To reconcile an account

If you haven’t already read the Month-end Procedures Overview, see Reconciling checking accounts for more information.

The Reconcile Accounts window should be displayed.

Note: If you’re reconciling for the first time
If you’ve never used the Reconcile Accounts window before, there are some special steps that you should perform before you begin the reconciliation process. If this is your situation, see To reconcile an account for the first time using Accounting Plus.
  1. Enter or select the account you want to reconcile in the Account field, and press tab.
  2. Enter the ending balance that appears on your bank statement in the New Statement Balance field.
Note: Be sure to enter the ending balance!
Many bank statements have more than one balance on them. Be sure to enter the balance of your account at the end of the period.
  1. Enter the closing date that appears on your bank statement in the Bank Statement Date field. Only unreconciled transactions dated on or before that date will appear in the scrolling list.
Note: Use care when entering the date in the Reconcile Accounts window
The Reconciliation Report enables you to view the status of an account's transactions as of a previous reconciliation date. If the bank statement date you enter in the Reconcile Accounts window is different from the date that appears on the actual statement you received from your bank, you may find it difficult to determine which date should be used to print the Reconciliation Report in the future.
  1. Click the Bank Entry button to open the Record Service Charges and Interest Earned window and enter any bank service charges you owe and any interest that you earned.

Skip to step 6 if you’ve already entered the bank charges and interest transactions in Accounting Plus before opening the Reconcile Accounts window. These transactions should already appear in the transactions list.

  1. Click Record. If you need to record additional bank charges or fees, click the Bank Entry button again.
  2. Mark each transaction in the scrolling list that appears on your bank statement. (Transactions entered using the Bank Entry feature are automatically marked as cleared.)
Note: You may edit, remove or reverse entries using this window If the transaction information displayed in the Reconcile Accounts window is incorrect, you can choose to click the zoom to display the original transaction entry window.

If your records are changeable, you may edit the transaction. When you click OK, the updated information will appear in the Reconcile Accounts window. If you choose Delete Transaction from the Edit menu to remove the transaction, the transaction will no longer appear in the Reconcile Accounts window.

If your records are unchangeable, you may reverse the transaction by choosing Reverse Transaction from the Edit menu. After a few moments, a new transaction, containing amounts exactly opposite to the original transaction, will be displayed. When you click Record, the reversal will be added to the Reconcile Accounts window. If you don’t want the original entry and the reversal to appear the next time you reconcile, mark both entries to indicate they are cleared.

See What are changeable and unchangeable transactions? for more information.
  1. Click the Reconcile button. A window appears, indicating whether your account is reconciled or is out of balance.
  2. If your account is reconciled, you can either reconcile the account or print the Reconciliation Report.

To reconcile, click the Reconcile button; the transactions you marked are considered “cleared,” and won’t show up in the Reconcile Accounts window the next time you open it. To print the report, click Print Report; if you print the report, be sure to click Reconcile again to complete the reconciliation process after the report’s been printed.

Note: You must finish reconciling after you print the Reconciliation Report!
If you choose to print the Reconciliation Report, be sure to click the Reconcile button again in the Reconcile Accounts window. When you choose to print the report, the reconciling process is stopped, and you must click Reconcile again to complete the process.

To reconcile an account