Set up a bank feed integration with Starling Bank

This article explains how to set up a bank feed integration for a Starling Bank account. It also explains how to refresh the integration if a previous connection has expired or has stopped importing transactions.

Before you start

Before setting up a third-party bank feed integration, make sure that you have created a bank account in FreeAgent.

When setting up your bank account, you can choose to enable Guess, a FreeAgent feature that attempts to explain your transactions automatically, based on existing information in your FreeAgent account.

Setting up the integration

Navigate to the 'Banking' tab at the top of the screen and select 'Bank Accounts' from the drop-down menu.

Select the bank account you want to enable the feed for from the list and select ‘Enable bank feed’ in the top-right or in the ‘Bank feed’ panel.

Select ‘Starling’ from the list of available banks.

You’ll need to give approval for FreeAgent to access:

• Your account name, number and sort code
• Your account balance
• Incoming and outgoing transactions
• Transaction explanations and bookkeeping data.

Select ‘Continue connection’ to proceed.

You’ll be directed to complete the following instructions to connect FreeAgent with Starling via the Starling app (you’ll need to log in to your Starling account to complete these steps):

1. Tap the top right icon and select ‘Marketplace and connected apps’ (Please note that the Marketplace can only be found on the primary GBP account menu).
2. Under accounting, choose ‘FreeAgent’ and tap ‘Add’.
3. Follow the instruction to ‘authorise access’ and set up the Starling account on FreeAgent. We’ve set up an account for you, so no need to create a new one when connecting.

When setting up the integration, you'll be asked to select an account to link to, including multi-currency accounts. Please only select the option to create a new FreeAgent bank account if you haven’t already added a bank account to FreeAgent for Starling.

You'll also be prompted to choose a ‘Sync from’ date. This is the date from which you would like the transactions to be pulled into your FreeAgent account. This can be backdated to a maximum of one year from the enablement date, but cannot be earlier than your FreeAgent start date. If you need to backdate transactions that are older than one year, you will need to upload these bank transactions manually.

Your Starling Business Account transactions will begin to sync with FreeAgent within 24 hours. 

If you encounter any issues when setting up the integration, please visit Starling’s Bank’s help centre or contact them directly.

Multi-currency accounts

You can link any USD and Euro accounts you have with Starling to FreeAgent.

When setting up the integration, you'll be prompted to select multiple accounts (including your multi-currency accounts) on the Starling consent screen. You'll then be prompted to select a FreeAgent account to link the Starling account with.

Please only select the option to create a new FreeAgent bank account if you haven’t already added a bank account to FreeAgent for the multi-currency Starling account.

Checking that your integration is enabled

Check that you’ve enabled your integration successfully by selecting your company name at the top-right of the screen in your FreeAgent account and selecting ‘Connections & Add-ons’ from the drop-down menu. Then, select ‘Manage approved applications’ and you’ll see all your approved applications, including any third-party bank feed integrations.

Transactions added to the wrong account

If any transactions have been added to the incorrect account in FreeAgent, you’ll need to delete them.

You would then need to speak to Starling's support team to see if there is a way they can resend the transactions to the correct bank account. If Starling are unable to resend your transactions to the correct account, you will need to either enter them manually or upload them from a bank statement.

Refreshing an integration

If you have set up a Starling integration previously that has expired or has stopped importing bank transactions which are now missing from your FreeAgent account, you can refresh the connection. Please note that you’ll need to ensure that the previous integration has been removed first.

Navigate to the drop-down menu under your business name and select ‘Connections & Add-ons’.

Select ‘Manage' in the 'Approved applications’ section.

Next, select ‘Revoke access’ from the ‘Starling Bank Feed’ panel.

Then, navigate to the Marketplace section of the Starling app and you should see a FreeAgent tile visible on this page. Select ‘Remove’ to delete FreeAgent from your Starling account.

Once the connection has been disconnected, follow the steps above to set up a new integration via the Starling Marketplace. When setting up a new integration, make sure to select your previously linked FreeAgent account and choose the correct date from the calendar to ensure that historical transactions are imported. Please also ensure that you select the existing Starling bank account from your FreeAgent account on this page.

If you find that transactions are still not imported after completing this process, please contact Starling directly using the ‘Help’ button under the menu icon in the Starling app.

Disconnect the bank feed integration

To remove the connection with Starling, read about how to disconnect a bank feed.