"I HATE reconciling!"
When you reconcile your bank accounts, are you doing it half-assed? Come’on, admit it! Is it because it’s “boring” or “tedious”? by Angi Ingalls of Lost In Office Space
The thing is, you aren’t the only one to feel this way. But, let’s make it fun! The process begins long before the statement comes and when I’m through with you, you will appreciate the time saver later if you ever need to research something. Let’s walk through the process. CHECKS
If you get a check by mail, on the outside of the envelope, write the date. Do NOT throw the envelope away! This can save you in the future! I also leave all notes that come with a check in the envelope. If it contains the remit invoice, I just write the invoice number on the envelope as well and toss the invoice (it’s in the system, you don’t need it).
If you are handed a check, write the date on the memo line, small.
When you deposit a cluster of checks,
print out the deposit page from your bookkeeping system or take the copy of the deposit slip
and gather all the envelopes and write the date of deposit on the top envelope and put a square around it.
Later you will add the deposit slip to this same bundle and staple them all together.
These bundles can be collected all in a drawer or box for the month.
Color photocopy (can put as many as you can on the scanner bed) all the checks of that deposit or lay them all out on a flat surface and take a good quality cell picture. These pictures and .pdfs should be stored on your harddrive in a folder labeled with the year and last 4 digits of the year (ie 18 1234). Name the file last 4 digits and date of deposit (ie 1234 01218). Of course, change it up to what suits you best.
CHECK NOTE: If a check ever bounces, it is in your best interest and the person who wrote the check to NOT redeposit the slip the bank gives you. In my experience, it’s best to reach out to them and ask they write a new check plus the bounce fee you incurred.
RECEIPTS
Date the receipt at the top, add last 4 digits of card (if used). This will help you save time later from having to find it on the receipt. Every moment counts, right?
Process them ASAP – entering them into your bookkeeping system
Put these with the check bundles
RECONCILIATIONS I reconcile the end of every quarter. I do not do this monthly, let’s face it, reconciling can take time if there are issues and priorities are often set. If you can’t do it monthly, it really needs to be done every quarter. This will help you catch issues and address them with the bank. You can’t very well expect the bank to reimburse bogus fees a year later, can you? Sure, they may be gracious but don’t expect it.
Grab your check bundles and that month’s receipts
Follow the process of reconciliation – with your bundles, solving any peculiars should be rather easy now
Print out the end reports presented after reconciliations
Bundle everything together and staple
Statement first sheet
Receipts
Check envelopes
The rest of the statement
Reconciliation printouts
At the end of the year, these all get put together and put in a years folder
This sounds like a lot but once you get into it, it really isn’t. It will help you save loads of time later on should any problem come up. Such as
A disputed check
A second check you missed in an envelope
Someone saying you deposited a check too early
Dispute over when you received a check – this is common issue with rents for instance
A check that was canceled on you without notice or bounced
These are just some of the problems I have run into over the years and when you have everything in one spot, it makes it a whole lot easier and faster to troubleshoot the problem. Hope these tips help you save valuable time in your future! Angi Ingalls of Lost In Office Space