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Bank-linked accounts

How a connected bank account syncs, what the bank owns versus what you own, and how to reconnect or disconnect.

A linked account is a normal Pocketwatch account with a bank feeding it. Transactions arrive on their own, balances refresh, and for cards and loans the bank also reports details like APR and due dates.

Linking is two steps

Connecting a bank and creating accounts are deliberately separate. When you finish signing in at your bank, Pocketwatch stores the connection and opens Bank connections focused on it. There you choose, account by account, what to do with each one the bank offers:

  • Add as new - create a fresh Pocketwatch account fed by that bank account.
  • Use existing - point the bank account at a manual account you already keep, so your history stays put and syncing takes over from here.
  • Or leave it alone. Nothing is imported until you say so.

Imported accounts start clean rather than dragging in years of history, and the balance lands with the first sync. If you want the back catalog, import a file into the account afterward.

You still own the register

A linked account is not read-only. You can add, edit, delete, split, categorize, schedule, and reconcile exactly like a manual account, and your register is what every balance and budget number is built from.

Alongside it, Pocketwatch shows the balance your bank reports. That figure is a reference for reconciling, not the account balance - it never overwrites your register.

Some fields belong to the bank. On a linked account, APR and debt details such as statement balance, due date, minimum payment, and credit limit come from your bank and cannot be edited by hand. If your bank reports no APR at all, you can set one yourself so the payoff math still works.

When a connection needs attention

Banks expire their permissions, change logins, and occasionally break. Bank connections shows the health of every connection with a status pill and the last time it synced. Two things to reach for:

  • Sync now - pull immediately instead of waiting for the next scheduled sync. Pocketwatch tells you plainly whether it synced, will retry on its own, or needs you.
  • Reconnect - reopens your bank's sign-in so you can re-approve access. Use this whenever a connection reads "Needs attention".

If your bank has new accounts it has not shared yet, the same panel offers to share them, and any account you have already imported can be re-pointed at a different Pocketwatch account.

Disconnecting

Disconnecting a bank stops all syncing for it. You choose what happens to the accounts it fed: keep them as manual accounts with all their history intact, or delete them. Keeping them is the default, and it is the safe answer if you are not sure.

Availability. Bank connections need Standard (2 connections) or Pro (unlimited), and they run in the web app - the desktop app is manual only. They are also unavailable in the EU, EEA, and UK. Manual accounts and file imports work everywhere, on every plan. Dropping back to Free disconnects every bank connection.

An account held in a different currency than your Pocketwatch currency cannot be imported. Pocketwatch keeps one currency per profile and does not convert, so importing it would misstate every amount.

Last updated July 25, 2026

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