Bank of America
Overview
Setting up a third-party login for Bank of America gives your Bench bookkeeping team view-only access to your Bank of America Business Account. This allows your bookkeeper to download statements and check details on your behalf so you don't have to manually pull and upload them each month.
What You'll Need
This requires Bank of America 'Account Management' add-on service. This is $15 per month if you are not already enrolled. The fee is waived for the first three calendar months of the service.
/client/ in your browser's address bar when you're logged into Bench. For example, if your URL is app.bench.co/client/33248/..., your Bench ID is 33248. If you're unsure, your bookkeeper can provide it.
Setup Instructions
1. Log into your Bank of America online banking account
2. Navigate to the menu bar, and select 'Business Services'
3. Click on ‘Access Management' or 'Account Management’
4. Select 'Add/Manage User'
5. Enter the following credentials:
- First Name: Bench
- Last Name: Accounting
- Email: thirdpartylogins+business.name@bench.co
- Online ID: Bench[benchID]
- bench*(your Bench ID)* — for example, bench33248
- Passcode: Bench[benchID]2023
6. Grant view-only access to statements and check images for all business-related accounts
7. Message your bookkeeper to let them know this has been completed as the email invite link is not a monitored email.
What To Expect After Setup
Once you send the invitation, our team will receive and accept it — typically within one business day. You'll see Bench Accountant listed under your Account Managers once we've accepted. We'll only have view-level access to statements and checks.
Troubleshooting
I don't want to pay the $15.00 per month
We recognize that this is an extra charge, so we will never ask or demand that you do this with Bank of America; however, we cannot get third party access to your statements without it. In that case, we must rely on our In-App Plaid connections or rely on you uploading statements regularly for us.
I'm not sure what to use for the email address.
Replace your.business.name with your actual business name, no spaces. For example, if your business is Maple Goods, the email would be thirdpartylogins+maple.goods@bench.co. Your bookkeeper can confirm the exact format.
Related Resources
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