> ## Knowledge Base Index > Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.booksgpt.ai/sitemap.xml > Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further. > Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash). # How BooksGPT connects to your bank, and how much history you get A bank connection is a secure, read-only link: BooksGPT can see your transactions and balances, so your books stay current without typing, and it can never move money. The link runs through one of two providers, and your bank decides how much history it shares through each. Anything older than that comes in from a statement or a file instead. ## The two providers - **Stripe Financial Connections**, marked **Recommended**. Connects to over 12,000 US banks and credit unions. - **Plaid**, which QuickBooks and many finance apps use. It reaches further back in history at most banks. You do not have to pick before you start. Before any window opens, the **Connect a bank** page shows which provider it will use. ## "Link" is a sign-in screen, not a payment service When you connect through Stripe, the secure window is branded **Link**. That is Stripe's name for the screen where you sign in to your bank and choose which accounts to share. || **Link** cannot charge your card or move money. It is not a payment gateway, and it has nothing to do with your bills, your invoices or your BooksGPT subscription. BooksGPT receives transaction history and balances. Nothing else. ## How much history you get Your bank decides how far back it will share. The provider sets the ceiling, and the bank sets the real number underneath it. **Through Stripe:** - Most banks share up to about 6 months. Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank and KeyBank all give the full 6 months. - Some card issuers share only about 90 days. **Through Plaid:** - Most banks share 1 to 2 years. American Express gives well over a year. - Capital One stops near 90 days. That limit is Capital One's own, so no provider gets past it. If you need more history than your bank will share, upload a statement or a CSV instead. Open **All pages** in the left sidebar, then under **Setup** click [Import](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/import). Under **Other ways in**, click **Upload a statement** or **Upload transactions**. ## Choose the provider for your workspace Only the workspace owner or a bookkeeper sees this setting. 1. Open **All pages** in the left sidebar, then under **Daily work** click [Banking](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/banking). 2. Above the account cards, under **Default connection provider**, pick **Stripe Financial Connections** or **Plaid**. It saves right away. ![The Default connection provider card, with Stripe Financial Connections marked Recommended and Plaid beside it](https://booksgpt.ai/help/bank-providers/provider-choice-recommended.png) | Pick Plaid when you need the longest history. It reaches 1 to 2 years at most banks, against about 6 months through Stripe. - The choice applies to **new connections only**. Accounts you already connected keep syncing as they are. - The [Connect a bank](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/banking/connect) page names the provider new connections use. If you can change it, a **Change** link there opens this card. ![The Connect a bank heading, naming the provider that will open, with a Change link](https://booksgpt.ai/help/bank-providers/connect-header.png) ## Banks that always use Plaid Some banks share little or nothing through Stripe, so the search on **Connect a bank** always connects them through Plaid, whatever your setting says. They include: - Square Checking, Shopify Balance, PayPal, Venmo and Cash App - Mercury and Novo - American Express and Capital One Connect these from Banking: click **Connect a bank** and search for the bank there, and BooksGPT routes it to Plaid. The **Bank feed** button on Home, the bank step when you first set up BooksGPT, and the connect button in a personal workspace open your default provider straight away, so do not use them for these banks. ## Bring in more history after you connect If you chose a short range when you connected, you can reach further back later, up to the bank's limit. The workspace owner or a **Client** can do this. 1. Open **All pages** in the left sidebar, then under **Daily work** click [Banking](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/banking). 2. On the account's row, open the three-dot menu and click **Import more history**. If an account brought in nothing because its transactions are older than the range you chose, the **Import more history** link beside it opens the same window. 3. Click the **Import from** date and pick an earlier start. It begins at the earliest date your bank shares: about 6 months back through Stripe, about two years through Plaid. 4. Click **Import more history**. ![The Import more history window for a Chase connection, with Import from set about 6 months back](https://booksgpt.ai/help/bank-providers/import-more-six-months.png) What happens next: - It applies to every account on that bank's connection. - Transactions this connection already brought in are not added again. - One that matches a transaction from imported books (QuickBooks, Wave or a General Ledger file) or a file you uploaded waits on **Banking** as a possible duplicate. See [Connect your bank account](https://help.booksgpt.ai/en/article/connect-your-bank-account-j52ax9/) for how to clear them. - Check any months you typed in by hand. A transaction worded differently from the bank's can come in twice. - The older transactions come in as the bank sends them, and wait in [Review inbox](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/inbox) for a category, like any new bank transaction. If the connection already reaches as far back as the bank allows, the window has no date to pick and offers **Import a CSV or Excel file** instead. See [Import a CSV from any bank or app](https://help.booksgpt.ai/en/article/import-a-csv-from-any-bank-or-app-ebhx9j/). ![The Import more history window when the connection is already at the bank's limit, offering Import a CSV or Excel file](https://booksgpt.ai/help/bank-providers/import-more-at-limit-csv.png) ## How many banks can I connect? There is no per-bank fee, and one connection covers every account you share at that bank. Paid plans have no limit on banks; some trials allow three. For the details by plan and trial, see [What counts as a bank connection, and what each plan includes](https://help.booksgpt.ai/en/article/what-counts-as-a-bank-connection-and-what-each-plan-includes-va8opd/). If your bank will not connect at all, see [My bank is not supported, or will not connect](https://help.booksgpt.ai/en/article/my-bank-is-not-supported-or-will-not-connect-1o3ffqd/), or [Fix a bank connection](https://help.booksgpt.ai/en/article/fix-a-bank-connection-11mqond/) for one that stopped syncing.