If your bookkeeper asks for access to your bank account, it is worth knowing exactly what they are asking for. View-only access lets them see transaction history, statements and check images. It does not let them move money, pay bills, approve transfers or add payees.
The reason it helps is timing. Your accountant sees transactions directly instead of waiting on statements you forward, so reconciliation can start the same day activity posts rather than days or weeks later. It also means someone has enough visibility into cash flow to flag a problem while you can still act on it, and it makes an audit or a lender request much easier to answer.
Most banks and business banking platforms support some version of this through the online portal, usually under a heading like Manage Users, Delegate Access or Additional Users. The exact wording varies by institution. It generally takes ten to fifteen minutes per account, and you can change or remove the permission whenever you want.
This is standard practice on bookkeeping, outsourced controller and CFO advisory engagements. It is not an unusual request. The full walkthrough is on the Fusion CPA blog, including a permission-by-permission breakdown of what view-only does and does not allow, and what to do if your bank does not offer a clear view-only option. Read the full article on the Fusion CPA blog