Wired Church

Connecting Your Bank Account via Plaid

Learn how to securely connect your church's bank account to Wired Church using Plaid for automatic transaction syncing.

Last updated 2026-03-15

Connecting Your Bank Account via Plaid

Wired Church integrates with Plaid to give you a direct, read-only connection to your church's bank accounts. Once connected, transactions flow into your finance dashboard automatically — no manual CSV downloads, no copy-pasting from your bank's website. This guide walks through the full connection process from start to finish.

What Is Plaid?

Plaid is a secure financial data service used by thousands of applications — including Venmo, Coinbase, and Betterment — to connect to bank accounts. When you connect through Plaid:

  • Wired Church never sees your bank login credentials. Plaid handles all authentication directly with your bank.
  • Your connection is encrypted end-to-end using bank-level security (AES-256 encryption).
  • Plaid is SOC 2 Type II certified and undergoes regular third-party security audits.
  • The connection is read-only — Wired Church can view transactions but cannot move money, make payments, or modify your account in any way.
Important

Plaid acts as a secure intermediary between your bank and Wired Church. Your bank username and password are entered directly in Plaid's interface and are never transmitted to or stored by Wired Church.

Supported Account Types

Plaid supports connections to the following account types:

  • Checking accounts — The most common connection for churches, used to track deposits, expenses, and Stripe payouts.
  • Savings accounts — Useful if your church maintains reserve funds or designated savings.
Note

Credit card accounts, investment accounts, and loan accounts are not currently supported for bank feed syncing. These account types may be available in a future update.

Step 1: Navigate to Bank Feeds

  1. Open the admin sidebar and click Finance.
  2. Click Bank Feeds in the sub-navigation.
  3. You will see the Bank Feeds dashboard. If no accounts are connected yet, the screen displays a welcome message and a prominent Connect Account button.
Bank Feeds dashboard with no connected accounts showing the Connect Account button and introductory text
  1. Click Connect Account to begin the Plaid Link process.

Clicking Connect Account opens the Plaid Link modal — a secure, bank-branded interface provided by Plaid. The process has three screens.

Screen 1: Select Your Bank

  1. A search field appears at the top of the Plaid modal. Start typing your bank's name (e.g., "Wells Fargo," "Regions," "Navy Federal").
  2. Plaid displays matching banks with their logos. Click your bank to proceed.
  3. If your bank does not appear in the search results, try alternate names (e.g., "USAA Federal Savings" instead of just "USAA").
Plaid Link modal showing the bank search field with a list of matching bank logos
Note

Some smaller banks, credit unions, and community banks may not be available in Plaid's network. Plaid supports over 12,000 financial institutions across the United States, but coverage is not universal. If your bank is not listed, you can still import transactions manually via OFX/QFX file upload under Finance > Bank Feeds > Import Transactions.

Screen 2: Log In to Your Bank

  1. Enter your online banking username and password directly in the Plaid interface.
  2. If your bank requires multi-factor authentication (MFA), Plaid will prompt you for your verification code — this may come via text message, email, or authenticator app, depending on your bank's setup.
  3. Click Submit to authenticate.
Plaid Link login screen showing username and password fields with the bank's logo at the top
Tip

Use the credentials for an account that has read access to the accounts you want to connect. Many churches use a dedicated "bookkeeper" or "read-only" online banking login for this purpose — check with your bank about setting one up if you prefer not to use the primary administrator login.

Screen 3: Select Accounts

  1. After authentication, Plaid displays all accounts associated with your banking login.
  2. Check the box next to each account you want to connect to Wired Church.
  3. You can select multiple accounts in a single connection session — for example, both your operating checking account and your savings account.
  4. Click Continue to complete the connection.
Plaid account selection screen showing two checking accounts and one savings account with checkboxes

Step 3: Name Your Connected Account

After the Plaid Link modal closes, Wired Church prompts you to configure each connected account:

  1. Display Name — Give the account a recognizable name that your finance team will understand. Examples:
    • "Operating Checking — Regions"
    • "Building Fund Savings — Wells Fargo"
    • "Ministry Checking (####4521)"
  2. The last four digits of the account number are shown for reference so you can distinguish between multiple accounts at the same bank.
Account naming form showing the display name field, account type, last four digits, and bank name
Tip

Include the bank name and a purpose descriptor in your display name. When you have multiple accounts connected, clear naming prevents confusion — especially if more than one person works in the finance module.

