As your bookkeepers, everything we do is geared towards accuracy and timeliness of data – and adding your bookkeeper to your online bank account is important in achieving this.

When onboarding a new client, we look to gain read-only access to your business bank accounts to facilitate timely and accurate work. This post is designed to answer some questions, and provide instructions as to how to add us to your bank account.

Common Questions

Lets start first by answering some common questions: (our thanks to Joe Manzelli , Digital Transformation Specialist at DSJCPA for his post on this topic)

Why do you want online access? I give you my statements as needed

The biggest reason for wanting online access is to be able to access bank statement information in a digital format. With this easily retrieved, on-hand information, we will have relevant information ready when needed and won’t need to make another request of you each time new information is required.

I can provide you copies of the statements digitally in PDF format. Isn’t that enough?

Online access allows us to download information in order to save time in the manual entry of information.

It also enables us to download missing transactions into accounting software (or Excel) to check against any existing QuickBooks Online feeds.  The aim here is to avoid the possible errors created in manual entry.

Is it secure to provide someone access to my banking information?

It is secure if you do the following:

1. Provide us with our own login and credentials (most major banks allow this).
2. Make sure that we do not have any administrative rights to add more users or make changes, other than relating to our own access.
3. Make sure we have “View-Only” access. This means that the we can see statements and check images but CANNOT make transactions or transfers, pay bills, or move YOUR money.

You are already providing the details about your business accounts to your us, so we are already taking actions to safeguard your information. Therefore, online access is simply a part of your financial security that they will be safeguarding.

Note that we store passwords in a secure vault so that your individual bookkeeper does not need to be exposed to the actual password, and allows us to track/audit actual usage.

What are the benefits of allowing access?

If we can access information in the moment, we can save you time, effort, and any costs associated with retrieving additional information that may be required.

Having continuous access means any questions that arise can be addressed in a timely fashion and not months later when you may not recall a transaction.

You will also have another set of eyes watching over and protecting your accounts from any misappropriations or mistakes.

How to add your Bookkeeper to your Bank Account

When onboarding to our service, we provide you with a comprehensive onboarding email.  This includes the email address, Name (if needed) and the phone number to use in adding us to your account (we have a dedicated banking/2FA phone number for this purpose).  Contact us if you need these details again.

Please choose a unique user id (if prompted) and password and share these with us via your secure portal (provided with your onboarding email) or via a secure email.  If you don’t have email encryption, contact us via phone.

PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL US WITH USER NAME OR PASSWORD INFORMATION 

unless it is via a secure email service (we use Identillect and can send you a link for this).

If your bank isn’t listed on the following pages, feel free to contact us for assistance.

With all that in mind, here are the steps to follow when granting “View Only” access from various banking institutions.

Navigate to your bank

American Express

To permit a secondary user to view your American Express business account, you need to set up their account with Amex’s Account Manager feature. With this functionality, you can provide your bookkeeper a Limited Access to your bank records. You can modify your user privileges by going to My Account > User Administration and clicking on View/Modify to create view only bank account access. You will then be directed to a view where you can change these settings.

Estmere has a central account for managing American Express.  Contact us for these details.

Bank of America

You can grant customers access to your Bank of America account by upgrading your online banking account to include Account Management. Using this add-on, you can create an individual account access level and allow a small business accountant to view and manage accounts for your different businesses.

Banner Bank

Banner Bank provides an interactive demo on how to add users here

Alternatively:

1. Log in to online banking
2. Select Commercial Services on the left side menu
3. Select Manage Users
4. Select the Add User Button
5. Add the User’s details
6. Create a unique user ID and Password and record these to pass to us later via secure email or our upload portal
7. Click on “Save New User Details”
8. Click on “Close”
9. You’ll then be taken to the User Policy Settings.
10. For each area applicable area please click on the policy and ensure View is selected, and all is selected in the dropdown.
11. Click on Accounts (next to Features) and ensure we can “view” each account as appropriate. You can click on the individual account icon to turn the deny icon to a tick.
12. Click Save
13. Click Close

BB&T

To begin providing access to your accountant, open the business services menu of the program, and click Multiple User Access (Subscribe). You can then use this feature to limit the viewing access of up to 25 users per account.

BECU (Business Account)

Full instructions can be found via PDF here (look for page 90).

