Linking & Unlinking accounts via Plaid
What is Plaid and how does it work with Money Pro?
Plaid is a technology platform that lets ZenBusiness connect Money Pro to your bank account. It's a safe and secure way to connect your financial accounts to Money Pro.
Plaid uses bank-level security to protect your data. Plaid is also a read-only service, which means that it can only access your account information. It cannot make any changes to your accounts.
Money Pro uses Plaid to connect to your financial accounts and import your transaction data. This lets you see all of your financial information in one place, and to track your spending and saving.
How to link your bank account to Money Pro using Plaid
ZenBusiness supports over 10,000 U.S. financial institutions including both large, popular options, as well as many small, local institutions.
You can add as many credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts, and sub-accounts with the same financial institution as you wish. The only limitation is that you cannot link multiple logins at the same financial institution.
To link an external account to Money Pro, you'll need your bank account's online credentials (username and password) and if you have multi-factor authentication set up, your mobile device or email to complete it.
Log in to your ZenBusiness Dashboard
From your dashboard, find the sidebar, and go to ZenBusiness Money > Overview
Click the card at the top of the page called “Track your expenses.”
You'll be taken to the "Expenses" page where you'll be given two options: Link an account, or Add expenses manually. Select “Link account.”
A screen will ask you to import your expenses. Click “Connect with Plaid.”
Follow Plaid’s steps to choose your card or bank.
You’ll be asked to log into the security authentication. Follow the steps to authenticate.
Next, you’ll be asked to select the accounts that you'd wish to link.
You do not have to add all of the accounts to Money Pro, just the ones you use for your business.
Accept the terms and conditions to connect
Last, you may link another account or continue back to the "Expenses" page.
You can link additional new accounts from your expense page
From your dashboard, find the sidebar and go to ZenBusiness Money > Expenses
Click the gear icon in the top right corner of your Money Pro Dashboard
Then click "Banks and Integrations"
To link a new account, click "add account" and then go through the Plaid linking flow again.
Adding a new card/account to an already linked Bank
When you get a new card or open a new account for a bank that’s already linked and the new accounts are under the same credentials as your existing account, you can go through the relink process to connect that new account. Note that you cannot link multiple logins at the same financial institution.
To Manage Which Accounts From a Particular Bank are Linked:
Navigate to Money Pro > Expenses or Money Pro > Income
Click the gear icon in the top right corner
Select ‘Banks & Integrations’
Click ‘+Add Account’
In the top section labeled ‘Already Linked Banks and Integrations,’ click ‘Relink’ next your bank
Click the ‘Connect with Plaid’ button
Follow the prompts to enter your credentials
Select the accounts you want linked
Unlink An Account
If there are bank accounts or credit cards that you no longer want to track in your Money Pro account (i.e. you closed the account, you’re no longer using that account for business, etc), you can unlink them. We don’t recommend unlinking your bank/credit card unless you no longer want to track it or for very specific integration situations that require it.
Note: If you unlink and re-add your bank, it can cause your transactions to be duplicated.
To unlink a bank account or credit card:
Navigate to Money Pro > Expenses or Money Pro > Income
Click the gear icon in the top right corner
Select ‘Banks & Integrations’
Toggle off any accounts that you want to unlink
To fully unlink a bank or credit card, toggle off all of the switches for that financial institution
When you get a pop up asking if you want to unlink it, tap 'Yes'
A few notes about unlinking an account
All previously imported transactions will remain in Money Pro. These transactions won't be deleted or altered. If you'd like to remove or delete those transactions so that they do not appear in Money Pro we will show you how.
Once the account is unlinked, Money Pro will no longer import new transactions from that bank account. You’ll need to manually enter any future transactions if you want to keep your records up to date.
The balance of the unlinked account in your balance sheet will remain as it was at the time of unlinking. However, it won't update automatically if there are changes in the actual bank account.
If you have issues in your balance sheet related to this please reach out to our support team.
Unlinking an account is a safe way to stop automatic imports without losing your existing financial data in Money Pro.
Additional Information about Account Linking
Can I link multiple different banks?
Yes, you may connect multiple accounts from different banks. However, each bank and its associated accounts must be connected separately. This means that you’ll complete the process with Plaid to link all accounts for one bank at a time.
When you finish connecting accounts from one bank, you’ll be asked to link another account, or continue to your dashboard.
Can I link my credit cards as well as bank accounts?
Yes, you can link an active credit card, as long as the banking institution is supported by Plaid. Follow the same steps as you would to link a bank account.
Can I link multiple logins at the same financial institution?
No, you cannot link multiple logins at the same financial institution. You may have multiple logins at the same institution if you've opened both a personal account and business account at the same bank.
If this happens, we are not able to support both your business and personal logins (two different logins) for the same bank account. When linking your account, just choose your business login as the account you'd like to link.
How often does Money Pro update my transaction information?
Once your account is linked, new transactions will pull in automatically. New transactions can take up to 3-5 business days to pull into your Money Pro account due to our algorithm waiting for transactions to fully post to your bank account to ensure accuracy.
Banking business days are Monday-Friday, excluding federal holidays. When a federal holiday occurs, it may seem like your transactions are taking longer than normal to pull into your Money Pro account, but that is due to there being one less banking business day.
If transactions from over 5 business days are not pulling into your Money Pro account, this may indicate an issue between ZenBusiness and your financial institution. To resolve this, please reach out to the Customer Success Team.
How far back does Money Pro import my transaction history?
