Bank overview:
How do I link my bank with Billit?
Bank overview:
How do I link my bank with Billit?
One of the most important Billit features is the bank connection. Once this is set up, Billit checks whether your sales or purchase invoices are paid, and sends automatic reminders. The bank connection also gives you insight into your company’s financial situation via the dashboard. You link your bank by importing digital bank transactions into Billit, and you can do this in several ways: digitally or via CODA files.
Information and manuals:
Information and manuals:
Automatic payment check:
Once you have linked your bank accounts and your bank transactions are automatically imported in Billit, Billit tries to match transactions with invoices. Ensuring you always have a handy overview of the payment status of your incoming and outgoing invoices and the number of days before invoices become past due.
Automatic reminders:
Now that Billit knows the payment status of your invoices, you can automatically send reminders to customers whose invoices are almost past due and receive reminders for invoices that need to be paid urgently.
Overview of your financials on your dashboard:
Check your company’s financial status at a glance on the dashboard. You can see the current balance of your linked bank accounts, incoming and outgoing invoices that are past due and your company’s income and expenditure flows. Need more insights? Generate reports yourself or request all kinds of other financial data, such as the turnover per customer based on the financial data in Billit.
Paying and getting paid faster:
Paying invoices yourself is easier than ever thanks to the automatically generated payment files that you can import in your bank software. This also avoids errors when copying payment data. Businesses with a KBC or ING account have an extra advantage. Thanks to the link between Billit and KBC Touch, KBC account holders can now view and pay any invoices past due in KBC Touch. ING Business'Bank account holders can see Billit-generated payment files automatically in their ING banking environment.
By linking the bank, we mean importing financial data into Billit. This financial data includes info on financial transactions (counterparty, communication, amount, etc.) and account balances. Once this information has been uploaded in Billit, Billit can automatically start matching incoming and outgoing payments with sales and purchase invoices. This way, you will always know when an invoice has been or needs to be paid, and Billit can start sending reminders automatically. Thanks to this matching and the imported financial data, Billit can give you a clear overview of your company’s cash flow and financial situation.
Once the financial data from your bank accounts has been uploaded in Billit, Billit can automatically start matching incoming and outgoing payments with sales and purchase invoices. This way, you will always know when an invoice has been or needs to be paid, and Billit can start sending reminders automatically. Thanks to this matching and the imported financial data, you will have a clear overview of your company’s cash flow and financial situation.
The benefits are clear:
- You will save time because you no longer need to check whether an invoice has been paid.
- You will get paid faster and will be less likely to pay invoices late yourself because you will receive reminders when an invoice’s due date approaches.
- Fewer human errors will be made when processing and matching financial transactions and documents.
- You will have a centralised overview of your company’s financial situation including account balances, cash flow and transactions.
- Your accountant should also be able to link your financial transactions to your financial documents. During an audit, the tax authorities will also check the payments. By making your financial info available to them digitally, they can also save time when checking and preparing your accounts.
Billit supports two methods for linking your bank or importing your financial data into Billit.
Method 1: Digitally - Since 2019, the PSD2 directive (2nd Payment Services Directive) has required European banks to make account information available digitally via so-called API (Application Programming Interface) connections. With this simple system, you give an authorised service provider permission to retrieve your financial transactions from your bank. This service provider can then start importing your financial data into various software packages, such as Billit. This data is imported in (near) real time so you always have up-to-date information. The financial data you receive via a digital link like this cannot be forwarded to your accountant along with your documents.
