PensumHelp · Accounts and transactions
Bank sync
Pensum syncs through one of two services. Either way, you sign in to your bank on their side, so Pensum never sees your bank username or password, and access is read-only: Pensum can't move money.
| SimpleFIN | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Who you sign up with | SimpleFIN, separately | No one else: it's part of Pensum's Sync plan |
| Cost | Paid to SimpleFIN (see SimpleFIN's pricing) | Included in the Sync plan |
| How often | About once a day | About once a day |
The budget's owner sets up bank sync, in Settings → Bank connections. Editors can sync what's connected (Sync now) and review what comes in.
Connect with SimpleFIN
- Open SimpleFIN Bridge, sign up or sign in, and connect your bank there (you can add more than one).
- Create a new app connection, name it Pensum, and copy the setup token it shows.
- In Pensum, choose Connect with SimpleFIN and paste the token.
A setup token works once: Pensum swaps it for a private access key, kept encrypted and never shown to anyone.
Connect with Stripe (Sync plan)
- Choose Connect your bank, and Stripe opens a secure window.
- Find your bank, sign in there, and pick the accounts to share with Pensum.
Stripe can reach back up to 180 days. The first download can take a few minutes; transactions arrive by themselves.
The Sync plan includes up to 10 banks, counted across all your budgets: several accounts at one bank count once, and so does the same bank in two budgets. For more, connect the others through SimpleFIN, which allows up to 25 banks.
Choose where each account goes
For each bank account, choose:
- An existing account in Pensum, and the date to sync from. Transactions before that date are already counted in its starting balance.
- A new account. Its starting balance is set from the bank's, so it matches from day one.
- Don't sync it for now, for accounts that don't belong in a budget, such as investments.
You can change these later in Settings.
What happens when it syncs
- New transactions arrive with clean payee names and suggested categories, waiting in Needs review. See Reviewing imported transactions.
- Transactions you already entered are matched, not doubled.
- Pending charges wait until they post (their amount often changes).
- When the bank's balance matches yours exactly, everything cleared through that date is marked reconciled.
The sync button over the account list syncs your banks now. Banks update about once a day, so after a sync it rests for a few hours.
When an account was added at your bank
Pensum points out new accounts on the budget, so you can choose where they go. With Stripe, use Add accounts on the connection to share one.
Disconnecting
Disconnect in Settings stops syncing right away. Transactions already synced stay. Only the budget's owner can change or disconnect a bank. When the budget is handed to someone else, its bank connections end, and the new owner connects their own.
If something goes wrong, see Bank sync needs attention.
Still stuck? Signed in, choose Contact support in your account menu, or email [email protected]