How to Provide “View Only” Bank Account Access to Your Accountant

Providing view only account bank access for business accounts

When it comes to your business finances, you need to be able to trust your accountant. However, it can become tricky when dealing with bank accounts. You must personally decide how much information and access you give to your accountant, but the most common practice is to grant them “View Only” access. This will allow your accountant to see statements and check images but they will NOT be able to make transactions or transfers, pay bills, or move YOUR money.

Like any long-lasting relationship, trust and transparency are the cornerstones of success. As your trusted financial partner, Fusion CPA needs a holistic view of your business to ensure that we target the biggest areas of concern first, and fast. 

Looking at your bank statement is the best way to gather accurate information regarding expenses, income, and cash flow for bookkeepers. Your accountant can create business plans, prepare your taxes, and create financial reports with this information.

Our CPAs have years of credibility in the field and take their oath to honor data privacy, to heart. We understand the significance of ensuring that your financial data is not only accurate but also easily accessible to those who need to know more. That’s why we’re excited to delve into the importance of granting your CPA View-Only Access to your bank statements and offer comprehensive guidance on how to do so safely.

Here’s why it’s beneficial to share view-only bank account access with your CPA partner.

  • It allows for greater efficiency and accuracy: Providing your accountant with direct access to your bank accounts streamlines financial management and reduces the risk of errors. Real-time access ensures accurate and up-to-date financial records, making tax preparation, financial planning, and decision-making more efficient and precise.
  • It allows your CPA to offer you proactive guidance: With continuous access to your financial data, we can offer proactive advice and strategies to optimize your financial situation. This includes, timely tax planning, customized insights, and the ability to spot opportunities or issues as they arise. This will ultimately help you make more informed financial decisions.
  • It allows for easier financial monitoring: Granting view-only access facilitates better collaboration with us as your financial partners. Your assigned CPA can monitor your financial activity for anomalies. In case of audits or financial inquiries, having our CPAs already familiar with your records can simplify the process, and save you time.

Whether you’re a current Fusion CPA client or simply interested in optimizing your financial relationships, this guide to granting “View Only” bank access can help you safely share important information with your CPA.

“View only access”: choose your bank

Follow these steps, depending on which banking institutions you bank with.

How to Provide “View Only” Bank Account Access to Your Accountant

Wells Fargo

With Wells Fargo, you have the power to give an accountant or bookkeeper View Only bank account access through Wells Fargo’s Account Access Manager.

  • When you visit the Wells Fargo page, navigate to the small business section.
  • Select “Account Access Management.” You will see an overview of employees who have been added to your account.
  • You have the ability to remove authorized signers and grant individuals online “View Only” access to one or multiple accounts.

Wells Fargo recommends that you review who has access to your account frequently and make adjustments to align with your current needs.

US Bank

  • U.S. Bank allows you to share customized access for business accounts using the “Shared Access” feature. 
  • You can select “View Only.” This will allow accountants to view transactions, balances, and other details on selected accounts.

U.S. Bank provides detailed history reports that allow you to keep tabs on Shared Access users as the Shared Access administrator. To activate this feature:

  • Login to U.S. Bank online using your business user ID
  • Find the “I’d Like To” menu located on the left side of the page and choose Managed Shared Access
  • Or you can click “Customer Service” and then select Shared Access

Chase Bank

Chase Bank offers the Chase Access & Security Manager. This feature is designed to help you save time managing your business accounts and determining who has what access. It gives you the ability to delegate cash management services without turning over the control or security of your account. To access this feature:

  • Sign in to your account and choose “Account Management”
  • Select “Access & Security Manager” from the drop-down menu
  • You will see the option to add an authorized user by selecting “Add New User”
  • You will need to complete the different fields on the page
  • Choose the accounts a new user can access. Assign their level of access by choosing “Assign access”

American Express

  • To permit a secondary user to view your American Express business account, you need to set up their account with Amex’s Account Manager feature. With this functionality, you can provide your bookkeeper a “Limited Access” to your bank records. 
  • You can modify your user privileges by going to “My Account > User Administration” and clicking on “View/Modify” to create view only bank account access. 
  • You will then be directed to a view where you can change these settings.

Bank of America

  • You can grant customers access to your Bank of America account by upgrading your online banking account to include Account Management.
  • Using this add-on, you can create an individual account access level and allow a small business accountant to view and manage accounts under your name or your company name for your different businesses.
  • Pro Tip: The Account Management feature of Bank of America also allows you to integrate Quickbooks to your account. By integrating, you can synchronize transactions between your bank and your Quickbooks account in real-time!