1. In summary:
2. In the navigation menu, click Administration > User Management
3. Click Add User
4. In the form, add the user details, and create a user name and password to share with us securely.
5. Click Save New User Details

From here, you’ll want to go to Administration > User Management, select the user name and click “Assign Rights”.

You’ll also want to visit the Accounts Tab and toggle between the restricted and check mark icons to grant view access to the appropriate accounts. See page 84 of the PDF referenced above.

Brex

Brex admins can invite as many new users as they’d like to by following the steps below.

1. Under Team, click Invite user.
2. Enter the requested information and select the role you would like that team member to have (account admin, employee, or bookkeeper).

Capital One

To add or view authorized users on your account, follow the directions on the Manage Users page. The direct link for this page is here. You’ll need to have some personal information about the user handy like their date of birth and social security number.

Contact us when you’re ready to proceed with this.

Chase Bank

Chase Bank offers the Chase Access & Security Manager. This feature is designed to help you save time managing your business accounts and determining who has what access. It gives you the ability to delegate cash management services without turning over the control or security of your account. To access this feature:

1. After signing in, choose “Account management” and then “Access & Security Manager”
2. Choose “Add authorized user” and fill in their required information, choose “Next”
3. Review information and choose “Add user”
4. Provide the username to your authorized user – they will receive an email from Chase with a temporary password to sign in
5. To assign rights, start by selecting access level under each account
6. Based on access level selected – choose some, all or none of the additional services we offer and assign daily limits
7. Choose “Next” when finished and then “Next” again to confirm
8. Manage your authorized user info, security and rights anytime on the Access & Security Manager dashboard

Grasshopper Bank

NOTE: Only users with admin access can add and remove users on an account.

Add employees as users to help manage calls and text messages for your Grasshopper number. See Grasshopper’s video tutorial here.

Written instructions are as follows:

1. Log in to Settings at https://nuui.us.grasshopper.com/Settings.
2. Select the Users tab. If you cannot access the Users tab, then you don’t have admin access.
3. Click Add new user.
4. Enter the user’s contact information, then click Add user.
5. Enter your account password, then click Confirm.
6. An email invitation will be sent to your new user to join Grasshopper. The email address you entered will be their username and they will need to create a password upon accepting the invitation. Please note, by default the new user has no access to any extension or phone numbers.
7. To grant extensions permissions, click the drop down menu next to Extension access. Click On next to the extension(s) you want the user to have access to.
8. To grant texting permissions, click the drop down menu next to SMS access. Click On next to the number(s) you want the user to be able to text from.

To grant administrator access do the following:

1. Click Edit next to the user.
2. Next to Administrator, click On.
3. Enter your account password and click Confirm.

Homestreet Bank

Login online, then chose Administration and then Company Administration in the top bar menu.

Click on the “create new user” button.

Create a unique username and password to share with us.

1. Add our email address as the user address.
2. Add our phone number as the “work” phone number (note this is a phone number we use for banking requests only).
3. Click Next.
4. Click Next.
5. Ensure on the list of Services and Accounts that the following services are enabled. Note for each of these, click the pen icon to select all accounts and apply – select ACH Reporting,  Deposit Reports, Imaging Returns, Incoming Wire Report, Information Reporting and Statements and Documents.
6. Click Continue.
7. Click Continue.
8. Click Create User

KeyBank

KeyBank offers KeyNavigator for online banking.

The KeyNavigator Users section lists all active user profiles and includes summary level information like User ID, date of last logon, and user access to mobile.

There are 3 types of Self Service roles. Functions included in each role can be customized and users can have any combination of roles.

• View & Reporting Only: View service setup by user and account, run activity & maintenance history reports. View & Reporting Only is suitable for employees who oversee or audit service setup and entitlements but should not have the power to submit edits.
• Administrator (includes View & Reporting): Add users and/or customize account access, approval levels, service entitlements and amount limits for each individual KeyNavigator user.
• Approver (includes View & Reporting): Authorize or reject edits submitted by Administrators.