- Method 2: Via CODA files -Another method for importing your financial data into Billit is via CODA files. CODA is a Belgian banking standard for exchanging digital bank statements. Therefore, a CODA file is simply a digital version of the former paper bank statements. You can request CODA files from your bank or import them automatically via your bank or service provider (although most banks require you to pay for this). In contrast to a fully digital banking link, the info will not be sent in real time but only once a day. However, many accountants are still using CODA files rather than the information from fully digital banking links because they contain slightly more information, making them easier to use. When you export your documents, Billit can also export your CODA files to your accountant, depending on how you import them into Billit. You should always ask your accountant if they also want to receive CODA files in your file. Note that you can only attach CODA files if you are linked via Billbank.
| Digital (PSD2) | CODA | |||||
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| Banks | All | View the list | Other banks |
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| How soon operational | Immediately | Immediately | After your bank processes the mandate (+/- 5 days)** |
After your bank processes the mandate (+/- 2 days)** |
After your bank processes the mandate (+/- 5 days)** |
After 1 or 2 business days |
| Past data available? |  |
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| Synchronisation | (Near) real time | (Near) real time | Daily | Daily | Daily | Daily |
| Cost | Free* | Ponto rates | Free* | Free* | Free* | CodaBox rates |
| Send to your accountant when exporting documents (via Billsync) | |
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| Extras | Link to KBC Touch to view and pay invoices from KBC Touch | Import payment files automatically into ING Self Bank | ||||
| Where to link? | My company -> bank | Settings -> integrations | My company -> bank | My company -> bank | My company -> bank | Settings -> integrations |
(*): Please note: Your bank may charge you in combination with certain bank subscriptions. Contact your bank manager for further information. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we are entitled to adjust prices at any time to compensate, where necessary, an increase in our own costs, including, but not limited to: (i) a rise in prices for services necessary to deliver the services and a rise in the prices from our own suppliers for services we have to deliver to clients, including an increase in staffing costs; (ii) a change in the type, design or other specifications relating to the services; (iii) volume deficits and (iv) unforeseen occurrences beyond our reasonable control that hinder our performance of the agreement.
(**): We have noticed that some banks can take 7 business days or more to process the many Billbank requests.
In this overview, you will find all the banks that can link with Billit, and the ways in which this can be done. If your bank isn’t included, you can check the full list by link method below.
| Bank | Digital linking (free) | Digital linking via Ponto | CODA link via Billbank (free) |
CODA link via CodaBox |
Paying with a payment file | Import/export CODA files manually via CSV/Excel | Import/export CODA files manually |
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| AXA | |
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| Belfius | |
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| BeoBank | |
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| BNP Paribas Fortis | |
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| Bpost Bank | |
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| CBC | |
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via KBC/CBC | |
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| CPH | |
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| Crelan | |
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| Europabank | |
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| ING | |
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via ING | |
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| KBC | |
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via KBC/CBC | |
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| Banca Monte Paschi | |
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| Nagelmaeckers | |
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| Rabobank | |
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| Recordbank | |
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| Societe General | |
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| Triodos Bank | |
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| VDK Bank | |
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| Keytrade | |
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| ... | Full list | Full list | N/A | Full list | N/A | N/A | N/A |
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Free digital linkingStep 1: Enter your bank account number
Open your company’s profile by clicking ‘My company’ in Billit at the top left of your screen. Then in your company profile, click on the ‘Bank’ tab and click ‘Add’ to add an account number. Don’t forget to click ‘Add’ after entering your bank account number.
Step 2: Link to your bank
In the ‘Digital’ column, click ‘Connect’ to link your bank account digitally (PSD2). You will be redirected to your own banking environment where you can authorise the link.
You can also link your bank digitally via Ponto.
Step 1: Create a Ponto account
To link your bank accounts with Billit using Ponto, you first need to create a Ponto account and add the bank accounts that you want to link to your Ponto account.
Don’t have a Ponto account yet?
Click here to go to the Ponto website. Click 'Get Started' to register and create an account with Ponto. You will be asked to provide your business details, contact details, and bank account numbers. During the registration process, you will receive a verification e-mail. Sometimes this e-mail may end up in your spam folder. Please check your spam folder if you did not receive the verification e-mail. You don’t pay any set-up fees for a Ponto account as you do with CodaBox, only a monthly subscription fee. Check the Ponto website for the current rates.
Step 2: Create the link between Billit and Ponto
2: In Billit, go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Integrations’. Click on the Ponto tile and select ‘Connect' on the following page.
Step 3: Activate your accounts in Ponto
You will now be redirected to the Ponto website. Log in with your Ponto account credentials and activate the bank accounts to which you want to give Billit access.