After first linking your account, Money Pro will pull in up to 730 days of transaction data from the account. The user can do a historical pull and select a custom date for a period they would like to pull the transactions if you believe some data is missed.
The time frame that you are able to pull in additional historical transactions is limited by the connection that your bank has with Plaid.
If you have historical transactions that you'd like to bring into Money Pro but are unable to do so due to the limitations with Plaid, you have two options
You can manually create the transaction by clicking "Add Expense" on the Expenses or Income pages.
You can do a CSV upload by downloading your bank transactions from your banking provider and then uploading them to Money Pro.
Will unlinking my account affect my tax liability calculations?
Unlinking your bank account from Money Pro does not directly affect your tax liability calculations.
All transactions that were imported before you unlinked the account will remain in Money Pro. These transactions will still be included in your tax liability calculations.
However, after unlinking the account, new transactions won’t be automatically imported.
This means that any income, expenses, or other transactions that occur after the unlinking won’t be reflected in your tax calculations unless you manually enter them.
If you consistently enter all your transactions manually after unlinking, your tax liability calculations should remain accurate.
What happens if I change my bank password?
If you change your bank password, Money Pro will no longer be able to access your account for automatic transaction imports. This is because the old credentials stored in Money Pro via Plaid are no longer valid.
When you change the credentials, to restore the connection, click "Fix your account" on your Expenses page and going through the process to relink your account.
💡Tip: It’s a good practice to update your credentials in Money Pro as soon as you change your bank password to minimize any gaps in transaction tracking.
Can I temporarily disconnect an account without losing my transaction history?
Yes. You can connect or unlink an account without removing the transaction history from your Money Pro account. You should still be able to view all transactions prior to the time your account was disconnected.
What happens if I close a linked bank account?
Once your account is closed, Money Pro will no longer be able to import new transactions from that account. MoneyPro may detect an issue with the linking process and ask you to re-link. At this point, you can unlink the account.
All transactions previously imported from the closed account will remain in Money Pro for your financial records, reports, and budgets.
The account will still appear in your Money Pro accounts list, but it may be marked as "Closed" or "Inactive." You can manually adjust the account's settings if you want to archive or hide it.
If there were any pending transactions at the time of account closure, you might need to manually reconcile or adjust these within Money Pro to ensure accuracy.
💡Tip: Before closing the account, consider backing up your Money Pro data and ensure all important transactions are recorded and categorized correctly.
Data & Security
Is it safe to link my account using Plaid?
Linking your bank with ZenBusiness is very secure. All data is 256-bit SSL encrypted (this is the same level of encryption used by banks), and we don't have access to any of your banking credentials, therefore they are not stored by ZenBusiness.
When you link your bank account or credit card with ZenBusiness, your credentials are passed directly to your bank, and ZenBusiness receives a token that grants it limited access to read-only data. The token ZenBusiness receives can only be used on ZenBusiness's 256-bit encrypted servers.
The banks do not give ZenBusiness access to create transactions or make any changes to your accounts, nor do we want that type of access.
How does Money Pro ensure the privacy of my external accounts' financial data?
Money Pro ensures the privacy of your financial data through:
Data encryption: All your data is encrypted, keeping it secure from unauthorized access.
Secure bank connections: When connecting your bank via Plaid, the connection is protected with industry-standard encryption and is read-only.
Regular security updates: We make sure to quickly address any security issues, so your data is always secure.
What information does Money Pro access when I link my account?
When you connect your bank account to Money Pro using Plaid, Plaid only has read-only access to your bank account information. This means it cannot make transactions or changes to your account. Plaid uses encryption and other security measures to protect your financial data and keep it confidential.
Plaid can access:
Account details; information such as your account type (e.g., checking, savings), account numbers, and the names associated with your accounts.
Current balances of your linked bank accounts, including checking, savings, and other accounts.
Your transaction history, including details like the date, amount, merchant, and description of each transaction. This is the important information that allows you to track your expenses and income so that we can generate your financial statements and estimate tax deductions.
Can I set a rule to automatically tag all of my transactions from a certain account?
By default, all bank accounts and credit cards you link with ZenBusiness are set as ‘Business Only’ meaning all transactions are automatically tagged as business. Typically, you should have dedicated business bank accounts and credit cards, so the default setting of tagging all transactions from these accounts requires no action on your end.
That being said, ZenBusiness allows you to change the account type to ‘Mixed Use’ when using accounts that aren’t dedicated business accounts. Doing so will prompt you to manually select whether each transaction is business or personal.
Understanding the Account Types
Business Only Account Type (default)
With this account type selected, transactions from that account will automatically be tagged as Business when they pull into Money Pro.
Mixed Use Account Type
With this account type selected, you’ll be prompted to tag each transaction as ‘Business’ or as ‘Personal’ when it pulls into Money Pro. You can still set expense rules for specific transactions to help you automate the tagging of your transactions.
Personal Only Account Type
With this account type selected, your transactions from that account will automatically be tagged as ‘Personal’ when they pull into your Money Pro account. While this option is available, we do not recommend linking dedicated personal accounts or tracking transactions from dedicated personal accounts since Money Pro is specifically designed to track your business finances.
To Set the Account Type for an Account:
Navigate to Money Pro > Expenses or Money Pro > Income
Click the gear icon in the top right corner
Select ‘Banks & Integrations’
Click the gear icon next to the account you want to set the account type for
Set the ‘Account Type’ field
Use the drop-down to select the account type
Click the ‘Save’ button at the bottom