This is AccountKit’s help article for the Account Reconciler, which brings the reconciliation of non-bank balance sheet accounts in your accounting ledgers into one place. See what the Account Reconciler does.
Overview
The purpose of this tool is to centralise reconciling and verifying of any accounts, that are not bank accounts.
Think of it as a way to review and reconcile any accounts, in the same way that you would reconcile and verify all accounts within your Trial Balance or Balance Sheet.
It allows reconciliation of any account within a Xero file without the need to export data or review externally to the ledger. This is particularly valuable for balance sheet accounts that have a point in time clearing balance. To complete this activity in another tool in an efficient manner quite often requires printing or exporting data out and matching balances period to period.
The Account Reconciler also allows for up-to-date planning to be performed on a set of accounts due to the ongoing reconciliation of accounts at any preferred reconciliation frequency right down to the account level.
Note that this only works where you've connected a client to a cloud accounting package (like Xero), within AccountKit.
Being a brand new tool fresh into BETA, make sure you watch this video to get a leg up on how to get the most from the outset. In principle it's simple, but like any new tool, there are nuances to understand before you get underway. It'll become second nature in no time!
To set some expectations on what Open Beta means::
The tool is feature complete (for now) and available to all.
There may be some bugs still (although it's feeling rock solid).
If you have any feedback, email us at support@account-kit.com
How to use the Account Reconciler tool
The List Page
1. Add new Schedule
Select this sign to start the process of creating a brand new set of Account Reconciliations for a particular entity.
Noting you can only have one set of reconciliations per entity.
2. Quick search
Use this to quickly filter your list and search for a specific entity.
3. Filter by,
View Select,
Three-dot menu
(More Actions) - soon to come
These are part of Shared Elements across AccountKit.
Use these to:
Apply specific filters for customised list views
Switch between previously saved views
Extract a Summary Report (soon to come)
4. The list...
This is a snapshot of all current Account Reconciler Schedules (per entity) running within your practice and their current status.
Checkbox - Enables you to select multiple schedules to archive, unarchive or delete.
Client Name - This is the client entity that the schedules belong to.
Accounts Reconciled - A list of the accounts being reconciled. We only show the first 1 or 2 as a preview. Click on the schedule to open it for the full list.
Frequency - This is the default frequency of reconciliation for any accounts, which can be changed on a per account basis.
Current Period - The current period we're in, as of today.
Last Period - The last completed period that we're checking the verified status of.
Verified Status - Here we're showing if there's work to be done, with status being based on the following values:
Out of balance - there's at least one selected account that is out of balance.
Verification required - there's at least one selected account to be verified.
In balance - all accounts are in balance as of the last period.
5. Link documents
Three-dot Menu (More Actions)
Link to a file or folder within your DMS, and to add a link to a web address.
Click on the link icon a new action window will pop up, follow the prompts to add new document links.
The small number on the corner of a link icon indicates how many documents (if any) are currently linked to that particular schedule.
Click on it to view and action all existing documents.
Three-dot Menu (More Actions) - appears on mouseover at the end of the row. Use it to Edit, Archive or Delete a schedule.
Edit - Select this to Edit Frequency and Last reconciled period.
Archive - This will archive the client's schedules.
Delete - Selecting this will delete current set of schedules.
General Variables & Input Fields
The Setup & Edit Area
1. Client Details
This area appears upon setup and when you select the above "Edit Schedule" option in the Three-dot Actions menu:
Client Name - This is the client entity that you'll do the reconciliation for.
Please note - Ensure you're picking an entity that's currently connected to Xero. Sync your data from the client list first before attempting to set up a new schedule.
2. Frequency
This is the default frequency of reconciliation for any accounts, which can be changed on a per account basis.
3. Last reconciled period
The last completed period that we're checking the verified status of.
4. Instructions
Always here for reference.
The Account List Tab
Click on the row that corresponds to the entity that you'd like to work on, to open it.
A new window will pop up, with the Account list tab being the default opening view.
