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Connect a financial institution

Link your bank through your own SimpleFIN Bridge subscription so Big Picture Money can download transactions and import them into your register. Connected Services (coming soon) will include Plaid integration provided by Big Picture Money; use the in-app Connected Services connection flow for Plaid, with no separate SimpleFIN subscription required.

Prerequisites​

  • Big Picture Money is unlocked (see Unlock the app)
  • At least one local account exists to map downloaded bank accounts to (see Create an account)
  • For SimpleFIN: a SimpleFIN Bridge subscription (separate from Big Picture Money — see below)
  • For Connected Services (coming soon): an active Connected Services subscription for the Plaid integration provided by Big Picture Money

Set up a SimpleFIN account​

SimpleFIN Bridge is a third-party service that connects your bank to apps like Big Picture Money. Your bank login stays with SimpleFIN; Big Picture Money never sees your bank username or password. This sync option requires a SimpleFIN subscription that you manage directly.

1. Create a SimpleFIN subscription​

  1. Open SimpleFIN Bridge in your browser.
  2. Sign up or sign in.
  3. Complete SimpleFIN’s subscription steps. SimpleFIN charges its own fee — it is not included with Big Picture Money.

2. Add your financial institutions in SimpleFIN​

  1. In SimpleFIN Bridge, add the bank or credit card you want to sync.
  2. Complete any verification SimpleFIN or your institution requires.
  3. Confirm the accounts you care about appear in SimpleFIN (for example Checking …4821, Savings …9102).

You can add more institutions or accounts in SimpleFIN later. Use Refresh account list in Big Picture Money to pick them up (see How bank sync works).

3. Create a Setup Token​

A Setup Token is a one-time code that lets Big Picture Money claim access to your SimpleFIN data. You generate it in SimpleFIN Bridge and paste it into the app once per new connection.

  1. In SimpleFIN Bridge, open the flow to create or share access for an app (wording may vary).
  2. Copy the Setup Token — a long encoded string.
  3. Keep it handy; you will paste it in the next section.

Important:

  • Each Setup Token can only be claimed once. If you need to reconnect, generate a new token in SimpleFIN Bridge.
  • The token is not your bank password. After a successful connect, Big Picture Money stores a separate access credential in your OS keychain — not in your data file.

Connect SimpleFIN in Big Picture Money​

  1. Open Settings in the left navigation.
  2. In the category list on the left, select Bank integration.
  3. Click Add connection.
  4. Paste the Setup Token and click Connect.
  5. When provider accounts appear (for example Checking …4821), map each one to a local account:
    • Choose an existing account from the dropdown, or
    • Click Create new to add a local account without leaving the mapping screen (set type, opening balance, and Track balance as needed), or
    • Choose Skip for accounts you do not want to sync.
  6. Click Save mappings.
  7. Click Sync all mapped accounts on the connection card.
  8. When sync completes, new transactions appear in your register. The first sync after mapping may insert a green-highlighted Balance adjustment (not categorized as spending) so the register matches the bank’s balance. Open Bank sync — recent from the title-bar chip or Transactions in the left nav to review ordinary synced rows.

Sync history on the Import screen​

Every bank sync is logged on Import → Import & sync activity, alongside file imports. Each row shows when the sync ran, whether it was manual or automatic, and how many transactions were fetched and imported.

For what happens after connect — timing, automatic sync, bank balances, Align to bank, duplicates, and reconciliation — see How bank sync works.

Expected result​

  • Settings → Bank integration shows a SimpleFIN connection card with status Healthy and a recent Last sync time
  • Accounts on this connection lists every SimpleFIN account and its local mapping
  • New transactions appear in the mapped account’s register automatically
  • Home Account balances shows the bank’s balance with an as of date when the bank provided one
  • The first sync after mapping may add a Balance adjustment when the bank and register disagreed
  • Use Bank sync — recent to see imports from the last 30 days across all accounts (not balance adjustments)
  • Your data file does not contain the SimpleFIN access token
  • Disabling the connection stops further syncs; removing it deletes the connection and keychain entry

Troubleshooting​

SymptomWhat to try
Invalid or expired Setup TokenGenerate a new token at SimpleFIN Bridge — each token can only be claimed once
Sync failedRead the error on the connection card; SimpleFIN may rate-limit frequent requests (~24 per day)
No new transactionsConfirm account mappings are saved and the bank account has posted activity; pending charges may not appear yet
New SimpleFIN account missingClick Refresh account list, then Map accounts
OfflineSync is unavailable without network; manual import still works