Reconciliation
FinanceThe process of comparing two sets of records to ensure they are in agreement.
Bank Reconciliation is a process used by various entities to ensure that a company’s records (its general ledger, cash account, etc.) are correct and that the bank’s record is also correct.
TL;DR: Reconciliation matches accounting ledgers against bank statements to identify missing transactions, errors, or differences. This process ensures the mathematical integrity of a company’s financial books.
Key Details:
- Objective: Match the ending balance on a bank statement with the cash balance on the general ledger
- Adjusting Items: Explains deposits in transit, outstanding cheques, interest income, bank fees, and processing typos
- Frequency: Bookkeepers generally run bank reconciliations weekly or monthly for audits and tax readiness
Steps in Reconciliation:
- Compare Records: Match the transactions on the bank statement with your own records.
- Identify Differences: Find checks that haven’t cleared, deposits in transit, or bank fees not yet recorded.
- Adjust Balances: Update your records to reflect the bank statement.
- Final Check: Ensure that the adjusted balances match.
Automating the conversion of PDF bank statements to Excel or CSV significantly speeds up the reconciliation process by eliminating manual data entry.
About Our Financial Glossary
This definition of Reconciliation is part of our comprehensive financial and accounting processing glossary. Understanding banking terms is crucial for accurate bookkeeping, auditing, and automated data entry workflows. If you regularly work with PDF bank statements or financial documents, consider using SmartBankStatement's professional converter to securely extract, validate, and reconcile your transaction data into Excel or CSV format effortlessly.