Completing a Bank Reconciliation

In this article:

• Creating a New Bank Reconciliation
• Opening, Unlocking, or Deleting Previous Bank Reconciliations

By completing a bank reconciliation, you can compare transactions that have been entered in your accounting software (Actionstep) with the transactions recorded in your bank account.

In this article, you will learn how to process reconciliations for regular (non-trust) bank accounts. This includes:

• Creating a bank reconciliation, and then:
  • Completing a printed bank reconciliation, or 
  • Completing an electronic statement upload bank reconciliation
• Opening, unlocking, or deleting previous bank reconciliations

Creating a New Bank Reconciliation

When completing a new bank reconciliation, you have two options:

• Completing a printed bank statement reconciliation: Using this method, Actionstep displays all transactions in your system that are unreconciled up to the Statement Date. You can then check each transaction as it appears in your printed bank statement and if you find it matches a transaction in Actionstep, you can manually mark the transaction as a match. 
• Completing an electronic bank statement reconciliation: Using this method, Actionstep finds any transactions in Actionstep that match transactions in the electronic statement you uploaded and automatically marks them as reconciled. For those that don't have a match, you can manually review them. Reconciling using an electronic statement will be a faster process since Actionstep will automatically review all transactions that are in the uploaded file and reconcile any transactions that match in Actionstep. 

Both processes are described in the instructions below: 

• Part 1: Start the reconciliation process
• Part 2a: Use a printed bank statement in your reconciliation
• Part 2b: Use an electronic statement upload in your reconciliation

Part 1: To start the reconciliation process:

1. In Actionstep, click the global Create button and choose Bank Reconciliation from the Accounting section. (You may need to click Show all to view the full list of options.) The New Bank Account Reconciliation page appears.
2. Click the Bank Account drop-down list and choose the account you want to reconcile. Details about the reconciliation status of this account appear next to the drop-down list. 
3. In the Statement reference field, enter the statement reference as it appears on your bank account. If you are using an electronic bank statement, there may not be a reference to enter. Most users will therefore just enter the date of the statement.
4. In the Closing date on statement field, enter the closing date of the bank statement you are reconciling against. This is not always the date of the last transaction on the statement.
5. In the Closing balance on statement field, enter the closing amount on the bank statement. This is the amount that was in the bank account after the last transaction for the statement period is accounted for.
6. In the Deposit slips field, choose either Group payments together or Separate payments. 
   NOTE:  Actionstep allows you to create deposit slips for any cash or check receipts. If you choose Group payments together, any individual transactions that were deposited at your bank using Actionstep's deposit slips will appear as one deposit for the total amount. If you choose Separate payments, the transactions will appear individually in the bank reconciliation. 

7. Under Statement Format, choose the format for your statement and proceed to the appropriate next section of this article:

   • Printed bank statement: Proceed to "Part 2a: Use a printed bank statement in your reconciliation."

   • Electronic statement upload: Proceed to "Part 2b: Use an electronic statement upload in your reconciliation."

Part 2a: To use a printed bank statement in your reconciliation:

1. Complete the instructions in Part 1 and select to use a Printed bank statement for your Statement Format.
2. After completing all other fields on the New Bank Account Reconciliation page, click Create. The Reconciliation page appears.
3. Review the information along the top of the page. This includes the account number, dates, and balances. It also includes an Out by field which shows how much the transactions and balances are off. (If transactions are already matched, this button instead says Reconcile.)
4. Using the list of Actionstep transactions, cross-check each transaction with transactions listed in your paper statement. 
5. When you find matching transactions, toggle the switch in the Match column to show that transaction is matched.
   TIP:  You might consider marking each transaction on the paper statement as you match it as well. 
6. Complete this process for all transactions in the list. 
7. Once every transaction is matched, the Out by field changes to say Reconcile. Click this button to complete the reconciliation and lock it. 

Part 2b: To use an electronic statement upload in your reconciliation:

1. Complete the instructions in Part 1, selecting to use an Electronic statement upload for your Statement Format.
2. While still viewing the New Bank Account Reconciliation page, in the Electronic File field, click Choose File to browse to and select your saved online copy of your bank statement. 
3. Click the File type drop-down list and choose the type of file you uploaded in Step 2. 
   NOTE:  If the file type you need isn't listed (for example, CSV), click Manage file types (located below this drop-down list) and set it up based on your bank's import specifications.
4. Click Create. The Reconciling [Account] page appears. 
5. Review the information along the top of the page. This includes the account number, dates, and balances. It also includes an Out by field which shows how much the transactions and balances are off. (If transactions between Actionstep and your statement match, this button instead says Reconcile.)
6. Compare any unmatched transactions on the Actionstep View tab to unmatched transactions on the Bank View tab. 
7. Toggle the switch in the Match column to match a transaction. The Match Transaction window appears and shows you the remaining, unmatched transactions from the other view. 
8. Toggle the switch in the Match column beside the transaction that should be matched to the transaction you were viewing in Step 7. You can select more than one transaction to match at once. 
9. As you match transactions, the value in the Out by field should be reduced. Once you've finished matching the transactions on the Match Transaction window, click Match. You are returned to the Reconciliation page. 
10. Once all transactions in both Actionstep and the online statement are matched, the Out by field changes to say Reconcile. Click this button to complete the reconciliation and lock it. 

Opening, Unlocking, or Deleting Previous Bank Reconciliations

You can access a list of previous bank reconciliations. If the reconciliation is still in draft, you can edit it and continue the reconciliation. If it's locked, you can unlock it or delete it. 

To work with existing bank reconciliations:

1. In Actionstep, go to Accounting > Banking. The Banking page appears.
2. Find the account you want to view.
3. Click its ellipses icon, and choose Reconciliations from the View section. The Reconciliations page appears.Accounts that have incomplete reconciliations appear in orange:
4. Complete any of the following tasks:
   • To view a specific reconciliation, click its number in the ID column. If the reconciliation isn't yet completed, you can continue to work on it. If it's completed, you can only view it. 
   • To unlock a previously completed reconciliation, select the checkbox next the reconciliation ID and click Unlock. 
   • To delete a draft reconciliation, select the checkbox next to the reconciliation ID and click Delete. To delete a completed bank reconciliation, you must first unlock it. 

Related Articles:

• Trust Reconciliations
• Trust Reconciliations Adjustments