What is Bank feed?
Last verified 31 October 2026
A bank feed is a connection that imports transactions from your bank account into your accounting software automatically, so you do not type or upload them yourself.
Why it matters to landlords
HMRC's digital records guidance says each record needs an amount, the date and a category, and that permitted digital links include automated data transfer, API transfer and XML or CSV import and export. A bank feed gives you the amount and date from the bank itself, leaving you to add the category and check it is right.
Feeds usually run on open banking, where you give permission to share transaction data with a trusted third party. Not every transaction is rent or an expense, so review them: a mortgage payment needs splitting into interest and capital, and personal spending must not go into your property records. Once a record is in a quarterly update, you should not move it by hand. Keep digital records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline.
Example
Isla's rental account receives £950 on 1 October. The feed imports it with that date and amount, and she categorises it as rent. A £1,100 mortgage payment arrives too, which she splits into £700 interest and £400 capital.