Reconcile Accounts (Cashbook Reconciliation)

Reconciliation is the month-end process of checking your Cashbook figures against your bank statements to ensure they match. 

During reconciliation, you can add monthly bank fees to the Cashbook and correct any data errors.

Reconciliation also gives you a system for finding charges that you need to contact your bank for a correction or dispute.

All accounts must be reconciled for the months in a BAS period before the BAS process can be started.

Cashbook Reconciliation

Before you start, make sure all of the month’s data is entered into your Cashbook:

• Transactions (payments to suppliers including payments by cheque, EFT, credit or auto-debit).
• Wages with PAYG Withholdings.
• Cash transfers (between your accounts).
• Invoices (goods you sold to buyers).
• Recipient Created Tax Invoices (farm products you sold where the supplier invoiced themselves for the final amount after receiving the product).
• Have all of your bank statements for this monthly period in front of you.

1.  Click on Home.
   
2.  Click on Cashbook.
   
3.  Click on Reconciliation.
   
4. Click on the Bank Account name you are going to work with.
5. Enter the Bank Statement Closing Balance from the printed bank statement use a positive number for a Savings or Cheque Account.
6. Enter a negative number for a loan, overdraft balance or credit card balance owed. 
7. Click on the Reconcile This Account button. Or, press the Enter key twice.
8. The Reconciliation window will open. 
   • If the line matches in the Cashbook account and bank statement, click in the OS column, an asterisk * will mark the item. 
     
   • If expense, interest charge or monthly bank fee needs to be added click on add new transaction. Enter the details of the fee or payment. For example, Code use Bank Fees for monthly bank fees or Debit Interest for loan interest Enter the Amount (as a positive number).
     
   • To add a missing payment from cheque or savings to loan or credit, click on add new cash transfer. Enter the amount, account from and account to. It's optional to add tracking or cheque number. At the message, Clear transfer?, click Yes. Click on Close.
     
     
   • If the item in the account needs to be corrected, click on the row (on the transaction detail). Click on Edit Highlighted. After making the changes click Save. At the message, The TOTAL of this transaction has changed from $... Is this OK?, click Yes complete. Click on Close.
     
     
   • To duplicate an item or wrong item in the account, click on the row (on the transaction detail). Click Delete Highlighted. A message appears, Erase highlighted record? WARNING This cannot be undone. Click Yes to delete.
     
     

9. To reconcile all other entries entered into the Cashbook against the Bank Statement e.g. deposits, direct debits and bank charges, click in the OS field with your mouse, an asterisk ( ^* ) will appear when the item is marked off/cleared/presented.  Make sure you have cleared all items that appear on your bank statement.
   

10. Continue to verify transactions and watch the Difference. 
    
11. When there is a 0.00 difference, click on X to close.
    
    
12. Repeat the steps for the next bank account until all accounts have 0.00 difference.

Print Monthly Reconciliation Report

Once all accounts have been reconciled to a zero balance.

1. Click on Monthly Report.

   

2. Click the green tick.
   

   

3. Click on Print.

    

4. Click on X to close to return to the Monthly Report window.
5. Click on X to close to return to the Reconciliation window.

Print Optional Reports

If you have a budget linked to the Cashbook, click on Budget Comparison Report.

For an overview of your accounts including unprinted cheques and invoices, click on Cashbook Summary.

If you need to do a Business Activity Statement (BAS) process for this period, click on Tax Reports.

Finish the Reconciliation

1. Click on Close Month.
2. At the Close Month message click Yes.
    
3. Click to X to close. 

You can access the troubleshooting guide if you have any discrepancy: Bank Account Not Reconciling: How to Find the Discrepancy.