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Reconciling Bank Statements

 

This video explains how to use Easy Books to reconcile your bank statements.

 

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Reconciling bank statements is important because it helps to identify any errors in your accounting records or those of your bank.

The Statements area of Easy Books is used to reconcile bank statements and prepare customer statements. Both features are optional, but we recommend using a dedicated bank account for your business and reconciling it regularly to help ensure accuracy of your accounts.

When you receive a paper statement from your bank, tap Statements followed by the account it refers to. You may need to drag the list down and tap All accounts if your account isn't shown. The Statement List screen displays a list of statements for this bank account that you have already reconciled. Tap Add a new statement... to begin reconciling a new one, or tap an existing one in the list to continue reconciling it.

The aim is to model the same paper statement in Easy Books, so set the statement date, the reference (if present) such as the statement number and check the opening balance matches. Next work down the paper statement line by line and find the matching entry in Easy Books. Tap the arrow to move the transaction up into the statement area or drag it using the re-order bars. You can re-order transactions on the statement to match it line by line, which is useful when checking the balance against the paper statement.

Unless you're really careful about entering transactions straight away, there will be some you've not entered yet. The statement should contain enough information for you to recognise the missing entry and you can add a transaction without leaving the Statement Details screen.

Add any missing entries by tapping the add button.

You may notice errors in the amounts you've already entered. This can also happen when reconciling credit card statements with foreign transactions as you most likely used an estimated exchange rate on the purchase date. To correct an amount, tap the info button, make any changes and tap Save.

Lastly, when you've finished reconciling the statement, tap Save at the bottom to return to the list of statements for the bank account. You can reconcile in stages if you like, just tap on the statement to continue editing it. Note you can delete the last statement, but each time you add a new statement it locks the previous ones to prevent them being deleted by accident.

An effect of reconciling is to lock certain aspects of the transactions that you've reconciled to protect them from being changed by mistake. For example, viewing the transactions in the bank account now shows them in grey to indicate they are locked. It isn't possible to edit the amount, add or remove splits, or delete the transaction once it has been reconciled. Note the message at the bottom of the Transaction Form shows the reason the transaction is locked. If you need to edit it, tap the info button in the Transaction Form to show the statement with the reconciled transaction highlighted, drag it back off the statement then Save to return to the Transaction Form. All fields are now editable.

Using the Statements Screen

Information about how to use the statements screen in Easy Books is available in the user guide under Using the Statements Screen. This is also available by tapping the help button from within t