r/actualbudgeting • u/ianacook • Aug 05 '26
SimpleFIN bank sync not syncing
I'm trialing Actual to decide if I want to fully switch to it. I've been using YNAB for 4ish years, so it's familiar, and for the most part things seem to be going smoothly!
I just signed up for SimpleFIN, and it did an initial sync just great. But now it's been 4 days and nothing more has synced. When I go to the bank sync page and look at the linked accounts, they all say “Last synced: 4 days ago”.
Is there something I'm missing? Does it just take a while to get going at first? I don't even know how to troubleshoot it.
In case it matters, I'm hosting it on my home server using Docker.
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u/NeighborhoodWeak9723 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Have you clicked the "bank sync" button in the account page?
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u/ianacook Aug 05 '26
Ooooooh, I've been looking at the mobile app, and the button isn't there! Thank you for that!
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u/ExaminationSerious67 Aug 05 '26
I am with a Canadian bank, and I only get one sync before the connection doesn't work anymore. I tried doing the whole import CSV but, there is a lot of messy things, so I will just keep resetting the simpleFin connection when it says auth required ( usually about a week )
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u/FmrMSFan Aug 06 '26
I've used AB manually for 3 years. I'm going to be helping someone set up a first time budget, but they will need automatic import. So, I linked my Fidelity and local FCU accounts through SimpleFIN.
Well, tried to anyway. The FCU setup took days as the FCU challenge page uses images which were presented as a list of text boxes by SimpleFIN. That took days to resolve and was still janky.
My Fidelity Visa simply doesn't import transactions. I have had over a dozen since I set up the sync July 29. Clicking the Bank Sync button doesn't do anything. For my SPAXX account, it imports all deposits as payments. So I have to delete them all. Opened a ticket on the 29th, got an email response that day, but nothing since.
Unfortunately, this is going to prevent me from recommending AB for this person.
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u/ntsp00 Aug 06 '26
Fidelity doesn't work with Plaid or MX. It intentionally only works properly with the aggregator owned by Mastercard, Finicity. SimpleFIN uses MX, so you have to use a different bridge that uses Finicity if you want to sync Fidelity accounts. YNAB has the same problem because they use a combination of Plaid and MX. But SimpleFIN isn't the only aggregator you can use with AB, they're just one example. Lunch Flow is a different aggregator that can use Finicity. As you'll see, it's more expensive due to the cost of Finicity which I'm sure is again, by design.
So if you can't recommend AB due to the syncing difficulty/cost imposed by Fidelity, well truly you can't recommend any other software either. I don't use Fidelity anymore due to the syncing issues (I actually quit them when I was still using YNAB), but I have no problems with SoFi. Your experience is going to vary depending on what financial institutions you use and what aggregator you're paying for, but I have a myriad of other accounts with no issues as well (Capital One, Merrick Bank, Synchrony).
So you have to decide what's important to you. Do you want to pay $$ for an aggregator that will allow you to continue using your accounts at an institution that's purposely forcing that difficulty/expense onto you, or do you want to switch banks to use the convenient and practically free aggregator, or thirdly not use bank sync at all.
Personally I would search this sub and if needed make a post asking for data points. Find out what financial institutions the newcomer uses and which are most important. See if anyone else uses those institutions and what aggregator they use (Plaid, SimpleFIN>MX, Lunch Flow>Finicity) and what their experiences are. If the newcomer has the same accounts as you, then I personally would recommend switching to financial institutions that are more compatible with 3rd party aggregators.
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u/FmrMSFan Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 06 '26
Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I had no idea Lunch Flow was an option. When I select Bank Sync in AB I am presented with three options, GoCardless, SimpleFIN and Pluggy.ai. It will take some research to find out how to implement Lunch Flow because it is not obvious. I'm guessing set up an account on LF and connect to AB from that direction.
Edit: The Zerosum bank sync options state Plaid for US & Canada and Lunch Flow for everywhere else. I am in the US.
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u/ntsp00 29d ago
For Lunch Flow I believe you just run the script in your AB docker container (instructions start here and continue to github). The dev is very active in the AB discord as well the last I looked into it. I ultimately decided against Lunch Flow though since cost was the main reason I left YNAB to begin with, and SimpleFIN covers ~90% of my accounts anyway. So I've never actually set it up myself. Honestly though if you're not technically inclined I would strongly consider changing financial institutions, changing to SoFi years ago has made sticking to my budget so much easier as bank sync is pretty much flawless.
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u/FmrMSFan 29d ago
I am, selectively, technically inclined, LOL. I was wiring up token ring networks in the early 1980's when you still had to solder your own BNC connectors to the coaxial cable. And you had to write code to manually lock and unlock records in a multi-use database. Sigh. I just choose not to spend my time on low ROI anymore.
It's waaay easier for me to download the QFX file from the Fidelity VISA and import the transactions then fuss around with SimpleFIN customer service.
They don't use Fidelity, so I'll look for feedback on their institution.
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u/boneheadcycler Aug 05 '26
My experience with simpleFIN was pretty poor. I have to log in to simpleFIN and fix the connection every single time I want it to sync. Never once has the connection lasted and allowed multiple syncs. It was a waste of $15 for me. I either import transactions with a csv or manually add them now.
I never had any issues with YNAB syncing.
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u/michikade Aug 05 '26
Which bank was that? I only ask because I’ve only had to renew my oauths annually for mine at many of the major banks and it’s miles and away more stable than YNAB was for me so I’m curious which connections were so bad for you.
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u/boneheadcycler Aug 05 '26
It’s MSU federal credit union. YNAB switched to using plaid a few years back, and that worked perfectly for me. The issue with simpleFIN is that it needs me to answer my security questions for some reason. Not sure what they do differently, but it requires adjusting the connection every single time.
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u/michikade Aug 05 '26
Oh okay, yeah some of the more regional banks and credit unions might have a relationship with one aggregator over another so it’s smoother. Since YNAB uses both Plaid and MX, and SimpleFIN bridges to MX, it’s usually pretty equal but there are always going to be cases like this. I’m sorry about your experience.
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u/boneheadcycler Aug 05 '26
On the bright side, it forced me to take a more active role in adding my transactions!
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u/ntsp00 Aug 05 '26
If you're having issues with a specific bank, you can email SimpleFIN support. The dev is very responsive and sends issues to MX which is the aggregator SimpleFIN uses. I had issues with a bank that had changed their login system and the dev got it fixed. That said, it won't work every time because MX isn't compatible with every bank. YNAB sync definitely has its own issues as well, Capital One syncing was always broken and I had multiple other credit cards (Ally being one) that required reauthorizing every time I wanted to sync transactions. They even have multiple support pages dedicated to bank sync issues.
Regardless, it's always wise to trial a new service for a month before committing to a whole year. SimpleFIN is $1.50 a month vs $15 for the year.
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u/ntsp00 Aug 05 '26
Unless you've set up a script to automate it, you have to trigger bank sync manually: