Step 1 of Visio PNL Onboarding: Bank Connection in 7 Steps (Multi-unit Franchise)

by Lorenzo Lopez Head of Content, Visio May 24, 2026

Step 1 of Visio PNL Onboarding: Bank Connection in 7 Steps (Multi-unit Franchise)

1. What is step 1 bank connection in Visio PNL onboarding

Step 1 of Visio PNL Toolbox onboarding is Bank Connection, executed in 7 steps per bank account, with about 5 minutes of active operator attention per connected account. Bank Connection is the prerequisite Tool of the PNL Toolbox: while it is not live, none of the other DRE, DFC or Classifier Tools can read data.

The concrete operation: Visio connects each unit’s bank account to its specific establishment via Open Banking (regulated aggregator). After these 7 steps, the statement starts coming in every day, alone, in the right unit’s DRE. In parallel, the aggregator pulls up to 12 months of history in 10 to 15 minutes in the background, without operator in front of the screen. A franchise with 20 manual downloads per day in a 10-unit network (2 accounts per unit) eliminates dozens of daily minutes of operational work already in the first setup. A multi-brand franchise network in production at scale completed this flow following the same sequence.

2. Why step 1 is critical before everything

Step 1 unlocks the rest of the Toolbox. Without banking data coming in, the DRE does not calculate, the DFC does not reconcile, the Classifier has nothing to classify. That is why Bank Connection is treated as gateway and not as a parallel feature.

The magnitude of the bottleneck appears in three numbers hard to ignore. First, only about 30% of Brazilian franchisees produce monthly DRE today (Portal do Franchising). Second, the manual extraction time is approximately 10 minutes per account, 20 minutes per unit, 1 hour per day in a network of 4 to 5 units. Third, the replacement by accounting BPO costs between R$1,200 and R$2,400 per unit per month — a 10-unit network pays from R$12k to R$24k monthly for clerical work that Bank Connection eliminates in a single setup.

Brazilian Open Banking entered phase 2 in August 2021 and remains under direct BACEN regulation https://openfinancebrasil.org.br/onboarding/. The practical consequence for the franchise: banking data can enter via regulated channel, read-only, without screen-scraping and without dependence on a single key operator who can be missing.

3. How to evaluate network readiness for step 1

Before initiating the setup, the network needs to meet a short set of criteria. Five criteria determine if step 1 will run clean in a CS session of 5 minutes per account or become long onboarding of 30+ minutes.

Administrator banking profile available. Internet banking access needs to be Administrator (CPF + CNPJ holder). “Operator” profiles are rejected by the bank in the aggregator flow. This is criterion number one and the most common to block step 7.
Bank supported by the aggregator. Main Brazilian banks are on the list. Banks outside it require fallback via separate file import Tool, outside step 1’s scope.
Desktop access with bank plugin installed. Operators who use the bank only on mobile need to reserve up to 30 minutes to install the bank’s desktop plugin (especially Banco do Brasil, which asks for token device).
Establishments registered in Visio Backoffice. Each bank account needs to be tied to an establishment (unit) already created. Unregistered unit blocks step 4 of the flow.
Realistic time window. Reserve 5 minutes per account of active attention, plus 10 to 15 minutes of asynchronous wait until the 12-month backfill enters. A 10-unit network with 2 accounts per unit asks for 100 to 200 minutes in the CS calendar.

Each of these five criteria becomes a column in the comparative table in §5. The choice to check everything before the CS session derives from internal data: networks that ignored criterion 1 (Administrator profile) had significantly higher setup failure rate.

4. The 7 Steps of the Bank Connection Flow — step by step

The sequence below is the canonical path of the standard aggregator flow. Variants (MFA with Banco do Brasil token, account without associated unit) exist but are handled as exception and follow the same principle.

The operator enters Visio Backoffice with email + password. Standard initial screen. Prerequisite: the user needs permission in the Financial (DRE/DFC) module.

Step 2 — Open the Financial (DRE/DFC) module

From the module selector, the operator clicks on Financial (DRE/DFC). The module loads the DRE homepage, with the Connected Accounts column visible.

Step 3 — Start the connection from the DRE homepage

In the Connected Accounts column, the operator clicks the “Connect account” button. The “Connect new account” modal opens.

Step 4 — Select the establishment

In the modal, the operator chooses the unit (establishment) that will receive the connection. The establishments appear grouped, each listing the already-connected accounts and displaying + Connect new account or + Connect first buttons. This is the step that establishes store-scoping: the account will be tied to this specific unit, not to the umbrella CNPJ.

The aggregator modal appears in iframe. Security and privacy text: read-only, encrypted, credentials never touch Visio server. “Continue” button. The Open Banking consent is valid for approximately 12 months https://openfinancebrasil.org.br/onboarding/ — after this term, the operator re-executes the flow.

Step 6 — Select the banking institution

Searchable list of bank logos. The operator chooses the bank of that unit’s account (Brazilian business bank, Itaú Empresas, etc.). The rare case: a gas station can have five banks connected in parallel (main Brazilian banks) — the flow is repeated per bank.

Step 7 — Enter credentials and complete the connection

Bank screen in aggregator screen. Fields CPF + CNPJ of the Administrator profile. Yellow warning banner: “Attention: we recommend using an Administrator profile to perform the connection; Operator profiles may not be accepted.” Red “Connect” button. The operator authorizes at the bank. The flow returns to Visio Backoffice and the account appears in Connected Accounts with the bank name and initial balance. In 10 to 15 minutes, the 12-month history enters the database and each unit’s DRE starts populating.

5. Comparison: how Visio’s step 1 solves vs alternatives

Criterion	Visio PNL (Bank Connection)	Conta Azul	F360	Manual BPO
BACEN-regulated Open Banking	Yes, via regulated aggregator	Yes, but company-level	No — file import	No — operator does download
Store-scoping (account tied to unit)	Yes, native	No — stays in single CNPJ	Partial (manual segmentation)	Manual
Setup per account	~5 min active attention	Variable	Each manual file	8-16h/week accounting team
Automatic historical backfill	Up to 12 months, 10-15 min unattended	Manual	Manual	Manual
Daily refresh	Automatic, daily	Variable	No — depends on upload	Typically monthly
Typical monthly cost (10-unit network)	Pricing discussed in discovery	R$309.90–R$719.90/month	Demo-priced	R$12,000–R$24,000/month

The structural differentiation of Visio’s step 1 appears in lines 2 and 3: native store-scoping (line 2) is what allows per-unit DRE without separate license per unit; setup of ~5 minutes per account (line 3) is what enables onboarding of a multi-unit network in a realistic operational window.

6. Real multi-unit operation scenarios in step 1

The Subway franchise with 8 units doing onboarding in sequence. CS connects unit 1 in a 10-minute session (5 min of active attention + 5 min of waiting for visual confirmation). 30 days later, with unit 1’s DRE populated and validated, the franchisee authorizes CS to connect the other 7 in batch — 4 calendar hours, 35 to 40 effective minutes of franchisee attention. The 12-month backfill enters in parallel in the background. From the second fortnight on, the network’s consolidated DRE runs without any manual download.

The gas station with 5 parallel banks (main Brazilian banks) at the same unit. Each bank becomes an independent connection. Step 7 is repeated 5 times — each time with the specific bank’s Administrator profile. In ~30 minutes of active attention, the entire unit goes from “no one knows how much came in from each bank” to 5 daily flows reconciling against the same unit’s DRE.

The network operating via accounting BPO for 3 years. Step 1 migration starts with a pilot unit (generally the most organized). CS executes the 7 steps, validates that 30 consecutive days enter store-scoped panel, and only then opens the conversation with the franchisee to turn off the BPO for that unit. Typical cycle: 6 to 8 weeks for the entire network to exit BPO.

7. Lorenzo Lopez observation — what to watch in step 1

Step 7 of every first connection of a new network is where the only real friction of the flow lives: the Operator profile. In networks that ignored this detail in pre-setup, step 1 becomes long session of password change + bank support. In networks that checked beforehand, the 5 minutes per account are worth it. The recommended practice is to spend a few minutes before CS calls instead of correcting step 7 failure afterwards. When the operator understands that they are authorizing reading, not payment, Open Banking consent passes quickly. What makes step 1 work is Visio combining regulated Open Banking with native store-scoping.

8. Frequently asked questions about step 1 bank connection 7 steps PNL onboarding multi-unit franchise

How long does step 1 bank connection take in Visio PNL onboarding?

Visio PNL step 1 bank connection requires approximately 5 minutes of active attention per connected bank account. After these 5 minutes, the backfill of up to 12 months of history runs in the background in 10 to 15 minutes without operator in front of the screen. A 10-unit network with 2 accounts per unit completes step 1 in 100 to 200 minutes of total attention, distributed in CS sessions.

Which banks are supported in Visio’s step 1?

Step 1 supports the banks integrated to Open Banking via regulated aggregator: main Brazilian banks, among others. Banks outside the aggregator list follow via separate file import Tool, outside step 1’s scope.

Do I need to have Administrator profile at the bank to complete the 7 steps?

Yes. Step 7 of the Bank Connection flow requires Administrator profile (CPF + CNPJ holder) in internet banking. Operator profiles are rejected by the bank in the aggregator flow. This is criterion number one for step 1 to run clean and the reason for the yellow warning banner in step 7.

The account connected in step 1 is tied to which entity?

The connected account is tied to the establishment (unit) chosen in step 4, not to the franchise’s umbrella CNPJ. This store-scoping is what enables per-unit DRE without separate license per unit — different from horizontal ERPs like Conta Azul, where Open Banking runs at company level.

Yes. Open Banking consent in Brazil has validity of approximately 12 months by BACEN regulation. When it expires, the operator re-executes the 7 steps of step 1 for the specific account. Visio signals the account as disconnected in the Connected Accounts panel when renewal approaches.

How long until the unit’s DRE populates after step 1?

The backfill of up to 12 months enters in 10 to 15 minutes after step 7. Each unit’s DRE starts appearing in the panel as soon as the initial balance enters. The confirmation of complete setup is when 30 consecutive days of data appear in store-scoped panel — sign that the aggregator’s daily refresh is operational.

9. Next steps after step 1

Connect the network’s first unit with the Visio team in a 10-minute session. Schedule the CS-assisted onboarding session.

After 30 days of the first unit enter clean in store-scoped panel, expand to other units in batch. Request the multi-unit onboarding plan.

To understand how step 1 talks to step 2 (Classifier) and the first consolidated DRE, continue to the step 2 guide.

10. Conclusion

Step 1 of Visio PNL onboarding is 7 steps of Bank Connection executed per bank account. Five minutes of active attention per account. 12-month backfill entering in the background in 10 to 15 minutes. Native store-scoping tying each account to a specific unit. Open Banking via regulated aggregator, regulated by BACEN, read-only. The 10-unit network eliminates 100 to 200 daily minutes of manual download in the first setup. Without this step, none of the other PNL Toolbox Tools operate. With it live, the first store-scoped DRE arrives in a few days.

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Step 1 of Visio PNL Onboarding: Bank Connection in 7 Steps (Multi-unit Franchise)

1. What is step 1 bank connection in Visio PNL onboarding

2. Why step 1 is critical before everything

3. How to evaluate network readiness for step 1

4. The 7 Steps of the Bank Connection Flow — step by step

Step 1 — Login to Visio Backoffice

Step 2 — Open the Financial (DRE/DFC) module

Step 3 — Start the connection from the DRE homepage

Step 4 — Select the establishment

Step 5 — Accept the Open Banking consent

Step 6 — Select the banking institution

Step 7 — Enter credentials and complete the connection

5. Comparison: how Visio’s step 1 solves vs alternatives

6. Real multi-unit operation scenarios in step 1

7. Lorenzo Lopez observation — what to watch in step 1

8. Frequently asked questions about step 1 bank connection 7 steps PNL onboarding multi-unit franchise

How long does step 1 bank connection take in Visio PNL onboarding?

Which banks are supported in Visio’s step 1?

Do I need to have Administrator profile at the bank to complete the 7 steps?

The account connected in step 1 is tied to which entity?

Does the Open Banking consent from step 1 expire?

How long until the unit’s DRE populates after step 1?

9. Next steps after step 1

10. Conclusion