> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.keystn.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bank Accounts

> Bank Accounts lets you track your company's real-world bank accounts, each linked to a corresponding general ledger account for reconciliation.

## What are bank accounts in Keystone?

A bank account in Keystone represents a real financial account at a bank or financial institution. It stores:

* The account name and institution
* The last 4 digits of the account number (mask)
* The current balance
* A list of bank transactions
* A link to the corresponding account in your chart of accounts

Bank accounts are distinct from chart of accounts entries. The chart of accounts has a general ledger account (e.g., "1010 - Cash - Operating") that tracks the balance according to your books. The bank account represents the same account from the bank's perspective. Reconciliation (see [Bank Reconciliation](/accounting/bank-reconciliation)) is the process of verifying these two views agree.

Go to **Accounting > Bank Accounts** in the sidebar.

## Bank account list

The bank accounts page displays a table with the following columns:

| Column             | Description                                                                                                    |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**           | The name you gave the bank account (clickable link to the detail page)                                         |
| **Institution**    | The financial institution name (e.g., "Chase," "Wells Fargo")                                                  |
| **Linked Account** | The chart of accounts entry this bank account is linked to, shown as a badge (e.g., "1010 - Cash - Operating") |
| **Balance**        | The current balance of the bank account, formatted as currency                                                 |
| **Transactions**   | The number of bank transactions recorded                                                                       |

If no bank accounts have been configured, the page displays an empty state with a bank icon and a message indicating no accounts are set up yet.

## Adding a bank account

**Step-by-step:**

1. Navigate to **Accounting > Bank Accounts**.
2. Initiate the process to add a new bank account.
3. Fill in the required fields:

| Field                | Required | Description                                                                                              |
| -------------------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**             | Yes      | A descriptive name (e.g., "Chase Business Checking")                                                     |
| **Account ID**       | Yes      | The chart of accounts entry to link this bank account to. Select from the dropdown of existing accounts. |
| **Institution Name** | No       | The bank or financial institution name                                                                   |
| **Mask**             | No       | The last 4 digits of the account number (for identification)                                             |

4. Save the bank account.
5. The new bank account appears in the bank accounts table, linked to the selected chart of accounts entry.

The link between a bank account and a chart of accounts entry is one-to-one: each bank account is linked to exactly one general ledger account, and each general ledger account can have at most one bank account linked to it.

## Bank account types

Bank accounts are linked to chart of accounts entries, and the "type" of bank account is determined by the linked account's subtype. Common configurations:

| Bank Account Purpose | Linked Account Subtype                         | Example                      |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| **Checking**         | Cash and Bank                                  | "1010 - Cash - Operating"    |
| **Savings**          | Cash and Bank                                  | "1020 - Cash - Savings"      |
| **Credit Card**      | Credit Card                                    | "2100 - Company Credit Card" |
| **Other**            | Other Current Asset or Other Current Liability | Varies                       |

## Linking to the chart of accounts

The link between a bank account and a chart of accounts entry is critical for reconciliation. When you add a bank account, you select which general ledger account it corresponds to. This means:

* The general ledger account tracks the balance **according to your books** (from journal entries)
* The bank account tracks the balance **according to the bank** (from imported transactions)
* Reconciliation compares these two balances to find discrepancies

On the bank accounts list, the linked account is shown as a badge. If a bank account is not linked to a chart of accounts entry, it shows "Unlinked."

## Viewing bank account details

Click on a bank account name in the list to open its detail page. The detail page shows:

### Summary cards

Three stat cards at the top display:

* **Current Balance** -- The bank's reported balance
* **Account Number** -- The last 4 digits (mask) of the account number, or "N/A" if not set
* **Transactions** -- The total number of imported bank transactions

### Linked account badge

The page header shows the linked chart of accounts entry as a badge (e.g., "1010 - Cash - Operating").

### Transaction table

Below the summary cards, a table lists the most recent bank transactions (up to 50):

| Column          | Description                                                                                                        |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Date**        | The transaction date                                                                                               |
| **Description** | The bank's description of the transaction                                                                          |
| **Amount**      | The transaction amount, formatted as currency                                                                      |
| **Status**      | "Matched" (green badge) if the transaction has been matched to a journal entry, or "Unmatched" (gray badge) if not |

## Viewing bank transactions

Each bank transaction in the detail view shows:

* The **date** of the transaction
* The **description** provided by the bank
* The **amount** (positive or negative)
* The **match status** -- whether it has been matched to one or more journal entries

Matched transactions have been verified against your internal records through the reconciliation process. Unmatched transactions need to be reviewed -- they may represent transactions that have not yet been recorded as journal entries, or they may need to be excluded.

## Bank transaction import

Bank transactions can be entered manually or imported. A future Plaid integration will enable automatic bank connection and transaction sync.

## Tips

* **Create the chart of accounts entry first** -- Before adding a bank account, make sure the corresponding general ledger account exists in your chart of accounts (e.g., "Cash - Operating" with the Cash and Bank subtype).
* **Use descriptive names** -- Name your bank accounts clearly (e.g., "Chase Business Checking - 4521") so they are easy to identify in the list.
* **One bank account per GL account** -- Each bank account links to one general ledger account. If you have multiple bank accounts, create a separate chart of accounts entry for each.
* **Review transaction matches regularly** -- Check the bank account detail page periodically to identify unmatched transactions that need to be reconciled.