A direct, automated connection between a bank and accounting software that downloads transactions in real time. Eliminates the need for manual file downloads but is not available at all banks.
Understanding Bank Feed
A bank feed is an automated, direct connection between your bank account and your accounting software that downloads transactions in near real-time without any manual file handling. When set up, new transactions appear in your accounting software within 24-48 hours of posting at the bank.
Bank feeds use secure protocols (typically OFX Direct Connect or proprietary APIs) to communicate between the financial institution and the accounting software. The accounting software authenticates using your banking credentials (often through a secure third-party aggregator like Plaid or Yodlee).
While bank feeds are convenient, they have limitations: not all banks support them, they can disconnect unexpectedly (requiring re-authentication), they only import basic transaction data (date, amount, description — no split details), and they are not available for non-bank data sources like marketplace settlement reports.
Why It Matters for Ecommerce
Bank feeds are great for standard banking transactions but insufficient for ecommerce accounting. They only capture the net payout deposit — not the underlying breakdown of sales, fees, and refunds. You still need to import detailed marketplace data via Web Connect (QBO files) or manual entry to get the full picture.
Practical Example
Your bank feed shows a $5,432 deposit from "AMAZON MARKETPLACE." That single line tells you nothing about the 150 orders, 12 refunds, and $1,800 in fees that make up that payout. By supplementing the bank feed with a detailed QBO import from PrimeConnect, you get full visibility into every component of the settlement.
Related Terms
Web Connect
QuickBooks' method of importing bank transactions from a downloaded file (QBO/OFX format) rather than a direct bank feed. The user downloads a file and then imports it manually into QuickBooks.
File FormatQBO (QuickBooks Online / Web Connect)
A variant of the OFX format used by QuickBooks to import bank transactions via Web Connect. Despite the name, QBO files work with both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.
File FormatOFX (Open Financial Exchange)
An open standard XML-based format for exchanging financial data between institutions, software, and services. Supports bank statements, credit card statements, and investment data.
Put This Knowledge Into Practice
Now that you understand bank feed, use PrimeConnect's free accounting tools to convert your ecommerce data into QuickBooks-ready formats — 100% browser-based.
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