The account list tab shows a summary of all the accounts that you're reconciling for this client, along with their status, comments and linked verifications. This is great to get a grasp on what accounts may still need to be reviewed during any given period.
1. Company Name
This identifies the current company name that the schedule belongs to.
2. Account List
This is the list of accounts you're reconciling.
3. Connection with Xero, Settings, Full Screen, Minimise, Close
Connection with Xero - click on the Xero blue icon it to see more details around the connection, Refresh Xero data, Refresh Tracking Categories, and to Go to Xero.
Settings - edit schedule Frequency, Last reconciled period and Reconciliation Method.
Full Screen, Minimise, Close - These are part of Shared Elements
4. View range
Move between different date ranges using the arrows, or by clicking on the date to change months and years.
5. The Account List
Accounts - that you'd like to reconcile.
Method - Clearing or Balance
Frequency - Monthly, Quarterly, Annually by calendar year, or Annually by Financial Year
Months - each month's summary per account indicates the Closing balance, the link to documents and (soon to come) indication if there are any collaboration notes to be aware of.
6. Add to workflow, linked documents, tags, collaboration, audit history
Shared toolbar - We go into more detail here in Shared Elements.
Note: The shared toolbar is associated with the area you are in. So if you link a workflow item for example whilst on the account list view verses when you are in an account page, the link is relative to that specific area.
The Transactions Tab
This tab contains the detail transactions for the account selected and the work space for reconciling each account. You can switch between accounts without returning to the Account List tab.
1. Company Name
This identifies the current company name that the schedule belongs to.
2. Transactions
To open the list of transactions for each account, click on an account, or click on Transactions tab.
Switch between accounts by using the drop-down list right under "Account List"
3. Connection with Xero, Settings, Full Screen, Minimise, Close
Connection with Xero (or Quickbooks) - click on the software icon it to see more details around the connection, Refresh data, Refresh Tracking Categories, and to Go to Xero/Quickbooks.
Settings - you can edit Frequency, Last reconciled period and Reconciliation Method for the whole schedule, as well as Display and Column Settings.
Full Screen, Minimise, Close - These are part of Shared Elements
4. Date range
Move between different months and years using the arrows, or by clicking on the date to jump straight to another month/year.
5. The Transaction List... Ledger View and Reconcile View
Account type: the current account you're working on. Use the drop-down to select another one.
Method: indicates if this is a Clearing or Balance Account, and its frequency.
Quick search: use the search bar to quickly search for a specific key word and speed up the matching and reconciling process.
Date - when the transaction happened.
Source - how the information was captured.
Contact -
Description - short description of the transaction.
Reference - could be a receipt number or a linked document.
Debit - column to capture all debit entries.
Credit - column to capture all credit entries.
Running Balance -
Actions - jump to the Xero file if need be.
Ledger View -
In essence, this is the general ledger. Includes Opening Balance, Total (for each period) and Closing Balance.
The view can be grouped by month, quarter, year or financial year.
Reconcile View -
List of all transactions that are to be reconciled, followed by the summary for that period, including Opening Balance, Total (for each period) and Closing Balance. (Note in the balance method, you'll also have an unreconciled and expected balance field to account for the timing difference on payments).
Verification Details - enter a short note to accompany the verification.
Verified Balance - displays the value that you've verified as true. Users can then post journals and adjustment entries, and add links to documents, folders and web addresses.
6. Add to workflow, linked documents, tags, collaboration, audit history
These are part of Shared Elements.
7. Actions bar
The action bar is where it all happens. Note the letters in the [ ] brackets, these are the short cuts if you want to be a power user.
Reconcile [R] - turns green when two or more selected transactions match.
Select All [A] - selects all visible entries (most useful when you've filtered first)
Clear Selection [C] - clears the current selection.
Un-reconcile [U] - un-reconciles any selected entries which had already been reconciled.
Show reconciled [S] - shows only the entries that have been reconciled already (if any).
8. Notes
For carry forward values (or any transactions at all), you can leave a note.