Your bank accounts are now linked with Billit via Ponto. You can now:
See an overview of your accounts on your dashboard.
- See whether a sales or purchase invoice has been paid.
- View all your bank account transactions under the 'Bank’ tab.
Q: I get the following error message: “There is a problem with the connection between your account and Ponto. Try to connect again via Settings > Integrations > Ponto or contact Ponto support on support@ibanity.com.” What can I do?
A: This means that the link between Billit and Ponto is broken. You can re-establish the link by clicking on the ‘Automate’ submenu in the ‘Bank’ menu. Then click ‘Configure’ in the Ponto box.
Q: I get the following error message: “You have activated Ponto but you did not activate any bank accounts in Ponto. Therefore, automatic payment check is not possible.” What can I do?
A: This means that you are connected to Ponto but have not given Billit access to the data of your accounts in your Ponto account. You can do this by logging into Ponto with your Ponto account and turning on the switches next to the accounts to which you want to give Billit access.
Q: I get the following error message: “Ponto does not currently have access to some accounts. As a result, the transactions of that account are no longer synchronised. Sign in to Ponto to re-authenticate your bank accounts.” What can I do?
A: For security reasons, you will need to re-authenticate your accounts with your card reader in your Ponto account every x months (depending on your bank). Sign in to Ponto with your Ponto account to re-authenticate your bank accounts.
Import your bank transactions into Billit using CODA files via Billbank free of charge. If you have a KBC or ING bank account, choose the specific manual for those banks. For all other banks, you can follow the regular Billbank manual.
Step 1: Enter your bank account number
Open your company’s profile by clicking ‘My company’ in Billit at the top left of your screen. Then in your company profile, click on the ‘Bank’ tab and click ‘Add’ to add an account number. Don’t forget to click ‘Add’ after entering your bank account number.
Step 2: Request the mandate that Billit will use to request digital bank transactions from your bank.
In the ‘CODA’ column, click ‘Connect’. You will be redirected to Connective. There, you can digitally sign the mandate. Did you open the link but not immediately sign the mandate? If so, the message ‘Sign document’ will appear next to your bank account number. When you click on this, you will be redirected to the Connective website again to sign the document.
Step 3: Verify your bank account
Once you have signed the mandate, a window opens asking you to verify your bank account. You do this by transferring €0.01, using the unique code you receive in the verification window as the reference. Until your bank account is verified, the message ‘Mandate requested, your bank account is not yet linked’ appears next to your bank account number. Clicking on this message will display the verification window showing the unique code you need to use to verify your account. Once your bank account is verified, a green tick will appear next to your bank account number. This means that the account has been successfully linked and your digital bank transactions will be automatically imported into Billit as soon as we receive them from your bank(s).
Q: I want to link a savings account to Billit but I can't verify it because I can't make transfers from this account.
A: In this case, please contact support@billit.be to have our back office complete the verification. In the meantime, you can provide us with a RIB (bank identity certificate), which you can obtain from your bank. This certificate must contain at least the following details:
- Account number and BIC/SWIFT code
- Surname, first name and address of the account holder
- Date on which the account was opened
- Date on which the certificate was printed
- An authentication code (to demonstrate authenticity of the certificate)
Q: I verified a bank account but the link isn't yet active. What do I do now?
A: As soon as your bank(s) share(s) digital bank statements with Billit via the verified link, these details will be visible in the Bank menu and the link will become active. The tick in the company settings only turns green once the first CODA file is received. Depending on the time your bank takes to process your request, it may be a while before this happens. If this takes longer than 7 days, we recommend you contact your bank.
Please note: this page is about linking a KBC bank account to Billit. If you are looking for information on the integration that allows you to view and pay invoices in KBC Touch, clickhere. Have you already set up the link to view and pay your invoices in KBC Touch? Then you'll have also activated the link to import your bank transactions.
