Bank Feed reauthorisation

How are Accountants dealing with clients reauthorising their bank feeds every 30 days?

Didn't find your answer?

The new openbanking means that clients have to log into their online banking every 3 months to reauthorise the bank feeds.  I just wondered how practices are dealing with this? We struggle to get clients to set it up for us in the first instance, but to tell them they have to do it every time they give us information for their VAT return is going to be excessive, so no way we can move everyone onto bank feeds.

How is everyone planning to deal with this? Most of our clients that want us to preapre their VAT and bookkeeping want to have as little as possible to do with it.

I can see it won't be a problem for clients who are keeping their own records. 

Thank you.

 

 

Replies (12)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

avatar
By dantray01
11th Feb 2020 11:52

I have a repeating email that goes out every 3 months with a link to book a 5 min re-authorisation call. Most were fine with it and the ones that ignored it don't have the work done until they book the call.

Thanks (1)
avatar
By SXGuy
11th Feb 2020 13:39

How I deal with it is I don't. I asked for csv or pdf bank statements and import them directly in to my accounting software.

Thanks (2)
Replying to SXGuy:
avatar
By eyelid84
11th Feb 2020 14:48

Thank you. This is what we have been discussing doing. We don't currently use bank feeds for most clients, but were thinking about getting them onto it, but now thinking importing CSV files will just be easier.

Thanks (1)
Replying to eyelid84:
avatar
By SXGuy
11th Feb 2020 14:54

I've found it easier, a few times I've tried to discuss open banking with clients and its either fallen on death ears or we can never establish a time to sort it. And the headache of doing that every 90 days is to much. So I've found the best option is for them to email csvs downloaded direct from their bank which seems easier for them to grasp.

Thanks (0)
Replying to SXGuy:
avatar
By dantray01
11th Feb 2020 16:56

Surely that simply is a case of educating the clients and then enforcing the process?

The client having to log on to their online bank, emailing csv/pdf statements to you as and when required takes much more effort than a 3 minute phone call once a quarter to get their online verification code.

Thanks (0)
Replying to dantray01:
avatar
By eyelid84
12th Feb 2020 08:50

Is it just a verification code? My understanding was they had to log back into their online banking. For some of our older clients it is their children that deal with this for them so it's not as straight forward as asking the client to log into software then connect to online banking?

Thanks (0)
boat
By SouthCoastAcc
11th Feb 2020 17:31

I ask for bank files as the re authorisation sounds like a headache

Thanks (0)
avatar
By frankfx
11th Feb 2020 21:42

Education education education

To quote Prime minister Tony Blair in 1997 .

We educate clients on many things.
So we arrive at 31 January with our sanity intact.

Auto feed authorisation is simple for the client, if firmly advised

Pretend .. as another prime minister said....". there is no alternative."

Our latest incumbent BJ would simply imagine the job done and it would be thus.
Just like electricity for electric cars...." comes from a plug". As Mayor of London.... simple!

I can't imagine a solicitor tolerating the type of client behaviour we seem to accept, perhaps the hefty billings for every point of contact play an integral part , an early education!

Thanks (0)
John Toon
By John Toon
12th Feb 2020 12:53

I just email clients and remind them.

If it's a huge problem consider asking your clients that are using banks on a 3 month refresh to switch to banks that operate a 6 month refresh (the maximum permitted under OB rules)...

As an aside I actually think it's a positive to get clients to actually log into their accounts system and maybe take a look. It's a great opportunity for upselling.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By JD
18th Feb 2020 11:18

Even if a client does respond to a reminder email (most require more than one and a phone call), the whole process defeats the objective of having a cloud accounting automated solution and instead just adds another process and additional time working on the client which adds no value. Yep another excellent plan by the use an app to solve everything people

Thanks (0)
avatar
By SimonStone
18th Feb 2020 10:55

The re-authorisation is really annoying, but it is still much more preferable to getting them to download transactions to csv or pdf, or send paper statements over.

Xero comes up with a message, client just needs to log on and (barring no issues) it takes a couple of minutes.

We explain that it's not us, or the software, but regulations which require the re-authorisation and they might grumble a bit, but on the whole clients are ok.

Thanks (0)
Replying to SimonStone:
avatar
By Matrix
18th Feb 2020 11:01

I don’t find it too painful either. Clients are usually paying for the software so if they are not logging in enough to see the message and update their bank feed, then they are probably on the wrong software.

And luckily it restarts where it left off so no uploading cvs files for me neither.

Thanks (0)