Reconciliation in Accounting: Meaning, Purposes, Types

This is accomplished by scanning the two sets of records and looking for discrepancies. If you find any errors or omissions, determine what happened to cause the differences and work to fix them in your records. Bank Example 2 showed that the bank debits the depositor’s checking account to decrease the checking account balance (since this is part of the bank’s liability Customers’ Deposits). When you do a bank reconciliation, you first find the bank transactions that are responsible for your books and your bank account being out of sync. If you use the accrual system of accounting, you might “debit” your cash account when you finish a project and the client says “the cheque is going in the mail today, I promise!

Example 1: Preparation of Bank Reconciliation Statement Without Adjusting the cash book Balance

Here are two examples to reinforce the bank’s use of debit and credit with regards to its customers’ checking accounts. For the most part, how often you reconcile bank statements will depend on your volume of transactions. The balance recorded in your books (again, the cash account) and the balance in your bank account will rarely ever be exactly the same, even if you keep meticulous books. When they draw money from your account to pay for a business expense, they could take more than they record on the books. Automating bank reconciliation can reduce the cost of processing and auditing. It can also save money by keeping a closer eye on the company’s finances and identifying any discrepancies or errors.

• Once the balances are equal, businesses need to prepare journal entries for the adjustments to the balance per books.
• In the case of personal bank accounts, like checking accounts, this is the process of comparing your monthly bank statement against your personal records to make sure they match.
• The more frequently you reconcile your bank statements, the easier it is each time.
• Cross-checking bank statements with the balance sheet at least once every month during the closing process is necessary.

To detect bank errors

To quickly identify and address errors, reconciling bank statements should be done by companies or individuals at least monthly. They also can be done as frequently as statements are generated, such as daily or weekly. For example, say ABC Holding Co. recorded an ending balance of $500,000 on its records. After careful investigation, ABC Holding found that a vendor’s check for $20,000 hadn’t been presented to the bank. It also missed two $25 fees for service charges and non-sufficient funds (NSF) checks during the month. A bank may charge an account maintenance fee, typically withdrawn and processed automatically from the bank account.

Step #2: Work Out the Balance as Per Bank Side of the Bank Reconciliation Statement

For timing differences, the company must cancel out the effect of outstanding checks and deposits in transit. The unrecorded differences may have other items as well, such as errors in the bank statement or bank book, dishonored checks, interest received, etc. Unrecorded differences may also include direct debits and standing orders that get automatically charged at a specific date. Similarly, they may https://www.bookstime.com/articles/capital-budgeting consist of deposits that other parties deposit into the bank account without notifying the company. Unrecorded items are different from timing differences as the company needs to record these differences in its bank book as well. The company checks this statement against its records to determine if it must make any corrections or adjustments in either the company’s balance or the bank’s balance.

Reconcile timing differences

The company may need to repeat the process until the balance becomes zero, or it identifies any errors. The next step in the bank reconciliation process is to adjust unrecorded differences. As mentioned above, unrecorded differences require accounting treatment.

Companies with single-entry bookkeeping systems can perform a form of reconciliation by comparing invoices, receipts, and other documentation against the entries in their books. Another way of performing a reconciliation is via the account conversion method. Here, records such as receipts or canceled checks are simply compared with the entries in the general ledger, in a manner similar to personal accounting reconciliations. It’s also possible to make a double-entry journal entry that affects the balance sheet only. These businesses can inadvertely make errors in counting money and issuing change to customers.

To prevent collusion among employees, the person who reconciles the bank account should not be involved in the cash disbursement cycle. Also, the bank should mail the statement directly to the person who reconciles the bank account each month. Sending the statement directly limits the number of employees who would have an opportunity to tamper with the statement. If you’re interested in automating the bank reconciliation process, be sure to check out some accounting software options. The final step in the bank reconciliation process is to record journal entries to complete the balancing process. Notice that the bank reconciliation form above still does not balance, even after including the outstanding checks.

Who’s responsible for bank reconciliations?

To safeguard this critical and tempting asset, a company should establish internal controls over its cash. Miscellaneous debit and credit entries in the bank statements must be recorded on the balance sheet. If there are any differences, adjust the balance sheet to reflect all transactions. Reconciliation of bank statements is the process of comparing the transactions recorded in the company’s accounting records with the transactions listed on the bank statement.

Some differences may be acceptable because of the timing of payments and deposits. Unexplained or mysterious discrepancies, however, may warn of fraud or cooking the books. Businesses and individuals may reconcile their which of the following is not a step in preparing a bank reconciliation? records daily, monthly, quarterly, or annually. Preparing a bank reconciliation involves matching your company’s financial records with your bank statements to ensure consistency and identify any discrepancies.