# Handling Syncing Issues
#### Jump to:
* [How does bank syncing work?](#how-does-bank-syncing-work)
* [How do I know I have the latest data available from Plaid?](#how-do-i-know-i-have-the-latest-data-available-from-plaid)
* [How can I check the connection status of institution?](#how-can-i-check-the-connection-status-of-an-institution)
* [How does Lunch Money handle bank syncing issues?](#how-does-lunch-money-handle-bank-syncing-issues)
* [How do I create a bank syncing support ticket?](#how-do-i-create-a-bank-syncing-support-ticket)
* [How do I safely disconnect and reconnect my bank connection?](#how-do-i-safely-disconnect-and-reconnect-my-bank-connection)
* [Can I manually import transactions in the meantime?](#can-i-manually-import-transactions-in-the-meantime)
* [How do I open an in-app bank syncing support ticket?](#how-do-i-open-an-in-app-bank-syncing-support-ticket)
***
## How does bank syncing work?
Before we get into troubleshooting syncing issues, it's important to understand exactly how bank syncing in Lunch Money works.
We use a third-party service called Plaid to retrieve bank data from numerous institutions. Plaid can be thought of as the middleman, taking data from institutions in various countries and normalizing the data to a common format. From there, Plaid shares this cleaned-up data with Lunch Money and other personal financial apps.
At times, Plaid works directly with the institution and is able to integrate with them directly. At other times, Plaid employs other methods to retrieve your data without a working relationship with the institution.
**In all cases, Plaid receives data from the institution, and passes it down to Lunch Money.** Being downstream from this process, Lunch Money has very little control or means to fix syncing issues. Such issues can arise from (but not limited to):
* a broken connection between Plaid and your bank, perhaps from a back-end update made by your bank
* limitations imposed by your bank
* issues or downtime experienced by Plaid
## How do I know I have the latest data available from Plaid?
Look for the following timestamps under 'Status':
1. Lunch Money's last successful import - This is the last time we were able to successfully import new data into your Lunch Money account from Plaid.
2. Plaid's last successful fetch - This is the last time Plaid is reporting they received latest updates from your bank.
3. Lunch Money's last successful fetch - This is the last time Lunch Money received latest updates from Plaid.
Hitting the **Trigger Refresh for this Account** button basically resets the last successful fetch timestamp of 19 hours ago to just a few seconds ago. This lets you know that our systems are operational and getting the latest from Plaid, but Plaid doesn't have the latest from your bank.
We don't have a way to tell Plaid to go to your bank since that's dictated by however their integration is done. Being downstream from this syncing process means all we can do is report problems upstream. This is why we tell users to create bank syncing support tickets, since the more of these we open for a particular problem, the more that Plaid will notice user impact and prioritize accordingly!
## How can I check the connection status of an institution?
You can easily check the connection status of any institution in our app by using the **/status** command on Discord. To join the Discord server, [click here](http://lunchmoney.app/discord).
The **/status** command will call up our faithful Lenny to show you how many successful or relinked connections have occurred with that institution in the last 30 days. This can help you determine whether an issue you are experiencing is specific to your account or if it’s a more widespread problem.
This can also give you an idea of which institutions are currently supported within Lunch Money.
To try it out, head over to [Discord ](https://lunchmoney.app/discord)and type **/status** + **institution name** in the message bar anywhere on discord (eg. in the "General" channel):
{% hint style="info" %}
If another institution with a similar name exists, and you end up receiving the status for a different institution than intended, check the small text at the bottom. Sometimes Lenny will suggest other similar institutions and their institution numbers, eg. "TD Canada Trust - WebBroker (ins\_133003)". You can then repeat the /status command with the specific institution number, eg. "/status ins\_133003"
{% endhint %}
## How does Lunch Money handle bank syncing issues?
Unfortunately, the only thing we can do, being downstream from this process between your bank and Plaid, is bringing up syncing issues to Plaid to aid them in prioritizing issues based on user impact.
When you create a bank syncing support ticket, we relay the same information to Plaid. While an immediate or even short-term solution may not always be available, it's important to make your voice heard that this is an issue that is affecting you.
Our awesome customer support reps will reach out directly to Plaid on your behalf and keep you posted whenever Plaid responds.