Step 1: Enter your bank account number
Open your company’s profile by clicking ‘My company’ in Billit at the top left of your screen. Then in your company profile, click on the ‘Bank’ tab and click ‘Add’ to add an account number. Don’t forget to click ‘Add’ after entering your bank account number.
Step 2: Verify your bank account
In the ‘CODA’ column, click ‘Connect to KBC’ to link your bank account via Billbank/KBC. A pop-up will be displayed asking you to transfer €0.01 to Billit, with a unique code as a reference. This verification is part of a dual check (in combination with the next step) so we can be sure that you yourself have consented to sending bank transactions to Billit, and no one else can access your bank transactions. Make sure you make the payment from the account you want to verify.
Step 3: Give permission in KBC Touch to share your bank transactions with Billit.
1: Log in to KBC Touch and click on your name at the top right of your screen to show your profile page. Once you are on your profile page, click on ‘Settings’.
2: On the settings tab, click on ‘Connect with’.
3: Select the account(s) you want to link, and choose Billit in the drop-down menu next to ‘Connect with’. Then click ‘connect’ at the bottom.
Did you already give permission in KBC Touch to send CODA files to Billit (step 3) before you verified your KBC account in Billit? Then a message asking you to verify your account will appear at the top of the screen when you open Billit. Click on ‘solve’ to generate the unique code and verify your bank account by transferring €0.01 to Billit. (see step 2)
When the link is complete, the first CODA files will be imported in Billit within 24 hours after the next activity on the account.
The advantage of the CODA link with ING for ING Business'Bank accounts is that as well as your bank transactions being automatically imported, the payment files generated in Billit will also appear automatically in your ING banking environment. You can find more information about payment options in Billithere. You will not need an ING Business'Bank Premium subscription to import your bank transactions. As Billit and ING have an agreement, you can also import digital transactions into Billit using a regular ING Business'Bank account.
Step 1: Enter your bank account number
Open your company’s profile by clicking ‘My company’ in Billit at the top left of your screen. Then in your company profile, click on the ‘Bank’ tab and click ‘Add’ to add an account number. Don’t forget to click ‘Add after entering your bank account number.
Step 2: Request the mandate that Billit will use to request digital bank transactions from ING.
In the ‘CODA’ column, click ‘Connect’ to link your bank account via Billbank/ING. When you click on ‘Connect’ you will be redirected to Connective. There, you can digitally sign the mandate that Billit will use to retrieve your transactions. Did you open the link but not immediately sign the mandate? If so, the message ‘Sign document’ will appear next to your bank account number. When you click on this, you will be redirected to the Connective website again to sign the document.
Step 2: Verify your bank account
Once you have signed the mandate, a window opens asking you to verify your bank account. You do this by transferring €0.01, using the unique code you receive in the verification window as the reference. Until your bank account is verified, the message ‘Mandate requested, your bank account is not yet linked’ is shown next to your bank account number. Clicking on this message will display the verification window showing the unique code you need to use to verify your account. Once your bank account is verified, a green tick will appear next to your bank account number. This means that the account has been successfully linked and your digital bank transactions will be automatically imported into Billit every morning as soon as we receive them from ING. After making this link, you can also import the payment files generated by Billit directly into your online ING banking environment.
Q: I want to link a savings account to Billit but I can't verify it because I can't make transfers from this account.
A: In this case, please contact support@billit.be to have our back office complete the verification. In the meantime, you can provide us with a RIB (bank identity certificate), which you can obtain from your bank. This certificate must contain at least the following details:
- Account number and BIC/SWIFT code
- Surname, first name and address of the account holder
- Date on which the account was opened
- Date on which the certificate was printed
- An authentication code (to demonstrate authenticity of the certificate)
Q: I verified a bank account but the link isn't yet active. What do I do now?
A: As soon as your bank(s) share(s) digital bank statements with Billit via the verified link, these details will be visible in the Bank menu and the link will become active. The tick in the company settings only turns green once the first CODA file is received. Depending on the time your bank takes to process your request, it may be a while before this happens. If this takes longer than 7 days, we recommend you contact your bank.
Q: Do I need to have a Business'Bank Premium or Business'Bank subscription?
