Excel Add-in: Bank Data in the Workbook You Have Open
Install and use the BankSync add-in for Excel on the web, Windows and Mac: sign in, connect Microsoft and a bank, send transactions into the workbook you have open, preview the format, fix every message the add-in can show, and remove it.
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The BankSync add-in for Excel puts BankSync in a pane beside your workbook. It recognises the workbook you have open, and a feed you create there writes your transactions or balances into it. BankSync writes the rows from its own servers on your feed's schedule (hourly on Professional and above), so the workbook keeps filling even while Excel is closed.
It works in Excel on the web, Excel for Windows and Excel for Mac with Microsoft 365. On an iPad, iPhone or Android device the pane only tells you to open BankSync on your computer.
Availability
Before you start#
- Save the workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint. BankSync writes through your Microsoft account, so it can only reach a workbook stored there. A file saved only on your computer, or a new workbook you haven't saved yet, can't receive a feed.
- A work or school account may need your administrator. Connecting Microsoft asks for permission to read and write your files. Some organisations only let an administrator grant that. See If your organisation needs an administrator.
- Feeds run on your BankSync plan. The add-in itself is free. How often a feed runs depends on your plan: hourly on Professional and above, daily or weekly on other plans. See Setting up scheduled feeds.
Install the add-in#
Add BankSync to Excel
Open Add-ins
In Excel, choose Home, then Add-ins. In Excel on the web you can also use Insert, then Add-ins.
Find BankSync
Search for BankSync and choose Add. Excel adds a BankSync button to the Home tab.
Open the pane
Choose BankSync on the Home tab. The pane opens on the right and explains what the add-in does. Choose Get started.
For IT administrators. Once the add-in is listed, you can deploy it to people in your organisation from the Microsoft 365 admin center under Integrated apps, like any Marketplace add-in.
Testing a manifest file. If you've been given a BankSync manifest file to test with, upload it instead: in Excel on the web choose Home, Add-ins, More add-ins, then Upload My Add-in. Only upload a manifest that came from BankSync.
Sign in#
The add-in signs you in to your BankSync account. If you don't have one, you can create it from the pane. Plans and payment open in your browser.
| How you sign in | Excel on the web and Windows | Excel for Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Email and password | In the pane | In the pane |
| A small sign-in window opens; it closes once you're signed in | The pane shows a code to approve in your browser |
If the sign-in window can't open (a pop-up blocker, or an older Excel), choose Sign in with a code instead. Open the link the pane shows in any browser where you're signed in to BankSync, type the code and approve. Signing in on Excel and the CLI explains the code step by step and how to sign out everywhere.
See the format first#
Before you connect anything, choose Preview sample rows at the bottom of the Feeds tab. The add-in writes 20 made-up transactions with a header row into the active sheet, or into a new sheet called BankSync preview when the active one already has data, so you can see the columns a feed writes. Nothing is connected, nothing leaves Excel and BankSync stores nothing. Delete the rows whenever you like.
Set up your first feed#
From sign-in to rows in your workbook
Connect Microsoft
The Feeds tab checks the workbook you have open. If no Microsoft account is connected yet, choose Connect Microsoft. A small Microsoft window opens; sign in with the account that owns the workbook. The window closes and the pane checks the connection.
Connect your bank
Most banks connect right in the pane. Some (Salt Edge banks in the UK and Europe, and SnapTrade brokerages) open in a small window and come back to the pane when you finish.
Create the feed
Choose Add a feed. The workbook you have open and its active sheet are already chosen as the destination. When you save, Excel switches to that sheet so you can see where rows will land.
Let it run
BankSync writes new rows to the workbook file on the feed's schedule, whether or not Excel is open. If you have the workbook open while a sync runs, Excel shows the new rows once it picks up the change from OneDrive or SharePoint, which can take a moment. Run the feed straight away from the feed's sync controls.
Feeds you create in Excel are ordinary BankSync feeds. You can change their accounts, columns and schedule in the pane or in the BankSync app, and they keep running if you remove the add-in.
If BankSync finds more than one workbook#
BankSync looks the workbook up through your Microsoft connection. If it finds several files with the same name and can't tell which one you have open, it asks Is this the workbook? and never guesses. Choose the one you have open, or Choose another workbook to pick it from OneDrive or SharePoint.
