The Four Steps

1.Enter the ending date and balance from the bank statement.

2.Select (highlight) any outstanding items.

3.Enter any adjustments.

4.If you are in balance, print the report.

Selecting Outstanding Items

•Outstanding checks and deposits are selected by clicking the desired item in the "Checks, Deposits, and Journal Entries" box.

•If you select an item in error, click the item (can use either list) to remove it from the Outstanding Entries list.

•Deposits in transit - deposits that have not yet shown up on the bank statement - can be marked, if your deposits have been entered individually with unique reference numbers.

•The list of checks, deposits, and journal entries includes all entries, other than entries posted to the bank account you selected on the Setup screen.

Adjustment Examples

•Outstanding checks from prior months not in the list of "Outstanding Checks, Deposits, and Journal Entries".  Outstanding checks should be entered as a negative <-> amount.

•Deposits in transit at the end of the month should be entered as a positive <+> amount.  If your deposits have been entered as unique transactions, you may, instead, mark them as outstanding and they will be included with the outstanding checks total.

Eventually the "Balance Per Reconciliation" needs to be the same as the "Bank Balance". If you get the "Bank Account is Balanced" message on your first try, you are indeed living a charmed life.  If not, welcome to the real world.  There are several things to check.

•Make sure the Bank Account you selected on the Setup screen is correct.

•Make sure your Journal Entries are balanced.

•Check the adjustments.  All outstanding checks from a previous period not included in the outstanding entries list must be entered as a negative <-> amount, and any deposits not on the bank statement must be entered as a positive <+> amount.

•Check the bank statement.  Any bank charges or adjustments must be included in the Journal Entry section, including an offsetting debit or credit to the Cash in Bank account.  Any checks shown as outstanding on your last bank reconciliation that haven't cleared the bank must be voided or entered as an adjustment.

•Scroll through the checks and deposits for the period.  Each transaction should be on the bank statement or marked as outstanding.

•Review the Journal Entries.

Bank Statement Starting Date

•The default starting date is the first of the month prior to the ending date.  The starting date determines the oldest item shown in the upper list (the checks, deposits, and journal entries).

•If you need to select an outstanding item which was dated earlier than the starting date, change the starting date to include the outstanding item.

Bank Statement Ending Date

•Set this to match the ending date on your bank statement, and all items beyond the ending date will be ignored.

Sorting

•When the reconciliations screen is opened, the items are sorted:

•Non-negative entries grouped first (top of list), negative entries grouped second (bottom of list)

•Within each group

•Sorted by date

•Entries with the same date are sorted by check/reference number - Numeric are first, non-numeric are second

•To manually sort the lists, click on the desired header - Description, Check/Reference, Date, or Amount.