[Feature Request] Connect to bank API to retrieve transactions #21
Description
I was able to complete my 2024 tax return with your app, and I have to say: it’s awesome. Quickbooks Online has become so slow this year that it’s basically unusable, which is how I came across your application.
Out of everything I used to do with QBO, there’s only one major thing missing from your app: the ability to connect directly to my bank account to import debit and credit card transactions. That feature was a real game-changer in Quickbooks, and it’s the main reason I initially chose their platform.
Believe it or not, their product has enshitified so much that I was willing to sacrifice that feature in favor of using your app. That says a lot.
However, relying solely on invoice scanning comes with some challenges:
Currency conversion issues
For receipts in foreign currencies, your app applies the exchange rate from the invoice date, but it doesn’t account for bank transaction fees. This creates discrepancies between TaxHacker data and actual bank records, making it harder to reconcile both. I did it for this year but it felt more like a hack than a feaure.
A better system would be to scan invoices and match them automatically to transactions (same date and closest amount) from the imported bank data. These amounts are “official” and would align perfectly with the amounts on bank statements, which is critical if you're ever audited and need to provide a 7-year justification trail. A CSV with mismatched dates or amounts will get rejected by tax authorities.
Data privacy
If a user isn't running a local LLM, they’re sending private data to a public LLM which isn’t ideal. If bank transactions were imported via API, and if the app added a bulk editing feature, users could quickly match, say, 12 months of internet invoices with 12 corresponding transactions without sending anything to the LLM for those simple matches.
AI inconsistency
The AI sometimes names transactions inconsistently, which made the Transactions page messy at first. I ended up renaming them manually, which wasn't too time-consuming but highlights that consistency matters. Matching imported bank transaction names would not only improve clarity but could reduce token usage (e.g., no need for currency conversion).
To solve all of this, I’d love to see integration with Plaid. I've heard good things about its global support and competitive pricing. Please don’t lock this behind GoCardless which doesn't support non-EU/UK banks. I’m in Canada, and that would be a dealbreaker.
It would also be great to gather community input before committing to a provider that might not work for a majority of users.
This feature would take your app to the next level making it a true replacement from all the crap out there while focusing on what you already do best: tax returns. I appreciate that you're not trying to do everything, like invoicing since great self-hosted options already exist. Focusing on tax simplification for freelancers is a winning strategy. Your app already saves me a ton of time and effort. For example, importing my CSV into Google Sheets and generating a dynamic table gave me full control of my data with category totals in under a minute.
So yeah, the only major feature missing for me is bank API integration to get on par with data accuracy and simplify the whole process.
You could monetize this feature in the upcoming Cloud Edition I saw on taxhacker.app
And if you need a tester for the next release, I’d be happy to help. Feel free to reach out to me on Signal or Discord!