This is great to review and confirm why values may be carrying forward.
You can choose to show (or not) all the existing notes for each transaction, which will be displayed in the Description column.
Change this under Settings (top right corner):
Before you Start
The only thing to do in preparation for your Reconciliations is to ensure you have your client's Accounting Software (e.g. Xero) connected with AccountKit.
To do that, go to the applicable client or client list page and find the Integrations section, then click on the integration icon to trigger a process to connect and download the client data into AccountKit.
The syncing process will only be completed once the icon goes from greyscale or orange to full colour.
Until this process has finished, you won't be able to initiate the reconciliation for that client - you will be notified once complete.
See the Xero Connection article for more details about connecting and disconnecting from Xero.
Practice Settings
There's currently no steps required to be completed in Practice Settings for this tool.
Prepare the entities you plan to reconcile
In the Account Reconciliation tool, click on the + sign to start setting up a Client's set of reconciliations - noting that you can only have one set of reconciliations per entity, so you'll only need to do this first step once per client.
Slect the client name from the drop-down - remember that the client must be connected to your accounting software (e.g. Xero), as per previous step.
Define the default frequency of reconciliation that you would like.
Select the last reconciled period. This will form the default for all accounts but can be changed on an account by account basis.
How to setup your first account for reconciling
Let's go through the steps of how to create and set up your first account ready for reconciling.
Initial setup - defaults, start date, frequency, establishing balance.
We've prepared a short video to easily demonstrate how to set up the account ready for reconciliation, followed by screenshots and detailed steps, for quick reference.
Adding / removing accounts
In Account List > Accounts, click on the cog wheel to Select (and unselect) accounts from your Account list.
A new window will pop up: on "Selected accounts" (left-hand size column), you'll see the accounts you're currently choosing to reconcile.
These will be populated from "Account list" (right-hand size column), as you switch the toggles on and off (last column in the list). Scroll up and down for the full list accounts.
Click on the Refresh icon to update your Account list, and use the search bar to quickly filter a specific account or key word.
Editing settings
From the list of selected accounts (left), mouseover any account and click on the Edit icon to change Frequency, Last reconciled period and Reconciliation Method, for that account in specific.
You're ready to reconcile each account once you adjust these details.
Day to day use
This is where the bulk of the action will happen, where we're matching off transactions to get to a point where we can confidently confirm that the carry forward balance for any period is accurate. Note that his is only relevant to the Clearing Method.
Establishing Opening Balances
Your first step is to identify the transactions that contribute to the opening balance to give us a list of uncleared entries as at the conversion date.
Clearing Method
From the Account List view, select the account you would like to work on.
You will then be prompted to select all of the transactions from prior to the Last Reconciled date that add up to the opening balance. (NOTE: You may need to extend the date range to be able to see all of the transactions required to establish the opening balances, as they may date back many months or longer.)
As you select entries, the value and difference will update at the bottom of the page. Given this is a clearing account, any carry forward balance MUST be attributed to a number of unreconciled entries that amount to the current balance.
Once the total transactions selected match the opening balance, you will be prompted to press Continue .
You've now established the opening balance entries and are ready to start reconciling.
Balance Method
The method here varies, as the assumption is because you've selected a last verified period, the balance as at the start date is correct. Because we're not looking for transactions to clear, we're just confirming that you are confident that the account is in fact correct at the start date.
From the Account List view, select either the account you would like to work on.
On the assumption that your balance at the conversion date is correct, you simply need to press Continue to verify your start point.
We are now good to start reconciling.
Reconciling & Transaction Review
This is where we dive into the detail of the transactions to ensure they're correct before verifying the balances.
Clearing Method
Here we're looking for values that match the debits and credits to "clear" them from the account. Any values left over have not yet cleared and form part of the unreconciled values for that period.
Select transactions from the debit and credit side that match, until the net balance in the toolbar returns to Xero.
Press the reconcile button.
Repeat the process until you are down to a reduced list that either form the closing balance or that need further investigation.
