Synced accounts

Synced accounts in Commander Finance connect to your bank through Plaid to automatically import transactions and balance updates. They require a Sync subscription.

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How synced accounts differ from manual accounts

Manual accounts require you to enter every transaction by hand. Synced accounts import transactions automatically from your bank, including merchant names, amounts, dates, and transaction status. You can still manually add or edit transactions in a synced account when needed. Both account types appear together in your accounts list and participate in the same budget structure.

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Connections

A connection represents a link to a single financial institution through Plaid. One connection can contain multiple accounts from the same bank—for example, a checking account and a savings account at the same institution share one connection. Linking accounts at a different bank requires a separate connection. Each connection tracks its own sync status, import history, and authentication state. You manage connections from the Connections page in the sidebar.

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The sync process

When Commander syncs with your bank, it progresses through multiple stages: queuing the sync operation, syncing account data, and then syncing transactions. The Connections page reflects the current status of each connection during this process. After the initial import, Commander syncs whenever your bank reports new transactions or balance changes.

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Sync timing and delays

Commander updates synced accounts as your bank reports activity, not on a fixed schedule. When your bank sends new or changed data to Plaid, Plaid notifies Commander, and Commander pulls the update shortly afterward—you don’t refresh routine updates by hand. How quickly a change reaches you depends mostly on your bank, since Commander can only sync data once your bank has reported it to Plaid. Common reasons an update arrives later than you expect:

• A purchase appears once your bank reports it. Some banks report within minutes; others batch activity and report a few times a day.
• Pending transactions appear when your bank first reports the charge and update to settled when your bank reports the settlement. The gap between the two is set by your bank and the merchant, not by Commander.
• Weekends and bank holidays slow reporting at many institutions, so activity from those days can land later than activity on a business day.
• Balances and transactions can update separately. A balance sometimes refreshes before its matching transaction arrives, or the other way around.

When a connection needs reauthentication, syncing for that connection pauses until you reconnect—see Consent and reauthentication.

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Transaction deduplication

Commander handles the transition from pending to settled transactions automatically. When your bank reports that a pending transaction has settled, Commander matches the settled record to the existing pending transaction and updates it rather than creating a duplicate. This matching uses identifiers provided by your bank through Plaid.

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Historical transaction import

When you first link a bank account, you choose how much transaction history to import—from future transactions only up to two years in the past. This setting applies to all accounts within that connection. You set the import date once during connection setup and can’t change it afterward.

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Consent and reauthentication

Your bank connection requires periodic reauthentication. When Plaid or your bank requires you to update your credentials, Commander flags the connection and prompts you to reauthenticate through Plaid’s interface. During this time, automatic syncing pauses for the affected connection until reauthentication completes.

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Subscription changes

Synced accounts require a Sync subscription for active syncing and connection management. If you switch from Sync to Core, your existing synced accounts and their transaction history remain accessible. The accounts continue to function for budgeting and reporting, but automatic transaction imports stop and sync management features become unavailable. You can still manually add transactions to previously synced accounts. On Core or the free trial, Commander hides the Connections entry from the sidebar and from the Settings page. Two entry points to it remain: Manage Connections in the Accounts page toolbar menu, which appears on every plan, and any link or bookmark you saved while you had Sync. Both redirect you to the Subscription page instead. See Choosing a subscription for how to change plans.