Starting a Reconciliation
The statement is imported; time to open the month's reconciliation. Two minutes of setup — a record, a period, one balance — and the workspace takes over.
Access you'll need. Creating and working a reconciliation requires the Accounting Admin v2 or Accounting Controller v2 permission set. The Accounts Payable v2, Accounts Receivable v2, and Read Only v2 sets can view reconciliations but not create or change them.
Creating the record
New Bank Reconciliation: account + period + date
Pick the Bank Account and the Accounting Period being reconciled (one reconciliation per account per period — a duplicate is refused), plus the Reconciliation Date. Entity and currency follow the account automatically, and the record opens In Progress.
First time for this account? Mark the Starting Period
The chain needs an anchor: tick Starting Reconciliation Period and enter the Starting Bank Balance (the bank's balance at the period's start — Meridian's was $875,700). Every later month inherits its start from the approved predecessor instead, and the system insists on that order: "Previous period must be reconciled and approved before starting this period…"
In the workspace: enter the Ending Bank Balance
The one number the system can't know — the closing balance printed on the bank's statement. Type it into the Bank Side ("Enter from bank statement") and every figure recalculates: GL balances, deposits in transit, outstanding checks, and the Difference you're about to hunt to zero.
Reading the workspace
- Bank Side vs Book Side — the two stories, with the adjusted-balance arithmetic laid out line by line.
- The Difference bar — red until zero, green when proven. It recalculates live as you match.
- Two work queues — Unmatched Bank Transactions (statement lines awaiting explanation) and Unmatched Book Entries (posted receipts, payments, journal lines and deposits awaiting their statement line), each searchable and filterable.
- The toolbar — Create Adjustment, Auto Match, Run Rules, Run AI, Complete: the whole toolkit in working order, left to right.
The balance strip, label by label
Across the top of the workspace, the reconciliation's whole arithmetic in one row:
| Label | What the number is |
|---|---|
| Starting Bank Balance | Where the bank began the period — inherited from the approved previous reconciliation, or typed on a starting period. |
| Ending Bank Balance | The statement's closing figure — the one you type ("Enter from bank statement"). |
| Starting GL Balance / Ending GL Balance | The books' side: the ledger's position on the bank's GL account at the period's start and end. |
| Deposits in Transit | Money your books recorded that no statement line has confirmed yet. |
| Outstanding Checks | Money you've issued that hasn't cleared the bank. |
| Reconciled Deposits / Reconciled Payments | What's been matched so far, in and out — they grow as you work. |
| Adjusted Bank Balance / Adjusted Book Balance | The two sides after timing differences — the pair that must meet. |
| Difference | Adjusted Bank minus Adjusted Book: the number you're driving to zero. |
| Starting Period (badge) | Marks the chain's first link — the account's first-ever reconciliation. |
The gates at the door
Creation is guarded so the chain stays whole. Verbatim, with what each wants from you:
| The message | What it means / what to do |
|---|---|
| "A reconciliation already exists for this bank account and accounting period." | The month is already open (or done) — work in the existing record. |
| "Previous period must be reconciled and approved before starting this period. Mark this as a Starting Reconciliation Period if this is the first reconciliation for this bank account." | Finish and approve last month first — or, on a brand-new account, tick the starting checkbox. |
| "Starting Bank Balance is required when marking a reconciliation as a starting period." | The chain's anchor needs its number — the bank's balance at the period's start. |
| "A starting reconciliation period cannot exist when an earlier reconciliation already exists for this bank account." | This account has history — continue the chain rather than restarting it. |
| "Accounting Period cannot be changed after creation. Delete this reconciliation and create a new one." (and the same for Bank Account) | The anchor pair is permanent — delete and recreate if either was wrong; matches live on the lines, so nothing is lost. |
| "Ending Bank Balance required" | The workspace's reminder until you've typed the statement's closing figure — nothing can complete without it, and updating it needs the reconciliation In Progress. |
Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Ticking Starting Reconciliation Period on an account with history | Refused — and if it weren't, the chain would fork from a second "beginning" | The checkbox is for the account's true first month only; every later month inherits from its approved predecessor |
| Guessing the Starting Bank Balance on a first period | Every future month chains from this anchor — a wrong start is inherited forever | Use the bank's printed balance at the period start; on migrations, the same cutover figure as your GL opening balances |
| Typing the Ending Bank Balance from memory | The Difference hunts a phantom to the exact size of the typo | Statement in hand, closing figure to the cent |
| Starting the new month before last month is approved | The gate refuses — a Completed-but-unapproved predecessor blocks the chain just as surely as an unfinished one | Build approval into the monthly rhythm; with Auto-Create Reconciliations on, the next record appears the moment it's allowed to |
Where to go next
- AI Auto-Matching — the first button to press.
- Manual Matching & Unmatching — the stragglers.
- Completing a Reconciliation — the finish line.
Frequently asked questions
Reconciliations follow accounting periods; pick the period being closed. Statement lines from the edges are still visible to matching — the reconciliation looks a configurable window beyond its period precisely for checks that clear late.
The bank's actual balance at the start of the period you're reconciling — off the statement. If you're migrating, that's the same cutover figure your opening balances put in the GL: bank and books anchored to the same truth.
No — both lock at creation ("…cannot be changed after creation. Delete this reconciliation and create a new one."). Nothing is lost: delete and recreate; matches live on the lines, not the record.
From the Bank Account, automatically, the moment you pick it — the account's currency is the law for everything banking, reconciliations included. You never set either by hand.
Yes, and it's a feature: accounts with Auto-Create Reconciliations switched on spawn the next period's Draft when a month is approved. Open it, enter the new statement's Ending Bank Balance, and carry on — the chain and starting balance are already wired.
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