The Bank Sync Interface Seems Fragile These Days
So back in the day of the thick app, YNAB encouraged users to manually record their transactions, saying that it kept us in the loop and more aware of our spending habits.
Then the web client appeared and YNAB pivoted and said that while manual transaction recording is still a valid approach, in the long run, we would be more successful by automatically importing transactions from our banks. The idea is that users probably suffer burn out when they fall behind on recording transactions, etc. I made the adjustment and definitely agree that automatically importing transactions is the way to go.
This approach worked fine for a long time, but it feels like in the past six months, the interface between banks and our YNAB accounts has become very fragile. I don't even mind if we occasionally have to go through the setup again especially knowing the bank probably made an API change or something along those lines, but the waiting up to 24 hours thing is super frustrating, especially when it happens several days in a row. In the last month or two, we went through a phase where you couldn't sync with your banks for several days in a row.
Today is the third day in a row where I have had to do the setup dance again.
What is going on? Is there a plan to make the sync interface more stable like it used to be?
Thanks,
Jerry
Banks: PNC
Browser: Chrome Version 81.0.4044.129 (Official Build) (64-bit)
OS: macOS
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gobuzzgo said:
Then the web client appeared and YNAB pivoted and said that while manual transaction recording is still a valid approach, in the long run, we would be more successful by automatically importing transactions from our banks. The idea is that users probably suffer burn out when they fall behind on recording transactions, etc. I made the adjustment and definitely agree that automatically importing transactions is the way to go.I don't recall ynab ever taking this stance. I think they have consistently said manual input is better and import is to ease reconciliation and catch missed transactions. I also think there are a lot of people that would argue that it was stable up until the last 6 months.
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YNAB has never taken the stance that direct import should be anything other than a backup. Manual entry has always been the recommended best practice. And even then file based import works great in place of direct.
Have you contacted support directly? Because that's the only way you can get help with something like this.
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Hey Jerry gobuzzgo ! I sent an email about getting your connections set up through a newer import partner from your previous forum post. Going to resend it, because that should help! For any folks having trouble, you can report a Bank Importing Issue here.
There is no question that we're fans of entering transactions. Nothing has changed there! 😉 It leads to heightened awareness and prioritization over your spending and saving decisions, and that's key. The combination of active entry and automation with Direct Import can be powerful to keep up in this 21st century world. Life happens, right?
That said, improving that experience (and your's with YNAB) is something we'll continue to work on. Our CPO Todd addressed questions around importing, and our plans there. I hope you'll give it a read!
