On 14th September, new EU standards for the banking industry are scheduled to come into effect. This is called ‘Open Banking’, and its been designed to give you more control over your banking data and how its used.

These new standards impose changes to the way third parties access your bank data, and as a result the existing connections between some banks and accounting software such as Xero and Quickbooks will need to be updated, but its worth noting that not all banks are impacted, as some already use the new open banking direct feeds.

When do I need to make the update?

When you need to make the update will depend on who you bank with. Not all banks will have the new open banking feeds available straightaway. If you are a Xero User click here to see which feeds are live, and which to expect soon. If you are a Quickbooks user click here for more information.

If you subscribe to Xero or Quickbooks directly you should receive an email from them detailing how you are impacted and the steps you need to take to update your bank feed. When its time to switch you will notice a notification on your Xero dashboard or Quickbooks banking page.

What if I don’t make the update in time?

If you don’t update your bank feed by the deadline, your bank feed will stop working, and transactions will need to be manually imported. You will still be able to connect the new bank feed at a later date, but you will need to be careful that historical transactions are imported from the date your old feed ended to avoid duplication or missing transactions.

Is there anything else I need to know?

If you have existing bank rules set up, you will need to ensure they are working properly with the new feed.

As part of the new standards, and the changes imposed to bank feeds, you will need to re-authenticate your bank connection every 90 days. Xero and Quickbooks will remind you to do this as and when required.

We have recently sent out an email to all existing clients detailing the changes specific to them and instructions on how to make the update.

If you would like help with the set up, training or any of our bookkeeping services in relation to accounting software, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we would love to hear from you.