I am trying to do my month end procedure and reconcile my bank account, my matched balance is right and so is payment and receipts but in the difference tab my receipts are showing which i take it means they are not reconciled. When i go into activity on the bank account they are showings as not reconciled but are matched on the reconciliation,how do i clear off the difference and reconcile the receipts?
Firstly are you saying that the statement balance you have input is different to the matched balance? If so, there will either be an input error or something missed/not posted. Secondly if the remaining difference is zero, then you have to press the reconcile button at the bottom left to match, clear and in turn, this will automatically flag the items in activity as reconciled.
My statement balance is the same as the end balance, the difference is my receipts, do i simply need to hit the reconcile button. If i hit it can i undo it if not correct? Yes the statement balance is different to my matched balance and it is the receipts but they are on the system as they are now in red matched in bottom part of reconciliation...
I have started again and now the difference is Nil.... end balance is £260357.10 matched balance £260357.10 statement balance £260357.10 book balance £259165.70.....why is this?
Can i now hit reconcile? what reports do i have to run before printing off my month end and what should i be looking out for that it all matches and is correct?
ahh i have posted things dated July but i thought that was ok to do? is it? how do i then find the postings i have made on a report so i can balance that too ?
Your book balance may be different to your statement because there are further transactions that are un-reconciled for a later date?
So, if you are reconciling to 31 March, but you posted a few April transactions, they will affect your book balance.
Manager,
Michelle is correct in what she says about the book balance in Sage. However, I suspect that you are actually talking about the figure that appears in the box under the heading "Book Balance" in the reconciliation screen in Sage (later edited to add a P.S. below).
I think that the "Book Balance" that shows at the bottom left of the reconciliation screen is always the book balance as at the reconciliation date (i.e. it excludes later entries in the nominal ledger account). That means that the reason for the difference between the book balance and the statement or "matched balance" is that there are "unmatched items" at the reconciliation date. These will be sitting in the top part of the reconciliation screen and are perfectly normal. Cheques you've recorded in your banking records that haven't been presented by the recipient are one example of the type of transactions that can sit in the top part of the reconciliation screen for some time before appearing on the statement allowing them to be "matched".
Regards,
P.S. I've just noticed that the PDF captured under the View history button does include later entries in the nominal ledger account. Very confusing given that the screen you are looking at when you click the Reconcile button may show a completely different figure! So, as usual, Michelle was spot on with her comment. Sorry if I've confused the issue.
-- Edited by bro0010 on Saturday 26th of July 2014 05:15:48 PM
Can i still hit reconcile with the book balance being out?
The book balance isn't "out" if the difference box shows zero. The essence of a bank reconciliation is to explain the reason the statement balance and the book balance are not the same. The classic presentation is: book balance + outstanding payments - outstanding receipts = statement balance.
In Sage's presentation the "unmatched items" section at the top of the reconciliation screen breaks down into receipts and payments columns (equivalent to the outstanding receipts and outstanding payments referred to above). Unfortunately Sage doesn't total them on screen for you. The Report button shows the report you want for your records. I'd always save this report somewhere safe.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
-- Edited by bro0010 on Saturday 26th of July 2014 05:47:11 PM
Click the report button and if the bottom of the report shows Difference: 0.00 then export the report to a PDF file (for your records) and click on reconcile when you are done. This sets you up to reconcile the next bank statement balance. If the difference is not zero, do not click on the reconcile button.
If you have any concerns - do a backup before you commit the reconciliation.
