How do I set up a bank connection with Salt Edge?

Salt Edge, one of our third party connectors, can help you get your expenses automatically imported from your bank and credit card accounts (crypto, investment, loan, and line of credit accounts will not be imported). These transactions are imported into your account through Open Banking as the data sharing method.

All accounts you set up will appear in the Bank Connections section, and any newly imported expenses up to 90-180 days will appear in the Expenses section for you.

 

The below steps are for specific users in certain supported countries. If you’re not sure which bank connection partner to use, look for your supported country here.

Bank Connections can pull up to a maximum of 90 days of activity, if you're looking to import older transactions, review How do I import expenses from a file? instead.

 

• Add a Bank
• Automatically Categorize Imported Expenses
• FAQs

 

Add a Bank

1. Before beginning, ensure you’re using the correct steps by confirming which partner supports connections for your country here
2. Using a web browser, select the Bank Connections section
3. Then select the Connect My Bank button
4. Read the Before You Connect pop-up about turning on each account to start importing transactions, then select Let’s Go to continue
5. A pop-up will ask you to how far back to import expenses from - choose between Today, 7 Days ago, 30 Days ago, 90 Days ago, or Custom
   
6. Then select Done
7. Next, enter in the name of your bank, or the country your bank is based in into the search bar
   
8. Make sure the result matches the URL you normally log into your bank with online, and select the result
9. Enter your bank’s login credentials and select Proceed, or grant access as needed
10. Select Confirm to grant Salt Edge consent to access your bank data
11. Salt Edge will begin connecting to your bank account, select Return to your application to go back to your FreshBooks account
12. You’ll be taken back to your Bank Connections - select the toggle to green next to the accounts you want to import transactions from
    
13. Your account(s) will now be connected for three months (due to PSD2 requirements) and new transactions (up to 90-180 days of activity) will be imported into your Expenses section.

 

To look for expenses that have not been assigned a category, select the Advanced Search button, choose Uncategorized Expenses in the Category field, and select Apply.

 

Notes:

• Check your bank connections at least every 90 days so that you can re-authenticate your connection and to ensure your expenses are consistently importing with no errors or actions required by you
• Credit card payments imported in as expenses can be deleted, or marked as transfer if using bank reconciliation
• Salt Edge bank connections' account names are determined by the bank automatically and are not editable in FreshBooks

 

Automatically Categorize Imported Expenses

If you have expenses imported that belong to the same category each time it's imported, you can mark them to automatically apply the category for future imported expenses. This requires future imported expenses to have the exact same merchant name every time for it to be automatically categorized for you.

 

Automatic categorization relies on consistent and accurate transaction data from Salt Edge. As a result, imported expenses from Salt Edge may not have the remembered category applied each time.

 

Use the below steps: 

1. Select the Expenses section
2. Select the expense you want to edit
3. If the expense does not have a category yet, select Add a category and pick one
4. If no merchant is listed, select Add Merchant and enter in a new merchant or choose from an existing list
5. Check the box off next to Apply to future expenses
   
6. Select the checkmark button to save. 

 

FAQs

How do I disconnect my bank?

Note that disconnecting a bank will not remove expenses that have already been imported for that account. To disconnect, follow these steps:

1. Using a web browser, log into your Salt Edge dashboard
2. Inside your Salt Edge dashboard, in the Connections tab, select the bank connection you want to remove
3. In the specific bank connection, select the Delete button.

If you're trying to re-add this bank, there is a chance of duplicate expenses being imported again upon connection. We recommend checking your Expenses section afterwards to delete any duplicates that appear.