---
title: "Creating Your First Feed"
description: "Step-by-step guide to setting up your first data feed from bank accounts to Google Sheets, Notion, or Airtable."
section: "Bank feeds"
canonical: "https://banksync.io/docs/bank-feeds/creating-first-feed"
---

Once you've connected a bank and an integration, you're ready to create your first feed. A feed defines one flow of data: which accounts it reads from, which integration it writes to, how fields map to columns, and how often it runs. This guide walks you through the four setup steps.

> **Prerequisites:** 'Before creating a feed, make sure you have:\n• Connected at least one bank (Banks tab → Add Bank)\n• Set up at least one integration (Integrations tab), such as Google Sheets, Excel, Notion, Airtable, or a database'

[![The complete first-feed setup: choosing Bank Sync as the source, selecting a Chase account, picking a Notion database as the destination, mapping the amount, date and description fields, setting a daily schedule, and triggering the first sync.](https://cdn.banksync.io/videos/create-feed-and-sync.poster.d4c039ebcdad5076.png)](https://cdn.banksync.io/videos/create-feed-and-sync.3d251e0433e06d82.mp4)

[Watch: The complete first-feed setup: choosing Bank Sync as the source, selecting a Chase account, picking a Notion database as the destination, mapping the amount, date and description fields, setting a daily schedule, and triggering the first sync.](https://cdn.banksync.io/videos/create-feed-and-sync.3d251e0433e06d82.mp4)

## The Four Setup Steps

The feed editor has an **Overview** tab plus four configuration tabs, one per step. Your progress is automatically saved as you go, so you can leave and come back any time.

- **1. Sources** — Select bank accounts to pull data from
- **2. Destination** — Choose which integration receives the data
- **3. Mapping** — Map data fields to columns
- **4. Schedule** — Set up automatic syncing (optional)

## Step 1: Sources

In the **Sources** tab, select which bank accounts you want to pull data from.

**Selecting Your Accounts**

1. **Browse your connected banks** — Your connected banks are listed with their accounts underneath. Each account shows its type as a
   badge (Checking, Savings, Credit Card, etc.).
2. **Check the accounts to include** — Click the checkboxes next to accounts you want in this feed. You can select accounts from
   multiple banks in one feed.
3. **Choose the feed type** — Each feed carries one data type. The type is auto-detected based on your accounts, but you can
   change it.

- **Transactions** — Individual transaction records
- **Balances** — Account balance snapshots
- **Trades** — Investment transactions
- **Holdings** — Portfolio positions

Loans (liability balances) and Orders (open brokerage orders) are also available as feed types when your selected accounts support them. One feed carries exactly one data type, so create separate feeds to sync, say, transactions and balances from the same accounts.

> **Account Type Restriction:** 'Investment accounts cannot be mixed with checking/savings accounts in the same feed. Create separate feeds for different account types.'

## Step 2: Destination

In the **Destination** tab, choose which integration receives the data, then pick the exact place inside it.

### Google Sheets

1. **Select a spreadsheet** — Choose from spreadsheets in your connected Google account.
2. **Choose a sheet** — Select the specific sheet within the spreadsheet.
3. **Set header row** — Specify which row contains your column headers (default: row 1).
4. **Choose direction and position** — Select by row (most common) or by column, and whether to add data at the beginning or end.

### Notion

1. **Select a workspace** — Choose from workspaces shared with BankSync.
2. **Choose a database** — Select the database where data will be added.

> **Share the database with the BankSync connection:** 'A Notion database only appears in the picker if the BankSync connection has been added to it. In Notion, open the database, click the ••• menu → Connections, and add BankSync. Without the connection, BankSync cannot read or write that database, and the search shows "No databases found".'

### Airtable

1. **Select a base** — Choose from bases in your connected Airtable account.
2. **Choose a table** — Select the table within the base.

> **Quick Add:** Don't see the integration you need? You can connect another integration without leaving the feed setup, or manage them all from the Integrations tab.