## How do I create a bank syncing support ticket?
**If you have already connected the account in question:**
1. Go to the [Accounts](https://my.lunchmoney.app/accounts) page and click on the account in question
2. Scroll down to where it says "I need help with this account"
**If you have not been able to connect the account in question:**
1. Create a general bank syncing support ticket by clicking on 'Help' at the top right corner of the app
2. Select 'Open bank syncing support ticket'
3. Choose 'I am having trouble with a new connection'.
## How do I safely disconnect and reconnect my bank connection?
We sometimes find that a new bank connection can get fresh data while an existing connection stays stuck. You may find it helpful to attempt to create a new connection to your bank. On the last step of the connection process, you’ll have the option to merge the newly synced accounts with your existing ones, keeping everything consolidated and preventing duplicate transactions.
**Here's how:**
1. Go to the [Accounts page](https://my.lunchmoney.app/accounts) and click on 'Add account'
2. In the right-side panel, click on "*Auto-import from my bank*" to go through the connection process
3. If the connection was successful, you will now see the '*Setup Account*' dialog for each account in the connection. This is where you will let Lunch Money know that you wish to merge each newly connected account with the existing one.\
\
In the dialog for each account, enable the toggle for "*Yes, I am merging this with an existing account*", and then select the matching account in the drop-down menu:
{% hint style="info" %}
The selected account will have all their transactions, balance history and other properties merged into this newly synced account before being removed. The newly synced account will have Import Start Date automatically set based on the merged account's last imported transactions, to prevent duplicates.
{% endhint %}
**If you're still missing transactions or seeing an incorrect balance**, please [create a bank syncing ticket](#how-do-i-create-a-bank-syncing-support-ticket) so that we can take a look and investigate!
## Can I manually import transactions in the meantime?
If your synced bank account has an active connection but new transactions stopped syncing, it is best to [create a bank syncing ticket](#how-do-i-create-a-bank-syncing-support-ticket) first to understand the cause of the issue. If you are waiting on a resolution or update from Plaid and wish to manually import new transactions in the meantime, you can follow the steps below:
1. [Download a CSV file](/guides/import-via-csv.md#how-do-i-download-my-transactions) with the missing transactions from your bank (eg. bank statement).
2. On the [Accounts](https://my.lunchmoney.app/accounts) page, click into the account to open the '*Edit Account*' panel, and under '*Advanced Settings*', set the '**Earliest import date**' to that of the last transaction in the file (this is to prevent duplicate transactions when automatic syncing resumes). Also under 'Advanced Settings', enable "**Allow modifications to transactions**".
3. Go to the [Transactions ](https://my.lunchmoney.app/transactions/)page, and click on "Import" (), and then choose "Upload a new CSV". Select the relevant synced bank account from the dropdown menu, click to choose the file from your computer, and click on "Upload" to go through the CSV upload process.
For a complete step-by-step guide of the CSV upload process, [click here](/guides/import-via-csv.md#step-1-upload-csv).
## How do I open an in-app bank syncing support ticket?
For bank syncing issues, we highly recommend [creating a bank syncing support ticket directly in the app](https://my.lunchmoney.app/settings?sync_support=true). This helps us quickly gather all the details we need to know in order to investigate the issue.
Open a new bank syncing support ticket ➜
#### **If you have already connected the account in question:**
1. Go to the [Accounts page](https://my.lunchmoney.app/accounts)
2. Click on the account in question to open the 'Edit Account' panel
3. Scroll down and click on 'I need help with this account':
4. Select the relevant issue and fill in the requested information to submit the ticket:
#### If you have not been able to connect the account in question:
1. Create a general bank syncing support ticket by clicking on 'Help' at the top right corner of the app:
2. Select 'Open bank syncing support ticket'
3. Choose 'I am having trouble with a new connection'
4. Select the associated recent connection attempt from the listed options
{% hint style="info" %}
If the recent connection attempt doesn't appear in the list, please attempt creating the connection again before submitting the ticket. Still having trouble? Please open the ticket using the 'Submit a bug or feedback' option instead.
{% endhint %}
Once you've submitted the ticket, our awesome customer support reps will reach out directly to Plaid on your behalf and get in touch with you from there! :slight\_smile:
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