, you can also create a new Chart of Account code here if required by selecting Add New.
10. Select the date you would like the transactions to import from. You can import transactions from up to 24 months ago.
11. Select Connect.

Great work, your bank is now connected. Now that your transactions are flowing in, why not set up a bank rule to automate your categorisation even further? It’s the easiest way to reclaim your time and keep your finances organised without lifting a finger.

In the Bank transaction screen, you’ll see the new bank account tile along with any newly imported transactions. At any stage, you can select Update and any new transactions will be imported.

Troubleshooting

If you're seeing a bank connection error code, refer to our article on fixing bank connection errors in QuickBooks for specific instructions.

Frequently asked questions