🔍 What to Do Before You Reconcile Your Accounts
Reconciliation is more than a routine step in your bookkeeping process—it’s where small mistakes can turn into bigger reporting problems if you’re not careful. If your goal is accurate records and reliable reports, here’s what to check before hitting that “Reconcile” button:
- Download and Match All Transactions
Ensure every bank and credit card transaction has been imported into your bookkeeping software and matched to the correct entry. Skipped or unmatched transactions will throw off your ending balance and leave you with inaccurate reports.
- Clear Any Duplicate Entries
Duplicates can happen—especially if you manually enter data or syncing with multiple sources. Unchecked, they can lead to overstated income or expenses, which directly affects your reporting and tax prep.
- Review Outstanding Checks
Outstanding checks that haven’t cleared can create the illusion of more cash on hand than you have. If a check hasn’t cleared in a reasonable amount of time, investigate and decide whether it should be voided, reissued, or followed up on.
Skipping these steps can result in false matches, inaccurate balances, and misleading reports. Taking a few extra minutes to review your data ensures cleaner books and better control over your business finances.