When completing monthly reconciliation, the ultimate goal is achieving a Difference of exactly $0.00 between your general ledger and the official bank statement. If your reconciliation shows an out-of-balance difference, use this troubleshooting sequence to locate and resolve the discrepancy.
đĄ Best-Practice Adoption Tip: If your out-of-balance difference is evenly divisible by 9, suspect a transposition error (e.g. typing $54.00 instead of $45.00 produces a difference of $9.00). If the difference is an exact dollar amount, look for unrecorded monthly service fees.
Step-by-Step Diagnostic Sequence
Verify Beginning Balance: Check that the starting balance on your screen matches the ending reconciled balance from the previous month's statement. If the beginning balance changed, a prior reconciled transaction was modified or deleted.
Verify Statement Ending Balance: Re-check the Statement Ending Balance input field to ensure no typos occurred when entering the bank's final figure.
Check Cleared Counts: Count the total number of physical checks and deposits listed on your bank statement. Compare them to the cleared counters displayed in the transaction filter pills (e.g., "14 of 14 Deposits cleared"). A mismatch indicates an item was cleared in error or skipped.
Look for Bank Service Fees & Interest: Review your bank statement for account maintenance fees, wire charges, check printing fees, or interest payments. Use the Bank Adjustment button to record these missing items directly into the reconciliation.
Timing Differences (Deposits in Transit & Outstanding Checks): Remember that checks written near the end of the month that have not yet been cashed by vendors, or cash deposited after the bank's 2:00 PM cutoff, should remain unchecked. Leaving them un-cleared accounts for timing differences correctly.
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