Bank reconciliation is one of the core tools used by accountants. It's an effective control tool for bank accounts: it gives you an accurate picture of your actual cash position.
The software walks you through the reconciliation process. This page explains how to complete your bank reconciliation for your entire accounting period.
The Bank Reconciliation tool is available in the Accounting module. You can access it from Accounting > Bank reconciliation — simple as that.
This article covers the following topics:
How to perform your bank reconciliation
Let's walk through a real example.
You've received your bank statement for January 2023. This statement lists all transactions that took place between 01/01/2023 and 01/31/2023. According to the statement, your bank balance at the end of the month is $2,000.
You want to run your bank reconciliation for January to verify that the accounting data entered in the tool matches your statement. Here's how to do it:
Step 1 – Set up the statement
First, you need to tell the tool that you're working on a reconciliation covering your entire January bank statement — from 01/01/2023 to 01/31/2023. Follow these steps:
1 – Go to the Reconciliation page (Accounting > Bank reconciliation > Reconciliation)
2 – You'll land on this page:
3 – Set up your January 2023 statement by clicking "+ Create a new statement". A panel appears below:
4 – Fill in the following information in this panel:
- The statement period if not already set: this must match the period shown on your bank statement (in this example, January 1 through January 31).
- Your bank balance as of 01/31/2023 (the amount shown on your statement): this allows the tool to calculate the difference between your bank balance and your accounting balance.
- Optionally, your paper statement that you've scanned or downloaded from your online banking. This step is optional but highly useful — it keeps a record of your statements directly in the tool.
5 – Once you've filled everything in, save and click Reconcile. You'll move on to the next step: reconciling your January transactions:
The pencil icon next to the Reconcile button lets you edit the bank balance and/or dates you entered when setting up the statement.
Step 2 – The reconciliation
This step varies depending on the reconciliation method you use: reconciliation with imported bank transactions, or reconciliation without import. To learn more about importing your bank data into the tool, see the article How do I choose my reconciliation method?
- Reconciling when you import your bank transactions
- Reconciling when you don't import your bank transactions
Reconciliation with imported bank transactions
If you import bank transactions into the tool, here's how the reconciliation works.
1 – You're on the reconciliation page for January 2023.
On the left, you have the list of bank transactions pulled into the tool for January 2023. On the right, you have the list of book entries you've entered for that same month.
2 – Start your reconciliation. Pick a bank transaction on the left and find its match on the right — the book entry that corresponds to that bank transaction.
Important: depending on how you've entered your entries, multiple book entries may be linked to a single bank transaction.
3 – Once you've found the matching entry, click "Reconcile". The matched items will be marked as reconciled and will appear in the "Pointed" section at the bottom of the page.
4 – Repeat this process for all the entries and bank transactions shown on this page. As you match your entries, the difference between your accounting balance and your bank balance should get closer to 0.
You can check this difference at the top of the page by clicking "Learn more about the difference":
Month-end timing: transactions coming from Linxo are timestamped in the France metropolitan time zone. If a transaction falls at the boundary between two months, it may not appear on the expected statement. No need to worry — simply carry the reconciliation over to the following month; unreconciled entries will shift over automatically.
Reconciliation without importing bank transactions
If you don't import bank transactions into the tool, here's how the reconciliation works.
1 – You're on the reconciliation page for January 2023.
The page displays, in the "to point" section, the book entries for January 2023 that you need to work through. The "pointed" section shows the entries you've already pointed — meaning you've confirmed they match your bank statement.
2 – Have your paper (or printed) bank statement ready.
3 – Compare each line of your bank statement against the list of entries in your reconciliation tool. Each time you find an entry recorded at the correct amount and date, click "Point". That entry will then be marked as appearing on the statement.
4 – Repeat this for the remaining entries on the page and all transactions on your statement. As you point your entries, the difference between your accounting balance and your bank balance should get closer to 0.
You can check this difference directly on the page in the control section at the top.
Step 3 – Validate the statement
Once your accounting balance and bank balance match, your screen should look like this:
The difference between your bank balance and your accounting balance is $0, and both balances match. You can consider your reconciliation for this statement complete and validated.
To do so, click "Validate this month" (top right).
Once the reconciliation is validated, you can download the reconciliation report for that period and print it to keep a record.
You can then move on to reconciling your other statements.
Opening balance
Do I need to reconcile from the very beginning?
You've started using the accounting software mid-year and aren't sure how to approach bank reconciliation: do you need to go back and reconcile everything from the start? Or can you begin with the current month?
Reconciliation is a control tool for your accounting. We recommend starting your reconciliation from a specific month — but only if the accounting balance recorded before that date is correct.
Example: You want to start your reconciliation on 01/01/2023. You'll need to make sure your accounting balance is correct as of 12/31/2022.
If that balance is off, the error will carry through your entire accounting period.
To avoid any errors, we recommend running the reconciliation process at minimum for the current accounting period.
Starting your reconciliation mid-year: how does it work?
You've decided to start your reconciliation mid-year. To prevent unreconciled entries recorded before your start date from cluttering your reconciliation, you can reconcile them all at once.
Here's an example: you're working on a calendar accounting period (January 1 through December 31) and want to start your reconciliation on 06/01/2023.
To do this, reconcile all entries prior to 06/01/2023 in a single statement covering the period 01/01/2023 to 05/31/2023.
Then create a new statement from 06/01/2023 to 06/30/2023 and begin your regular reconciliation process.
From that month onward, you can perform your bank reconciliation as described in this article.
Go further:
Your complete guide: bank reconciliation in Springly
This guide combines theory and hands-on practice.
With tips and screenshots, it walks you through bank reconciliation in Springly. Happy reading!
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