Workbooks on your computer, or not saved yet#
The pane says Save this workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint when the workbook is a local file or hasn't been saved. BankSync writes from its servers, so it can't reach either. Save the workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint and choose I've saved it; for a local file, open the saved copy and choose Check again. Preview sample rows still works in the meantime.
If your organisation needs an administrator#
Work and school accounts sometimes can't grant BankSync access to files on their own. In the Microsoft window, choose Need your IT admin to approve this first? Get a link to send them. (or My IT admin needs to approve first after a failed attempt). BankSync makes a single-use link: copy it or email it to your IT admin. After they approve, choose Connect Microsoft again. Approval covers your whole organisation and is needed once.
What the Feeds tab can tell you#
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Feeds into your workbook | BankSync found the workbook; feeds listed under it write to it. | Nothing. Choose Add a feed for another. |
| Checking this workbook… | BankSync is asking Microsoft where the workbook lives. | Wait a moment. |
| Save this workbook to OneDrive or SharePoint | The workbook is on this computer, or hasn't been saved. | Save it to OneDrive or SharePoint, then choose I've saved it (a new workbook) or open the saved copy and choose Check again (a local file). |
| Connect Microsoft to fill this workbook | The workspace has no Microsoft connection yet. | Choose Connect Microsoft. |
| This account can't open this workbook | You're connected as a Microsoft account that can't open this file. | Choose Reconnect as the owner and sign in with the account that owns it. |
| Reconnect Microsoft | The Microsoft connection stopped working. | Choose Reconnect. |
| Is this the workbook? | BankSync found files with this name and won't guess. | Choose the one you have open, or Choose another workbook. |
| We couldn't find this workbook | Your connection can't see it yet (new files can take a few minutes to appear). | Choose workbook to pick it from OneDrive or SharePoint, or Check again later. |
| Couldn't check this workbook | Microsoft or BankSync didn't answer. Nothing changed. | Choose Try again. |
Other messages#
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| BankSync for Excel is paused | BankSync has turned the add-in off for a while. | Try again later. Feeds you already set up keep running. |
| Open BankSync on your computer | You opened the pane on an iPad or phone. | Use Excel on the web, Windows or Mac. |
| Update Excel to use BankSync | This version of Excel can't open the windows BankSync uses to sign you in and connect accounts. | Update Office, or use Excel on the web. |
| BankSync couldn't start | Excel didn't finish loading the add-in. | Choose Try again, or close and reopen the pane. |
| Your browser blocked the sign-in window | A pop-up blocker stopped the window. | Allow pop-ups for Excel and try again, or sign in with a code. |
| Google didn't return to the sign-in window | Common on Excel for Mac. | Sign in with a code. |
| The code expired before it was approved | Codes last ten minutes. | Start again for a new code. |
| Too many attempts | Several sign-ins in a short time. | Wait a minute, then try again. |
| … opens in your browser | Billing, two-step verification, API keys and similar settings open in your browser, where you sign in yourself, never in the pane. | Continue in your browser. |
Your data#
- What the add-in reads from Excel: the open workbook's name and web address, to find it in OneDrive or SharePoint. BankSync uses them for that lookup and doesn't keep them.
- What it writes: the sample rows (only when you ask, and only inside Excel), and the rows your feeds write through your Microsoft connection.
- Microsoft access: connecting Microsoft lets BankSync read and write files your account can open, so feeds can reach the workbooks you choose. Disconnect it any time under Integrations in BankSync.
- Bank access is the same read-only access you grant in the BankSync app. Your bank sign-in details never pass through Excel.
Remove the add-in#
- In Excel, choose Home, then Add-ins, then More add-ins (or My Add-ins).
- Find BankSync, open its menu and choose Remove.
Removing the add-in doesn't stop your feeds: they're part of your BankSync account. To stop rows arriving, pause or delete the feed in BankSync. To end BankSync's access to your files, disconnect Microsoft under Integrations. To sign the add-in out on every device, use Sign out everywhere in Settings, Security.
Related guides#
- Excel integration: send bank data to Excel from the BankSync app, without the add-in.
- Google Sheets add-on: the same idea inside Google Sheets.
- Signing in on Excel and the CLI: sign in with a code, and sign out everywhere.
- Creating your first feed: the full feed editor walkthrough.
Use this page with your AI assistant
Every BankSync doc is available as plain Markdown for agents and LLMs.