Overview

Our goal is to identify, import, and categorize business transactions. We use import tools to add business transactions to your books. The correct import tool is determined by examining the transaction type and account type.

This article is for business transactions from business accounts. Click here to learn what to do with any other type of transaction or account combo.

Please follow these steps before your Zoom Call with your Onboarding Accountant. This allows us to hit the ground running.

Once the accounts are connected, please don't categorize any of the transactions. Your Onboarding Accountant will do that for you during the call, and the Accounting Team will do that for you every month thereafter!

Click here to read about the banks that Collective does not allow you to use.

Step 1: Create a list of your business accounts

Write down all your business bank accounts

These accounts will be connected to Collective. As long as your run your entire business through business accounts connected to Collective, we can handle all the monthly accounting. Many members need guidance on what accounts are considered business accounts. Read on!

Definition of business checking, savings, and credit accounts

Business accounts only contain transactions related to your business. These accounts will remain permanently connected to the accounting software. As long as you run all your S Corp's income and expense transactions through these connected business accounts, we will able to handle monthly bookkeeping for you! This video explains in more detail.

Run all your business income and expense activity through the business accounts

If you haven't already, make it a top priority to update your customers and vendors with your business checking and credit account details. Make a note of recurring business transactions found in personal accounts and start transitioning them to Business Checking and Credit Card accounts.​

​Personal Accounts that contain Business Transactions

Do not connect personal accounts to Collective. We will discuss personal accounts that contain business transaction with you on the Zoom call. Learn more here.  

Step 2: Connect Your Business Accounts To Collective

1. Take your list created above, and one by one, connect each business account to Xero. Repeat the following steps for each business account.
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2. Watch this video and then follow the each step below in order.

    

3. For the steps below, you'll have to pick a date to import transactions from. Use the first of the month of the Box E Date on Form 2553. If your Box E date is earlier than this year, then put January 1 of this year as your import as of date. Form 2553 is in the Documents sections of your Collective Dashboard. Email us at hello@collective.com if you need help finding this form or date.

    

4. Log into the Xero account we set you up with.

    

5. Along the top horizontal blue menu bar click Accounting > Bank Accounts

   

    

6. Click "Add Bank Account"

   

    

7. Select from popular banks, or start typing your bank’s name, then select from the list. If your bank isn't listed, you'll need to open accounts with a bank that is listed in order to continue working with Collective. Please email hello@collective.com for more help.

    

8. You’ll be taken to your bank to log in, enter your online banking credentials and any multi-factor authentication required.

    

9. Select the accounts you want to share with Xero and complete the sharing steps before you are redirected back to Xero.

    

10. Check that the right bank accounts have been selected. Choose a different bank account if necessary, or add a new account.

    

     

11. Confirm the date you’d like your transactions to start from. Use the first of the month of the Box E Date on Form 2553. If your Box E date is earlier than this year, then put January 1 of this year as your "importing transaction from" date. Usually you can import up to 12 months worth of transactions. If it is less than that, but you need it to go farther, choose as far back as it goes and your Onboarding Accountant will help you during the Zoom cal to get the earlier transactions directly from your bank and upload them to Xero.

    

     

12. Click Finish.

     

13. If the Xero Bank Connection Doesn't Go Back Far Enough

    1. In Step 10 above, sometimes the Business Account in Xero doesn't pull in enough transactions.

    2. This happens because the start date you wanted is greyed out.

    3. The solution is to download the missing transactions from you bank's website in the form of a .QBO file and upload to Xero

    4. Click here for step by step instructions.

    5. This step won't work for American Express Checking and TD Bank. Please download PDF Business Bank Statements from your bank and upload to your Collective dashboard. We will convert these PDFs to a CSV and import the transactions into Xero.

Part 3 - Upload PDFs of your Business Bank Statements

This is a REALLY important step that helps your Onboarding Accountant verify all the transactions got loaded in correctly. PDFs of your monthly business bank statement are official letters from your bank attesting to the transactions for that month. They are totally different from an export of bank activity.

1. Download each month's PDF Bank Statement for each Business Account that you connected to Xero. If you connected one business checking account and one business credit card account, and they each have 5 months of activity, then you need to download 10 PDF Bank Statements. Even if Xero's connection only went back three months, we still want all 5 months worth of PDF Bank Statements.

    

2. You need to log into your bank account website (not on Xero), find the statements section (not the activity section), and download PDFs of the statements.

    

3. Upload the PDF Bank Statements to us using the Upload Documents button on your Collective Dashboard at app.collective.com. Go to app.collective.com > login > Documents (on the left side menu) > Upload Documents red button (over to the middle of the page). Note: After you upload the documents, the module will present green circles to verify that the uploads went through, but you won't be able to see the files again. They come to a secure folder on our end that we don't mirror to your Documents section.

   

Part 4 - If you no longer have access to your Business Account

You may have closed the account at your bank and no longer have online access.

1. Instead, please download PDF Business Bank Statements from your bank.

2. Upload them to your Collective dashboard in the Documents section.

3. We will convert these PDFs to a CSV and import the transactions into Xero.

4. Even if you've closed the account, you can contact your bank and have them email you PDF Business Bank Statements.

5. In very rare cases the bank may only provide paper Business Bank Statements. Scan or take a photo of those and upload them to us.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this document is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or tax advice. It is not intended to be a substitute for obtaining accounting or other financial advice from an appropriate financial adviser or for the purpose of avoiding U.S. Federal, state or local tax payments and penalties.