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Open Accountant Docs

Plaid Bank Sync

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Plaid integration enables direct, automatic bank account syncing. Instead of downloading CSVs or using Monarch, Open Accountant connects to your bank through Plaid and pulls transactions automatically.

How It Works

Section titled “How It Works”
  1. Link your bank — Open Accountant uses Plaid Link to securely connect your bank accounts
  2. Pull transactions — Transactions sync automatically from connected accounts
  3. Local storage — All transaction data is stored in your local SQLite database
  4. Ongoing sync — Set up daily or weekly auto-sync (Pro tier)

Usage

Section titled “Usage”
Terminal window
wilson --sync

Syncs all configured integrations including Plaid. Also fetches account balances and creates/updates accounts automatically. See --sync docs for details.

Setup

Section titled “Setup”

Set your Plaid credentials in .env:

Terminal window
PLAID_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
PLAID_SECRET=your-secret
PLAID_ENV=sandbox    # sandbox, development, or production

Supported Institutions

Section titled “Supported Institutions”

Plaid supports 12,000+ financial institutions in the US, Canada, and Europe, including:

  • Major banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi)
  • Credit unions
  • Credit card issuers
  • Investment accounts
  • Loan servicers

Privacy

Section titled “Privacy”
  • Open Accountant uses Plaid’s API on your behalf — transactions are fetched and stored locally
  • Your bank credentials are handled by Plaid’s secure infrastructure (never stored by Open Accountant)
  • The Plaid access token is stored locally in your .env file
  • No transaction data is sent to Open Accountant servers

Comparison

Section titled “Comparison”
FeatureCSV ImportMonarch SyncFirefly IIIPlaid SyncCoinbase Sync
PriceFreePro tierPro tierPro tierPro tier
SetupManual downloadCredentialsAPI tokenPlaid LinkOAuth2
Auto-sync (--sync)NoYesYesYesYes
Banks supportedAny with CSV exportMonarch-linkedSelf-hosted12,000+Coinbase only
ReliabilityAlways worksUnofficial APIOfficial APIOfficial APIOfficial API