---
title: "Connecting YNAB"
description: "Send posted bank transactions into a YNAB plan: connect YNAB, pick a plan, match each bank account to a YNAB account, and choose where to start."
section: "Integrations"
canonical: "https://banksync.io/docs/integrations/ynab"
specs: ["integrations","destinations"]
operationBindings: [{"capability":"destinations","operation":"destinations.connections.connect"},{"capability":"destinations","operation":"destinations.connections.get"},{"capability":"destinations","operation":"destinations.connections.disconnect"},{"capability":"destinations","operation":"destinations.setup.suggest"},{"capability":"destinations","operation":"destinations.targets.create"}]
---

A YNAB feed sends the posted transactions from your connected banks into a YNAB plan. There is no
field mapping: you match each bank account to a YNAB account once, and every new transaction
arrives in YNAB ready for you to categorize and approve.

> **Early access:** 'YNAB feeds are available to a limited number of workspaces while YNAB reviews the BankSync connection. If you do not see YNAB as a destination yet, it has not been turned on for your workspace.'

## Connect YNAB

YNAB connects through OAuth: you sign in to YNAB in a popup and approve access. BankSync never
sees your YNAB password.

**Connect YNAB**

1. **Open the feed's Destination tab** — Go to Feeds, create a feed (or open an existing one), and open the Destination tab.
2. **Pick YNAB** — Choose YNAB from the list of destinations. If any of the feed's banks are connected through
   Australia's Consumer Data Right, BankSync first shows who will receive your data and links
   YNAB's privacy policy.
3. **Approve in YNAB** — Sign in to YNAB in the popup, choose the plan BankSync may use, and approve. The popup closes
   and the new connection is selected in the Destination tab.

The connection belongs to the workspace. Editors in this workspace can send transactions to your
YNAB plan, and the person who connected YNAB can always disconnect it.

## Choose a plan

In the Destination tab, pick the YNAB plan this feed writes into. It starts on the plan you chose
while approving. The plan's currency is shown next to it: BankSync never converts money, so a bank
account in a different currency is marked "Not sent" in the next step.

## Match your bank accounts

The Mapping tab lists every bank account in the feed. For each one, choose where its
transactions go:

- **An existing YNAB account.** Use this when the account is already in your plan.
- **A new YNAB account.** BankSync suggests a name and an account type. Check the type before you
  create the account: YNAB never lets you change an account's type, and accounts created through
  the API cannot be deleted from BankSync. Nothing is created until you press **Create**.
- **Don't send.** The bank account stays in the feed but nothing goes to YNAB.

The feed is ready once every bank account has a YNAB account or is set to "Don't send".

> **Credit cards:** 'For a new credit card account, assign your current card balance to its Credit Card Payment category in YNAB so the balance is funded.'

If a bank account already sends to a YNAB account in another feed, or a YNAB account already
receives from a different bank account, the Mapping tab warns you. It never blocks the save.

## Choose where to start

**Today** is the default and the recommendation. YNAB recommends starting fresh: past
transactions land in past months, uncategorized, and categorizing them can pull money out of
Ready to Assign.

If you do want some history, open **Include past transactions** and choose 7, 30 or 90 days. The
choice is limited by how much history your bank provides.

For an account BankSync creates, the first sync also adds a **Starting Balance** transaction so the
YNAB balance matches your bank. An existing YNAB account keeps the balance it already has.

## What BankSync sends

- **Posted transactions only.** Pending transactions are never sent, so nothing changes or
  disappears after it reaches YNAB.
- **Payee and memo.** The merchant name (or the bank's description) becomes the payee; the bank's
  description goes in the memo when it adds something.
- **Cleared and unapproved.** Categories, flags and splits are left for you to set in YNAB.
- **Late transactions.** A transaction your bank posts late is still sent, whatever its date.
- **Future dates wait.** YNAB rejects dates after today in UTC, so those transactions are held and
  sent on a later sync. They are never dropped.

A transaction you delete in YNAB stays deleted; BankSync does not send it again.

## Review in YNAB

After each sync the feed page shows how many transactions were sent and how many were already in
YNAB, with a link to review them in YNAB. Approve and categorize them there as usual.

## Duplicates and other imports

Every transaction carries a stable import ID, so a retried or repeated sync never creates a
duplicate in YNAB.

> **Use one import method per account:** Don't use YNAB's Direct Import or File Import on a YNAB account that also receives a BankSync feed. YNAB cannot match transactions imported by two different methods, so both copies stay in the account. If you are switching to BankSync, unlink Direct Import on that account first and start the feed from today.

## Transfers

A transfer between two of your banks arrives as two separate transactions, one in each YNAB
account. BankSync does not link them as a YNAB transfer.

## Rate limits

YNAB allows each connection a limited number of requests per hour. A normal sync uses only a few.
If YNAB's limit is reached, the feed shows "YNAB rate limit — continues on next sync" and the next
scheduled sync picks up where it stopped. Nothing is lost or sent twice, and it does not count as a
failed sync.

## If YNAB needs reconnecting

If YNAB access stops working (for example, you revoked BankSync in YNAB or your YNAB subscription
lapsed), feeds sending to YNAB pause and show why. Reconnect from the Integrations tab. Your
account matches and start dates stay as they were, and the feeds resume.

If a YNAB account a feed sends to is closed or deleted, the feed pauses and asks you to choose a new
account for that bank account.

## Disconnect

Disconnect YNAB from the Integrations tab. BankSync deletes its YNAB access and the plan and account
names it cached for setup, and pauses the feeds that send to YNAB. Transactions already in YNAB are
not touched.

You can also revoke BankSync from your YNAB Account Settings at any time. Feeds sending to YNAB then
pause until you reconnect.

## Privacy

BankSync stores your YNAB access encrypted and uses it only to list your plans and accounts, create
the accounts you ask for, and send your bank transactions. It is deleted when you disconnect, when
the workspace is deleted, or when you delete your BankSync account. See the
[BankSync privacy policy](/privacy) and [YNAB's privacy policy](https://www.ynab.com/privacy-policy).

## Related guides

- [Creating your first feed](/docs/bank-feeds/creating-first-feed): the complete walkthrough from
  bank to destination.
- [Managing your integrations](/docs/integrations/managing-integrations): rename, reconnect, or
  disconnect a connection.

***

We are not affiliated, associated, or in any way officially connected with YNAB or any of its
subsidiaries or affiliates. The official YNAB website can be found at
<https://www.ynab.com>. The names YNAB and You Need A Budget, as well as
related names, tradenames, marks, trademarks, emblems, and images are registered trademarks of
YNAB.
