Get Started With Bank Feeds For QuickBooks Desktop
Bank Feeds provides you to option to use online banking features that you can use directly from the QuickBooks Desktop. However, this feature doesn’t come in the QuickBooks software by default. You have to enable it if you want to use the feature. By using the Bank Feeds option, you can process any kind of transactions directly from your bank account or credit card account easily. It saves a lot of time of yours because you don’t have to log in to your banking site separately. If you want to know the process to Set Up Bank Feeds For An Account In QuickBooks but don’t know the process then this article can be helpful for you. You can also get in touch with us at our QuickBooks Support department to know more about the process.

Get Started With Bank Feeds

Note: This article is a part of article series that provides you all the essential information about Bank Feeds in QuickBooks Desktop.
Get started with Bank Feeds
Set up an account for Bank Feeds
Download Bank Feed transactions
Add and match Bank Feed transactions
Edit Bank Feed settings for bank or credit card accounts
Deactivate Bank Feeds for an account
What You Need To Get Started
Two basic requirements that needs to be fulfilled are:

Stable internet connection
A bank account that provides the banking services for QuickBooks. To check if the services are available for your bank, go to Banking > Bank Feeds > Participating Financial Institutions
There more than 1400 financial institutions in the US that provides you online banking services for QuickBooks. If your bank or credit card company is not listed in the QuickBooks Desktop that provides the services then you can contact your FI to sign up through https://fi.intuit.com.

Your financial institution manages all the information received by QuickBooks. Before setting up the online banking, we recommend you to coordinate with your financial institution to keep yourself updated about the connection methods, applicable fee and the details that you need to set up the bank feeds option. You won’t be able to add any online banking service in QuickBooks until you have all the details required by your FI.

Connection Method
QuickBooks is compatible with two connection methods:

Direct Connect
Web Connect
Some of the banks provide you both type of connections whereas some of them provide just one.

Direct Connect: With this connection, QuickBooks sends details to your bank and download data directly from there. In this method, you need to use the PIN or password provided by your bank. Once you are done with setting up your account, you will be able to download the electronic statements to your Bank Feeds. You can also use other services as well such as online vendor payment, online transfer between accounts and others.
Web Connect: This connection method, you can only receive data through a downloaded file through a web browser. If you set up Bank Feeds using Web Connect then it won’t allow you to send payments to you vendors or transfer funds to a different using QuickBooks Desktop.
Applicable Fees
Basically, there are no extra charges for using the Bank Feeds service in QuickBooks but there can charge related to:

The use of bank’s service: Some banks may charge some connection fees mostly with the Direct Connect. There is no fees charged by Intuit and if you are asked to pay something, you need to contact your FI to know about it.
QuickBooks Technical Support: If you require help from the QuickBooks Technical Support department while setting up Bank Feeds.
Bank-Provided Credentials
You should have your Customer ID and password for online banking which is provided to you by your bank.

Customer ID and Password/PIN: You require an unique credentials to access your online banking service. The customer can be your email, account number or any identifier. The Customer ID can be stated as Online ID, Internet ID, User name, Login Name, etc. But it also has some limitation:

You can’t use multiple Customer IDs for the same FI in QuickBooks.
You can only use one login for a single FI per company file. If you want to use multiple Customer IDs or logins for a single FI then you can only set up one account for download per company file.
If you’ve selected Direct Connect and you are dependent of your bank then you also require the following things:

Account Number: The number provided by your Financial Institution when you opened your bank account. You can find your bank account number on your banking statements and checks.
Routing Number: All the banks have a unique 9-digit number which is known as the routing number and it is used to identify the banks. This number is used to transfer checks and transactions to the appropriate institution. The routing number can easily be identified from a check and if you can’t locate the routing number of your FI then you can contact your FI regarding it.
Account type: You should know the account type that you are having in order to set up a direct connection between QuickBooks and your bank.