Adding a New User:

1. Select Add KeyNavigator User.
2. Enter user profile information. If the new user should have access to Self Service for company administration, select the appropriate role(s) under Self Service Preferences. You can customize which service application(s) the user can manage such as Administrator, Approver or View and Reporting.  We should only need the View and Reporting role unless we’re managing bill payment on your behalf.
3. Select the new user’s mobile access under Mobile Preferences. We do not require mobile access.
4. Click Save User.
5. If your company requires secondary authorization for new users, you will be prompted to click OK to continue.
6. If secondary authorization is required for new users, the User Profile will be in a pending status until authorized by a user with the Platform Approver role. Once approved, the new user will receive an email notification with login instructions.
7. Click Next to set up user services or I’m Finished to complete service setup at a later time.
8. After the User Profile is completed, you can begin setting up the new user’s service access. You can only provision access to active company services you have the appropriate roles to manage.
9. If your company uses any of Key’s common cash management services (e.g., Information Reporting, Wires, Book Transfer, Positive Pay), you can enroll the new user by modeling their access from an existing user. Note: You must have the Common Services Administrator role to provision access to these services.
10. Alternatively, you can click Skip this step and provision unique service setup by following the Editing User Access instructions below.
11. To copy access from an existing user, click the drop-down under Copy an Existing User’s Access and select the user you’d like to model after.
12. Click Review User to see the common services the user is set up for and update as necessary by checking or unchecking items.
13. Update the new user’s Common Services Administration role(s).
14. Click Save to complete this step.
15. Click Next to continue to other services or I’m Finished to complete service setup.

Full instructions can be found here

PayPal

PayPal offers a Managed Users feature to its customers with a business account. This allows you to create multiple logins and determine the level of access users have. This feature gives up to 200 individuals’ access to your PayPal account. Each person has their own login ID and level of authority.

Once you have created a Business account:

• Navigate to “Account Access”
• Select “Update” under the section “Manage Users”
• Choose “Add User”
• Input the user’s information and choose only the privileges you want the user to have. Click “Save”

PNC Bank

You can use PNC Bank’s Cash Flow Insight service to give your accountant access to your accounts. This feature allows you to create an account for your small business CPA and provide them with the appropriate permissions to view your financial transactions.

Regions Banks

Regions Bank allows you to limit your accountant’s permissions by utilizing their “People and Permissions” list. Using this function, you can create an account for your bookkeeper and provide them with permissions that allow them view only bank account access.

Relay Bank

Relay bank has full instructions here.  This includes instructions on inviting your account, bookkeeper or advisor as follows:

1. Go to the Team tab in Relay.
2. Click Advisors, then Add new advisor
3. Type in your advisor’s email and choose their permission level to dictate their access to the Relay account. There is a description of each permission level when selected.
4. An email invitation will be sent to the advisor. When they click the invite link, they will be directed to set up their login credentials. Once they have logged in they will be ready to use Relay!

Scotia Bank

Scotia Bank offers a video on how to add users here.

SunTrust

SunTrust’s Online Cash Manager system offers an extensive set of features. With it, you can set up an account for your bookkeeper that will give them access to your bank statements. You can also limit their access using the same system.

Umpqua Bank

Login online, then chose Administration and then Company Administration in the top bar menu.

Click on the “create new user” button.

Create a unique username and password to share with us.

1. Add our email address as the user address.
2. Add our phone number as the “work” phone number (note this is a phone number we use for banking requests only).
3. Click Next.
4. Click Next.
5. Ensure on the list of Services and Accounts that the following services are enabled. Note for each of these, click the pen icon to select all accounts and apply – select  ACH Reporting,  Deposit Reports, Imaging Returns, Incoming Wire Report, Information Reporting, Full Account Recon, and Statements and Documents.
6. Click Continue.
7. Click Continue.
8. Click Create User.

U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank allows you to share customized access for business accounts using the “Shared Access” feature. You can select “View Only.” This will allow accountants to view transactions, balances, and other details on selected accounts.

U.S. Bank provides detailed history reports that allow you to keep tabs on Shared Access users as the Shared Access administrator. To activate this feature:

1. Login to U.S. Bank online using your business user ID
2. Find the “I’d Like To” menu located on the left side of the page and choose Managed Shared Access
3. Or you can click “Customer Service” and then select Shared Access

Wells Fargo

1. With Wells Fargo, you have the power to give an accountant or bookkeeper View Only bank account access through Wells Fargo’s Account Access Manager.
2. When you visit the Wells Fargo page, navigate to the small business section. From there, select “Account Access Management.” You will see an overview of employees who have been added to your account. You can remove authorized signers and grant individuals online “View Only” access to one or multiple accounts.
3. Wells Fargo recommends that you review who has access to your account frequently and make adjustments to align with your current needs.