By Manvinder Sidhu, Co-founder, Ezyiah
Short answer: When Xero transactions stop syncing, first check Xero's status page and the account's status updates to see whether the problem is a known disruption at your bank. If it is, wait for the feed to recover rather than reconnecting. If it isn't, refresh or reconnect the feed using Xero's bank connection troubleshooting steps. If BAS is due before the feed recovers, import a bank statement for a clearly defined date range, record exactly what you imported, and check for duplicates once the feed catches up.
The outage itself rarely damages the numbers. The workaround does. Most BAS problems after a feed outage come from a rushed CSV import that overlaps with the feed when it reconnects, or that brings dates and descriptions in differently from the feed.
Why do Xero bank feeds stop syncing?
A bank feed is a chain rather than one system. Transactions travel from the bank, through the bank's or a data provider's connection, into Xero. A change or outage at any point can pause the feed. Xero explains how feeds work and what can interrupt them in About bank feeds. Common causes are:
- a disruption at the bank or the connection provider, which usually appears on the status page
- an expired or revoked authorisation, which often needs the person who set up the feed to reconnect it
- a change to the account, such as a new account number or a switched bank
Disruptions affect every bank from time to time, so don't build your workflow around one bank being more reliable than another. Build it so that a pause in any feed doesn't turn into a BAS error.
Should you wait for the feed to recover or import a CSV?
It depends on how close you are to the deadline. If the BAS isn't due for weeks and the status page shows a known disruption, waiting is usually the cleanest option, because the feed will backfill the missing days. Waiting becomes risky when the due date is close, because the gap compresses your review time into the final days. The ATO due dates for lodging and paying your BAS don't move because a feed is down.
If you do import a statement, treat it as a controlled step, not a patch:
- Check the last date the feed brought in, and import only the days after it.
- Write down the account, the date range and the file you imported.
- Before you reconcile, check that the dates came in correctly (DD/MM/YYYY), that debits and credits weren't combined into one column, and that descriptions weren't cut short.
- When the feed reconnects, compare its first days against your import before you reconcile anything new.
What goes wrong with CSV imports during an outage?
CSV files strip out the structure a live feed provides, and nothing warns you when that happens. The errors that turn up most often are:
- dates read in US format, which moves transactions into the wrong period
- debit and credit values collapsed into one column, which flips signs
- shortened descriptions that lose the detail you code from
- duplicates when the feed reconnects and backfills days you already imported
- GST treatment lost, so each line has to be recoded by hand
None of these stop reconciliation from balancing. A duplicate that's matched still reconciles, and a transaction with the wrong GST code still matches the bank. They show up later, in the BAS. If the feed has created duplicates, Xero explains how to remove imported statement lines in Delete a bank statement. Our guide to duplicate bank transactions after a CSV import covers which copy to keep.
Why do errors from an outage survive after the feed comes back?
Once imported transactions are reconciled and blended with feed data, they look like any other history. By BAS time nobody remembers which lines came from a file, which is why reviews run long after a disruption even when every total reconciles. The fix is to keep a record of what was imported and when, and to check the overlap window as soon as the feed recovers. Don't wait until the BAS review.
How Ezyiah handles bank feed gaps
Ezyiah is an AI bookkeeper with its own ledger, not an add-on to another ledger. It pulls live bank feeds daily, and when a feed has a gap you can upload CSV or PDF bank statements (up to five at once) into the same books. Ezyiah reconciles the transactions with AI, and Scan Similar Transactions lets you fix a pattern across the whole file in one go. The Ezyiah Assistant panel keeps an activity trail, so you can see what changed and when. Your books, BAS and reports build from the same ledger, and your accountant reviews and approves the BAS before it's lodged.
If you're weighing up a switch, see how Ezyiah compares with Xero, or read how it works for accounting firms and business owners.
Frequently asked questions
How long do Xero bank feeds take to recover after an outage?
It varies by bank and by cause. Check status.xero.com and the account's status updates in Xero for the current position. Once a feed recovers, it normally backfills the missing transactions, so you don't need to re-enter them.
Should I disconnect and reconnect a Xero bank feed that has stopped?
Only if the problem isn't a known disruption. During a listed disruption, reconnecting won't help and can complicate the backfill. Otherwise, follow Xero's troubleshooting steps.
Will a CSV import create duplicates when the feed comes back?
It can, if the import and the backfill cover the same days. Import only the dates after the feed's last transaction, and compare the first days of the recovered feed against your import before you reconcile.
Does a bank feed outage change my BAS due date?
No. The ATO due dates still apply. See our BAS due dates guide for the 2026–27 dates and agent concessions.