## Step 3: Mapping

In the **Mapping** tab, map your bank data fields to the columns in your sheet or table using drag-and-drop.

### Available Transaction Fields

- **ID** — Unique transaction identifier
- **Date** — Transaction date
- **Description** — Merchant or transaction name
- **Credit Amount** — Money coming in
- **Debit Amount** — Money going out
- **Category** — Transaction category
- **Type** — Transaction type
- **Bank** — Source bank name
- **Account** — Account name

### How to Map Fields

1. **Drag and drop to reorder** — Arrange fields in your preferred order by dragging them in the mapping list.
2. **Pick a column for each field** — Use the dropdown next to each field to map it to a column in your sheet or table.
3. **Remove unwanted fields** — Click the X button to remove fields you don't need.
4. **Add additional fields** — Drag fields from the available pool to add them to your mapping.

For the full mapping reference, including Auto fill, see [Configuring Field Mappings](/docs/bank-feeds/field-mappings).

### Balance Sync Mode

When syncing balances, choose how data should be handled:

- **Append** — Adds a new timestamped row each sync, building balance history over time
- **Overwrite** — Updates the same rows in place, keeping only the current state (for dashboards)

## Step 4: Schedule (Optional)

In the **Schedule** tab, set up automatic syncing on a recurring schedule. This step is optional; you can always run feeds manually.

- **Hourly** — Run about once an hour
- **Daily** — Run every day at a set time
- **Weekly** — Run on a specific day of the week
- **Manual** — No schedule; run only when you click Sync Now

> **Time Zone and Plan Gating:** 'You pick the run hour in your own time zone (shown next to the picker); runs happen at the top of the hour. Available cadences depend on your plan: Free and Starter allow Weekly, Standard adds Daily, and Professional and above unlock Hourly. See the scheduling guide for details.'

## Confirm your setup

When all four steps are done, the feed editor's **At a glance** panel summarizes the feed. Every row (From, To, Mapping, Schedule) should show a real value, not "Not configured". If a row still says "Configure", open that tab and finish it.

![The feed editor At a glance panel: From Chase, To Sheets, Mapping 8 fields, Schedule Daily, each with an edit link](https://cdn.banksync.io/screenshots/feeds/sync-at-a-glance.9ab0f122dcacd92a.png "A fully configured sync feed at a glance")

## Running Your Feed

Once configured, click your feed card in the Feeds tab and then "Run" to start syncing data.

### Run Options

- **Incremental (Default)** — Fetches only what's new since your last sync. BankSync tracks progress per account so nothing is
  missed or duplicated.
- **Start from the beginning** — An optional checkbox in the Sync Now dialog that re-fetches all available data from scratch. Use
  it sparingly: re-syncing data that was already written can create duplicate rows.

Manual runs use the same read path and deduplication as scheduled syncs, so running "Sync Now" alongside a schedule never creates duplicates.

### Monitoring Progress

- Click "History" to see all sync jobs (past and in-progress)
- Job status updates in real-time: Created → In Progress → Completed
- View error details if a sync fails, with remediation suggestions

> **Pro Tips:** '• Check the result: After your first run, open your spreadsheet or database to verify the data looks correct before enabling a schedule.\n• Create multiple feeds: Many users have separate feeds for transactions (daily) and balances (weekly).'

## Related guides

- [Configuring Field Mappings](/docs/bank-feeds/field-mappings): everything about the Mapping tab, including Auto fill
- [Setting Up Scheduled Feeds](/docs/bank-feeds/scheduling-feeds): cadences, local-time scheduling, and plan gating
- [Managing Your Feeds](/docs/bank-feeds/managing-feeds): editing, running, and monitoring feeds after setup
- [Managing Integrations](/docs/integrations/managing-integrations): connect and maintain the integrations feeds write to

[Managing your feeds](/docs/bank-feeds/managing-feeds)