If you're wondering why your bank balances don't match, the best way to resolve it is by doing a bank reconciliation. Bank reconciliations are a normal part of accounting workflows. It is a process done to match bank balances (bank statements) with book balances (accounting records). The end goal is to ensure that there are no differences between the two. Bank reconciliations are totally normal, and we've made it easy for you to do!
Read on to find out how to make your bank reconciliations look like this!
To create a bank reconciliation:
Head over to Accounting, from the Menu bar, and click Reconciliation
Click create statement to reconcile next to the account you want to reconcile
Here's the information you'll be asked to enter, which can all be found in your bank statement:
Starting Date (the FROM date in your date range)
Ending Date (the TO date in your date range)
Starting Balance (Beginning balance for the current statement)
Ending Balance (Ending balance for the current statement)
Expenses Total (total withdrawals, debits, fees, subtractions, interest expenses, payments, expenses)
Deposits Total (total deposits, credits, refunds, additions, interest income)Click Save and you'll be shown a list of all the transactions in that date range. The goal is to have $0.00 in Uncleared Expenses and Uncleared Deposits. When you do, that means everything matches!
How to reconcile:
Checkmark only the items that are in your bank statement. This should result in $0.00 worth of uncleared items on the right side of the reconciliation screen. Click Save when you're done.
Tip: Click on Check All in Date Range to automatically select all the transactions that fall into your selected date range. More often than not, this will have you reconciled right away.
What to do if you find discrepancies:
If there is a duplicate transaction, or a transaction in Less but not on your bank statement, click the title to open the transaction edit screen and Delete it.
If there is a missing transaction, simply add it in by choosing the appropriate Add button at the top of the reconciliation page. You can either add an expense, deposit, or a funds transfer (from and to your accounts in LessAccounting).