Carry out any required fixes such as the following, remembering to refresh the data from Xero here any time a change is made to update the transactions here. ( Note: if you can't complete the process due to some queries, you can leave a note in the verify area any time to keep a full audit trail of notes against the reconciliation period )
Finding missing transactions in Xero that should be there
Re-allocate transactions that should not be in this account.
Click through to the transaction in Xero to fix a tax code applied,
Post an adjusting journal from here (see below)
Once you're happy that the balance is accurate, select the blue exclamation icon to copy the balance into the verified balance field and tick it off as verified.
Power User Hint:
Utilise the keyboard shortcuts to reconcile like a pro.
Press [F] to focus on the search filter; Enter something to filter buy, like a client name for example and press [ENTER]
Press [A] to select all filtered transactions.
Press [R] to reconcile the selected transactions. (assuming the net value comes back to $0)
Press [F] to focus on the search filter again and either change the filter OR press [ESCAPE] to clear the search field
Repeat!
Balance Method
Once again, the method here is similar, but different - think of it like a bank reconciliation where you're marking off transactions on the bank statement leaving only transactions that have not cleared as at the end of the period.
Mark off all know transactions as reconciled, which typically will be all. Note that we're not aiming for the net balance to come to zero here, as we're simply confirming the transactions match the source document (like bank statement)
All that you should be left with are those transactions that haven't cleared yet due to a timing difference which will sum up at the bottom so you can see at a glance what the unreconciled balance is.
Now when you selcOnly varies as we're typically just verifying the balance against a source document such as an equipment finance schedule. So all we're doing here is checking for transactions that potentially don't below before then carrying out the verification process.
The process here is the same EXCEPT that you are not looking to match off transactions, only to confirm there isn't any incorrect entries and that the balance is correct.
Closing out the period
Now that you're feeling confident that the balances are correct, it's time to carry out the final steps to close out the period.
Utilise the link icon to link the balance to an underlying document within the document management system and / or a web address (eg. back to an equipment finance schedule URL). Given there are two places to link to an account, best practice is as follows.
Verification area - Here you link to a specific document for that particular period.
Shared toolbar - The link here can be any other supporting document that's specific to that account, irrespective of the period. For example, the URL or PDF that is relevant to an equipment finance schedule that's being verified. See here for more detail on linking in AccountKit.
Optionally you can leave a comment for further context to the verified balance.
Now you can export a reconciliation report for the period to Excel or PDF and save locally or to the connected document management system.
Other Functions & Options
Comments
The key to any good workpaper is leaving good file notes so that when you come back next time, or another teammember picks up the work, they can understand what's happened without doing a bunch of investigating.
You have two options to leaving file notes. Keep in mind these are threaded, so you can multiple comments from multiple teammembers against any comment area.
Against each line item - Eg. Transaction is verified as not having been billed yet.
Against the verification - eg. All transactions have verified; Next month need to ensure these disbursements have been processed.
Here's a short video showing it in action.
Journals
At times you're going to find issues where balances don't quite clear or reconcile the way you would expect. It could be that an entry has been entered incorrectly into a prior period that can't be changed or rounding has been applied and you need to clear the balance. That's the purpose of preparing adhoc journals.
Work out how much you need to adjust the account by.
Select the journal icon and assign the applicable credit / debit to the adjusting account and post. This goes straight into your accounting software and will appear ready for you to reconcile.
Here's a short video showing it in action.
Exporting reports
Once you've completed reconciling your accounts, you then have the option to export the reports to PDF or excel via the shared toolbar.
Here's a short video showing it in action.
Managing changed data
Updating establishing balances
To come
Related Links
This support article covers all the menus and shared elements used throughout AccountKit
Learn how to connect and manage your DMS
Head here to understand how the Xero Connection is setup and associated statuses along with troubleshooting issues such as locked periods.
Not using AccountKit yet? Reconcile one client’s balance sheet accounts in one place. You can start a 14-day free trial or book a demo.