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BankReconciler

Process of bank reconciliation in six matching passes

A bank reconciliation compares two records of the same money: what the bank says happened and what your books say happened. BankReconciler runs that comparison the way a careful accountant would, only faster, and shows its reasoning for every line.

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An open accounting ledger with a steel ruler and a fountain pen

Reading the statement and the ledger

Each file is read into the same shape: date, description, amount, reference and running balance. Dates are normalized, debit and credit columns become signed amounts, and descriptions are cleaned of card numbers and bank codes that differ from your books.

  • PDF statements are read line by line, scanned statements with text recognition on paid plans
  • The opening and closing balance are taken from the statement and checked against the sum of the movements
  • Ledger exports from QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite or any spreadsheet are mapped to the same columns
  • If the balances on the statement do not add up, you see it before matching starts

The six matching passes

  1. Pass1 Exact amount and date

    Lines with the same amount on the same day are paired first. Most of a typical month is settled here.

  2. Pass2 Amount within the date window

    A check written on the 28th that clears on the 3rd still matches. You choose the window, from same day to 10 days.

  3. Pass3 One to many and many to one

    One deposit that pays three invoices, or one card settlement that covers a day of sales receipts, is matched as a group when the amounts add up exactly.

  4. Pass4 Check number and reference

    Check numbers, invoice numbers and payment references found in both descriptions confirm a match even when dates are far apart.

  5. Pass5 Description similarity

    Remaining lines with the same amount and a similar payee name are proposed as matches for you to confirm.

  6. Pass6 Duplicates

    Two identical entries on one side against a single entry on the other are flagged as a duplicate, on the bank side and on the book side.

What the result shows

  • Matched, with the pass that matched each pair
  • Unmatched in bank, usually fees, interest and deposits not yet recorded
  • Unmatched in books, usually outstanding checks and deposits in transit
  • Duplicates, with both entries side by side
  • Differences, near matches where the amounts differ by a small gap
  • Adjusted bank balance against adjusted book balance, and the remaining difference

Saved matching rules

Teach BankReconciler once that a description such as a processor payout belongs to grouped sales receipts, or that a monthly service charge goes to bank fees. The rule applies to every future month of that account. Learn more about automated bank reconciliation.

The reconciliation report

The finished run produces a report in PDF and XLSX: summary, adjusted balances, every item listed by category, who prepared it and when. See the monthly reconciliation report page for each section.

See the process on your own files

Upload a statement and a ledger, or use the sample pair, and watch each pass run.

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