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

# Connect your bank with SimpleFIN

> Bring bank transactions into Bow automatically with SimpleFIN Bridge: how to connect, keep your accounts up to date and fix sync if it stops.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Bank sync is optional. Plenty of people enter transactions themselves, with Siri, or by scanning receipts.

Bow can bring in transactions from your bank through **SimpleFIN Bridge**, a separate service with its own signup and a small yearly fee. It's read-only: it can see your transactions but can't move money. Bank updates arrive about once a day.

You sign in to your bank through SimpleFIN, not in Bow, and the connection is saved only on your iPhone.

## Connect

**1. Start in Bow**

Go to **Settings › SimpleFIN Bank Sync** and tap **Connect a Bank**.

**2. Sign up with SimpleFIN**

Tap **Open SimpleFIN Bridge**, sign up and connect your bank there.

**3. Bring the token back**

Copy a setup token, then tap **Paste** in Bow. If you type the token instead, tap **Continue**.

**4. Link your accounts**

Under **Not syncing**, tap **Link** next to each Bow account, choose its bank account and tap **Link Account**.

You can also open an account from Accounts and tap **Link Bank Account**. Bow brings in activity from the moment you link. For an account that already has transactions, **Bring In Recent Activity** also brings in what your bank posted lately, up to about six weeks back, and matches it with what you've entered. Anything new waits for you to review.

## Stay up to date

With **Automatic Sync** on in Bank Sync, Bow checks your bank when you open it and in the background when iOS allows, every few hours at most.

* To check now, pull down on Accounts, or tap **Sync Now** in Bank Sync. You can check again after about 10 minutes.
* The line under Net worth on Accounts shows when Bow last synced.
* Pending charges show right away under **Pending**, at the top of Spending and the account's screen, and count in your budget once they post. To count one sooner, tap it and choose **Add to Budget Now**.
* If you already entered a purchase, Bow matches the two as soon as the bank lists it.

Bow adds what it can sort on its own, like money coming in, purchases a payee rule or scheduled bill gives an envelope, and matches for transactions you already entered. Anything else waits in Spending for you to review. See [Approve bank transactions](https://bowbudget.com/docs/approve-bank-transactions.md).

## If sync stops

If a bank needs you to sign in again, Accounts shows a banner. Tap it, then tap **Fix on SimpleFIN** to reconnect.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Your bank connection is saved only on the iPhone you set it up on, never in iCloud or backups. To sync from another iPhone, tap **Connect on This iPhone** there with a new setup token.


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