FAQ
Every question we've been asked, answered plainly
If yours isn't here, email hello@example.com — answers come from the people who built the product.
The product
What is bank statement retrieval software?
Software that connects to clients' banks through a secure aggregator (like Plaid), automatically downloads the official statement PDFs each period, and organizes them for the accounting workflow — replacing the monthly routine of asking clients to send statements. StatementFlow adds verification (SHA-256 hashes), Google Drive filing, and coverage/gap alerts on top of retrieval.
How do accounting firms automate collecting client bank statements?
The client connects their bank once through a secure link. From then on, software watches each account’s statement cycle, fetches the official PDF when it posts, verifies and files it, and flags anything missing — so the firm reviews a coverage board instead of sending reminder emails.
Does StatementFlow extract transactions or do bookkeeping?
No — deliberately. It retrieves and organizes the official source documents. Extraction tools (Dext, AutoEntry, DocuClipper) and your ledger take it from there; StatementFlow makes sure they always have the statements to work from.
Which banks and platforms are covered?
Thousands of US banks and credit unions via Plaid Statements, plus Mastercard Open Banking as a second provider covering gaps (including American Express). Beyond banks: settlement/payout statements from Stripe, PayPal, Square, Shopify, Etsy, eBay, Wise, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento, with Amazon and Walmart coming via a partner network.
Does it work outside the United States?
Not today. Statement retrieval via Plaid is US-only and covers depository (checking/savings) accounts, so the product is built for US institutions first.
Security & trust
Is it safe to connect client bank accounts via Plaid?
Yes — clients authenticate directly with their bank (often on the bank’s own OAuth page), credentials are never shared with the firm or the software, and access is read-only data access. Tokens are AES-256-GCM encrypted at rest and every download is hash-verified.
Can the software move money?
No. The connection is data-only: statements and account metadata. There is no payment, transfer, or account-change capability of any kind.
Who owns the statement files?
You do. Statements are routed into your firm’s own Google Drive as they arrive. If you ever leave, your archive is already in your hands.
Is there an audit trail?
Yes — administrative actions are logged, and every statement retrieval keeps a per-job event timeline (requested → fetched → hash-verified → filed) you can review later.
Clients & rollout
What do clients have to do, and will they push back?
One two-minute connection through their own bank’s login, on their own device — usually less friction than finding and emailing PDFs every month. Firms typically position it as an upgrade: "you’ll never get a statement request from us again."
What if a client’s bank requires extra verification?
Some banks (Wells Fargo notably) apply security holds on new connections. StatementFlow detects the situation and shows the client bank-specific recovery steps — usually a short call to the bank's listed number, then reconnect. Your team sees status the whole way.
How long does onboarding a firm take?
Early-access onboarding is hands-on: connect a few pilot clients first, confirm statements arrive and file correctly, then roll out invites across the book at your pace.
When is general availability?
We're onboarding from the waitlist in small cohorts. Founding firms get priority, locked founding pricing, and roadmap input — join at /early-access/.
Stop chasing. Start closing.
Join the early-access waitlist and be one of the founding firms that never asks a client for a bank statement again.