--- title: "Ask a client for bank data and answers" description: "Send a client one email link asking them to connect a bank and answer your questions. They confirm with a one-time code from their email, with no password or account to set up." section: "Client portals" canonical: "https://banksync.io/docs/client-portals/client-requests" specs: ["client-requests"] operationBindings: [{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.list"},{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.create"},{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.get"},{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.withdraw"},{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.resend"},{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.respond"},{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.public.preview"},{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.public.code"},{"capability":"client-requests","operation":"client-requests.public.verify"}] --- A **request** is the quickest way to get a client's bank data and the answers you need. Your client gets one email link. They prove it's them with a one-time code sent to that address, confirm they're happy to share with your firm, connect their bank and answer your questions, on a phone or a computer, in a few minutes. There is no password and no account to set up. > **Before you start:** Requests are part of client portals, so your firm's workspace needs the Professional, Business or Enterprise plan, and you need to be an owner or admin. Each request lives in that client's portal, and any bank they connect counts against your plan's bank connections. ## Send a request 1. Open **Clients** and choose **Send a request**. 2. Under **Client**, pick one of your client portals, or choose **New client** and type the client's name. BankSync creates their portal with the request. 3. Enter the **Client's email**. Only this address can open the request. 4. Give it a **Title** and, if you like, a **Message** your client sees with it. 5. Leave **Ask them to connect a bank** on to ask for a bank connection. 6. Add up to 20 **Questions**. Each can be a short answer, long answer, number, date or a choice from your options, and can be required or optional. 7. Set a **Deadline** if you need one, then choose **Send request**. BankSync emails your client straight away. If they haven't finished, it reminds them 3 and 7 days after you send it, and the day before your deadline. ## What your client does 1. They open the link and see who sent it, what you're asking for and the confirmation that they're happy to share with your firm. 2. They choose **Email me a code** and enter the 6-digit code from the email. Entering the code confirms sharing. 3. They choose **Connect your bank** and approve access on their bank's usual consent screen. They can connect more than one. 4. They answer your questions. Answers save as they go, so they can come back to the same link later. 5. They choose **Send to** your firm. You get an email when they do. After sending, your client can open the same link for 30 days to see what they shared, or to stop sharing. If they want a full BankSync login later, they can set one up on the same email address. > **Who the request names:** The request shows your firm's name once BankSync has verified your firm. Until then, it shows the email address it was sent from. ## Track and follow up Open the client's portal from **Clients** and go to its **Requests** tab. Each request shows its status: **Sent**, **Opened** (your client has entered the code), **Completed**, **Withdrawn** or **Expired**. A completed request shows the answers, and the banks your client connected appear in the portal. - **Resend** emails a fresh link and stops the old one working. You can resend a request up to 5 times. - **Withdraw** stops the link working straight away. Anything your client already shared, including their answers, stays in the portal. A request that isn't completed expires 30 days after its deadline, or 60 days after you sent it if it has no deadline. ## Security - The code goes only to the email address you entered, so a forwarded link is no use without that inbox. A link locks for 30 minutes after 5 wrong codes and closes for good after 20. - Your client sees only their own portal, never your firm's workspace or your other clients. - An account that already uses two-step verification signs in the usual way instead of with a code. ## Limits - A portal has one client who answers requests. To ask someone else at the same business, invite them to the portal instead. - A firm can have 100 requests open at once. - If your plan's bank connections are all in use, or your portals already hold 5 during your trial, your client is told the limit is reached. Add bank connections from billing (or start your subscription), then ask them to try again. > **Australian banks:** Australian (Consumer Data Right) banks work in requests. Your client connects them after confirming sharing, and if they stop sharing, those connections end straight away and you're told. ## Related guides - [Set up a client portal](/docs/client-portals/setup): create portals and invite clients who sign in. - [Sharing with your firm](/docs/client-portals/sharing-with-your-firm): the confirmation your client gives, and how they stop sharing. - [Share your workspace with your accountant](/docs/client-portals/share-with-your-accountant): for clients who already have their own BankSync workspace.