Setting up a third-party login for First Citizens Bank gives your Bench bookkeeping team view-only access to your First Citizens Bank Account(s). This allows your bookkeeper to download statements and view check details on your behalf so you don't have to manually upload them each month.

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• A First Citizens Bank Business online account
• Access to the account owner's login credentials
• Admin-level permissions to add authorized users
  
  • We require the 'View/Download only' permission

1. Sign in to your business online banking account
2. Go to:
   • Business Services
   • then Manage Users
3. Choose:
   • Add User or Create User
4. Enter our information:
   • Name: Bench Accounting
   • Email: thirdpartylogins+business.name@bench.co
   • Phone number: (650) 466-0173
   • Temporary Password (Please share this password with us via the Bench App message feed upon completion)
5. Set permissions:
   • View balances/statements only
   • Download transactions
   • “view/download only”
6. Save the user setup.
7. Message your bookkeeper to let them know this has been completed, and share the temporary password used to create the login. Please note that the email invite link is not a monitored email.

Once you've completed the steps above and sent us the password through your Bench app message feed, our team will log in and finalize the connection — typically within one business day.

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“They didn’t receive the invite.”

You should:

• Verify the email address entered under Manage Users
• Check whether the user setup was actually saved/submitted
• Resend the invitation if available

Sometimes the user stays in a “Pending” status until activated.

“I created the user but they can’t see accounts”

Usually its the permissions:

• specific bank accounts
• reporting permissions
• statement access

Fix:

• Go to Business Services → Manage Users
• Edit the accountant’s profile
• Confirm account entitlements/permissions are checked

“The user account is locked”

Clients can often unlock the user themselves:

• Business Services → Manage Users
• Select the user
• Choose Unlock Login

If unavailable, support may need to reset it.

“I don’t see Manage Users”

Usually one of these:

• the account is personal, not business
• multi-user access isn’t enabled
• the client lacks admin privileges

In that case, the client may need to contact First Citizens Bank to enable business user management.

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Login: First Citizens Bank

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