Step 4: Map to Your Chart of Accounts

Each connected bank account should be mapped to the corresponding account in your chart of accounts. This mapping tells Wired Church which ledger account to associate transactions with.

  1. In the Chart of Accounts Mapping dropdown, select the matching account. For example:
    • Your church's operating checking account maps to the "Checking — Operating" asset account in your chart of accounts.
    • Your savings account maps to "Savings — Reserve" or similar.
  2. If the matching account does not exist yet in your chart of accounts, click + Create Account to add it without leaving this screen.
  3. Click Save to finish the configuration.
Chart of accounts mapping dropdown showing asset accounts with the correct checking account highlighted
Important

Accurate mapping is essential for reconciliation and financial reporting. If a bank feed is mapped to the wrong chart of accounts entry, transactions will post to the wrong ledger account. Double-check the mapping before saving, especially if you have multiple checking accounts.

Step 5: Initial Transaction Sync

Once the account is connected and configured, Wired Church immediately kicks off an initial sync:

  • Plaid pulls your recent transaction history — typically the last 30 to 90 days, depending on your bank.
  • Transactions appear in the bank feed within a few seconds to a few minutes.
  • Each transaction shows the date, description, amount, and a status of New (meaning unreviewed).
  • If you have AI auto-categorization enabled, the system begins analyzing transactions as they arrive.
Bank feed transaction list showing the initial batch of synced transactions with New status badges
Note

The exact amount of historical data varies by bank. Most banks provide 30 to 90 days of history on the initial connection. Some provide up to 24 months. After the initial sync, new transactions are pulled daily going forward.

Connecting Multiple Accounts

You can connect as many bank accounts as your church needs. To add another account:

  1. Return to Finance > Bank Feeds.
  2. Click Connect Account again.
  3. If the new account is at the same bank, Plaid may remember your session and skip the login step.
  4. If the new account is at a different bank, you will go through the full Plaid Link flow again.
  5. Name and map each additional account just as you did for the first one.

Each connected account appears as a separate card on the Bank Feeds dashboard, showing its name, bank logo, last sync time, and unreviewed transaction count.

Subscription Limits

The number of bank accounts you can connect depends on your Wired Church plan:

Plan Connected Accounts
Starter Not available
Pro Up to 2 accounts
Enterprise Unlimited accounts
Tip

If you need to connect more accounts than your plan allows, visit Admin > Settings > Billing to upgrade. The additional accounts are available immediately after the plan change.

Troubleshooting Connection Issues

Bank Not Found in Plaid

If your bank does not appear in Plaid's search:

  • Try alternate spellings or the bank's full legal name.
  • Check Plaid's institution coverage page to confirm support.
  • As an alternative, use the Import Transactions feature to upload OFX or QFX files exported from your bank's website.

Authentication Failed

If the login step fails:

  • Verify your banking credentials by logging in to your bank's website directly.
  • Check whether your bank has recently changed its login process or added new MFA requirements.
  • Some banks require you to authorize third-party connections in their security settings before Plaid can connect.

Connection Succeeds but No Transactions Appear

  • Wait a few minutes — some banks have a short delay before transactions are available through Plaid.
  • Click the Sync Now button on the account card to trigger a manual sync attempt.
  • If transactions still do not appear after 15 minutes, disconnect and reconnect the account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Plaid free? There is no additional charge from Wired Church for using Plaid. The bank feed feature is included in your Pro or Enterprise subscription. Plaid does not charge the end user.

Can Plaid access my money or make transfers? No. The connection is strictly read-only. Wired Church requests only transaction data — it cannot initiate transfers, payments, or any modifications to your account.

What if my bank password changes? You will need to re-authenticate the Plaid connection. Wired Church will notify you with a "Connection Error" badge on the bank feed card. See the Disconnecting or Reconnecting a Bank Feed guide for details.

Can multiple staff members see the bank feed? Yes. Any admin user with read permission on the finance module can view bank feed transactions. Write permission is required to categorize, match, or exclude transactions.

Next

How Transaction Syncing Works

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