BB&T

  • You will need to enroll in BB&T’s Small Business Online program if you wish to give your bookkeeper view-only bank account access. 
  • To begin providing access to your accountant, open the business services menu of the program, and click Multiple User Access (Subscribe). 
  • You can then use this feature to limit the viewing access of up to 25 users per account.

Capital One

  • When working with Capital One as your bank, you will need to use their Treasury Management feature to limit your accountant’s viewing access. 
  • With this feature, you can adjust the access settings of your authorized users.

Live Oak Bank

Follow this general guide on how to approach granting your accountant view-only access with Live Oak Bank:

  • Contact Live Oak Bank Support: You can do this through their website, email, or phone. Let them know that you want to grant your accountant view-only access to your account and ask for guidance on how to do this within their online banking system.
  • Use Separate Credentials: If Live Oak Bank supports it, they might advise you to create a separate login credential (like a username and password) for your accountant. This would ensure that they only have access to the view-only features.
  • Access Management: Log in to your Live Oak Bank online banking account. Look for an option related to account access, security, or permissions. This might be called something like “Manage Users,” “User Access,” or “Account Permissions.”
  • Add New User: Within the access management section, you should find an option to add a new user or grant access. Enter the information for your accountant, including their name and email address. You may also need to define their role, which should be set to “View-Only” or a similar designation.
  • Notification to Accountant: Your accountant will likely receive an email with instructions on how to set up their access. They might need to create a password or verify their identity in some way.
  • Access Control: Once your accountant has completed the setup process, they should be able to log in using the credentials you provided. They should have view-only access to your account information, balances, transactions, and statements. They won’t be able to initiate any transactions or make changes to your account.
  • Regular Review: It’s a good practice to regularly review the list of users with access to your account. If your accountant no longer needs access, make sure to revoke their access promptly.

Remember that the steps outlined above are general guidelines and the actual process may vary based on the features and interface of Live Oak Bank’s online banking system.

Fidelity Investments

At Fidelity Investments, you can give your bookkeeper access to your accounts with one of four permissions. 

  • These permission-levels include Inquiry, Limited, Full, or POA. The Inquiry access feature will limit privileges to view only bank account access so your accountant can see your balances and tax forms.
  • Only business accounts in PayPal can provide access to additional users. With the same account, you can limit the access of these users using the Accounts & Security section of Paypal. 
  • When you enter this section, open “Account Access” then click “Update” which appears next to the “Manage Users” section. 
  • After doing this step, you should be able to change the permissions you grant your authorized users.

PNC Bank

  • You can use PNC Bank’s Cash Flow Insight functionality to give your accountant access to your accounts. 
  • This feature allows you to create an account for your small business CPA and provide them with the appropriate permissions to view your financial transactions.

Regions Bank

  • Regions Bank allows you to limit your accountant’s permissions by utilizing their People and Permissions feature. 
  • Within this function, you can create an account for your bookkeeper and provide them with permissions that allow them the view only bank account access.

SunTrust

  • SunTrust’s Online Cash Manager system offers an extensive set of features. With it, you can set up an account for your bookkeeper that will give them access to your bank statements. 
  • You can also limit their access using the same system.

PayPal

  • PayPal offers a Managed Users feature to its customers with a business account. 
  • This allows you to create multiple logins and determine the level of access users have. This feature gives up to 200 individuals access to your PayPal account. Each person has their own login ID and level of authority.

Once you have created a business account within PayPal:

  • Navigate to “Account Access”
  • Select “Update” under the section “Manage Users”
  • Choose “Add User”
  • Input the user’s information and choose only the privileges you want the user to have. Click “Save”

How to Provide “View Only” Bank Account Access to Your Accountant

At Fusion CPA, data integrity is one of the cornerstones of our business, and we have all measures in place to keep our clients’ information safe. Granting us view-only bank access enables us to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and collaboration in managing your finances. Contact us if you need assistance with this or if you have any questions.

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This blog article is not intended to be the rendering of legal, accounting, tax advice, or other professional services. We base articles on current or proposed tax rules at the time of writing and do not update older posts for tax rule changes. We expressly disclaim all liability in regard to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this blog as well as the use or interpretation of this information. Information provided on this website is not all-inclusive and such information should not be relied upon as being all-inclusive.

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