A: You can use the ING Business’Bank subscription with Billit. Premium is not needed because Billit and ING have an agreement allowing Billit users to use Premium functions without paying the extra €8 a month.
CodaBox is a service for accountants (and businesses) that makes your bank statements available online (digital bank statements are also called CODA files, hence the name CodaBox). To receive your digital bank statements you'll first have to give CodaBox a mandate. If you have a personal account with CodaBox you'll need to contact them directly. However, many accountants already have a mandate from their clients to request these digital bank statements. Make sure to check with your accountant if this is the case for your company. If not, you can ask your accountant to arrange this for you or create a CodaBox account yourself. A CodaBox account requires a one-time set-up cost. After that, you pay a fixed monthly fee to CodaBox to continue receiving your digital bank statements.
Have you arranged the mandate with your accountant? Then you can request a token to import your CODA files in Billit.
First, click the ‘Settings’ menu and then the ‘Integrations’ submenu. Next, click the CodaBox tile and ‘Request token’. If the mandate has been signed with your accountant, and your e-mail address and bank account numbers are recognised by CodaBox, you'll get an e-mail with a token that you can enter in the appropriate field. Accept the general terms and conditions and click ‘Save’ to import your bank statements to Billit via CodaBox. Didn't receive a token? Contact your accountant to arrange the mandate for CodaBox.
Q: I clicked the ‘Request token’ button but I received an e-mail saying that my bank account is not recognised by CodaBox.
A: Contact your accountant to have your bank account added to CodaBox.
Q: I clicked the ‘Request token’ button but I didn’t receive an e-mail.
A: Please contact support@codabox.com.
Q: I entered a CodaBox token but it wasn’t accepted.
A: You probably have a more recent token in your inbox, which means this token is no longer valid. Use the new token or contact support@codabox.com.
Q: In the ‘Bank’ menu, the link with the bank has been activated but I am not receiving any transactions
A: If you notice that there are still no bank transactions visible after a few days, we advise you to contact your accountant or CodaBox. Your mandate may not yet have arrived at the bank or CodaBox may not yet have received any bank transactions.
Q: I'm automatically receiving transactions in the Bank menu but my invoices aren't automatically verified
A: The structured remittance and other invoice details probably didn't match. Contact support@billit.be. To get help more quickly, provide the invoice number and the bank transaction that should be linked.
Q: How do I add several accounts to the automatic payment check via CodaBox?
A: To receive CODA files from several accounts in Billit, they all need to be registered with CodaBox. Contact your accountant to have them added to your CodaBox account.
Q: I have a new accountant. What do I do now?
A: When you change accountant you'll need to request a new token to re-connect your bank via CodaBox. First check if your new accountant has an account with CodaBox with mandates for all their files and, if necessary, provide them with a mandate to link your bank accounts, or create an account with CodaBox yourself.
Q: I use the same VAT number for several files, and I have also linked several accounts. How can I see the CODA files for all my accounts in each file?
A: First, you'll need to make the link with CodaBox in one of your files. Then you'll need to add all your accounts per file. Billit will then have to manually verify that your accounts may be shown in each file. Please contact support for assistance with this. You'll then need to specify which IBAN number may be linked with which file.
Q: I use the same VAT number for several files, and I have also linked several accounts. However, I don’t want to see all accounts in one of my files. How do I go about this?
A: You will need to turn off the ‘sync’ function for each account number. Go to your profile in your file and click on the ‘Bank’ tab. Turn off the ‘sync’ function for any bank account number that you don’t want to link. Confirm with the ‘Save’ button.
Almost all banks offer their customers the option of exporting (or downloading) and saving all transactions for a given period in a CSV or CODA file in their internet banking. You can also upload this file to Billit. We recommend agreeing with your accountant who will upload these files to Billit. If you use a CSV file, you must use the right Billit layout. Download an example here. Open the CSV file in Excel and copy your bank transactions, then paste them into the table in the sample file. Do not make any changes to the table’s structure. You can then upload the edited CSV file by clicking Import under the Bank menu.
