Bank Reconciliation Definition & Example of Bank Reconciliation

A company that takes a disciplined approach to bank reconciliations — and that does them on a set schedule — often has an advantage in spotting cash-flow issues. With this early view of a potential problem, a company can take steps to minimize any disruption to its business. After reconciliation, the adjusted bank balance should match with the company’s ending adjusted cash balance. Nowadays, many companies use specialized accounting software in bank reconciliation to reduce the amount of work and adjustments required and to enable real-time updates. Company A paid $3,750 worth of checks into its bank account and debited its cash book accordingly, but the bank has not yet credited the funds to the depositor’s account. As of 30 September 20XX, the ending debit cash balance in the accounting records of Company A was $1,500, whereas its bank account showed an overdraft of $500. On the cash book side of the bank rec, adjusting journal entries need to be posted into the general ledger cash account for each of the reconciling items.

Once completed with the checks and withdrawals, click the ‘Deposits / Other Credits’ tab and repeat the same steps taken for clearing the checks and withdrawals. If you need to add a deposit that was not in Restaurant365 previously, click on the ‘+ Add Deposit’ button and follow the same steps listed above. The ending balance on the business’s bank statement and its book balance are almost never exactly the same, so you typically need to adjust the book balance to conform to the bank statement.

Example #1 of Bank Reconciliation Statement Template

Using this simple process each month will help you uncover any differences between your records and what shows up on your bank statement. Bank reconciliations are typically done each month once bank statements are received. The process can be done manually or using accounting software. Bank reconciliations are a bank reconciliation crucial part of any business. Small business owners should be reconciling their bank statements once a month, at a minimum. For larger businesses, you may need to perform daily bank reconciliations. These are checks that have been written and recorded in a company’s cash account, but have yet to clear the bank.

No matter the name, it’s a measure of your company’s performance. Recently issued checks will still be outstanding, and that is normal and expected. If you issued checks on the last day of the month, it is unlikely that all of the recipients would have already cashed them.

Reconcile at least once every month

Subtract any drawn checks that have been written to make a payment but not yet cleared by the bank. Mary Girsch-Bock is the expert on accounting software and payroll software for The Ascent. The goal is to get your ending bank balance and ending G/L balance to match. Second, if the system detects any discrepancies or suspicious activity while reconciling, it flags those accounts and notifies an accountant.

And then, the miscellaneous expenses were adjusted to bring the total amount to $100,000. If you had bank reconciliation reports prior to the addition of the Bank Reconciliations tab to the program, the tab will already be enabled. Company A issued $1,250 of checks to pay its creditors but they have not yet been cleared by the bank and deducted from the payer’s account. Errors in calculation or recording of payments are more likely made by business staff than by a bank.