Let’s be honest. Working through a month-end bank reconciliation can be miserable. We know that the process is vital to the financial health of the company, yet, the monotonous nature of the reconciliation process can lead you to put it off or do a reconcile-ish process.
News flash: merely checking for similar numbers on the general ledger and bank statements will not do your company much good.
There is a better way to do this and it might shock you: Run through bank reconciliation every day.
Before you reach for the torches and pitchforks, let me explain.
Controllers know the process well: logging in to multiple online banking platforms and sifting through hundreds of transactions until it all adds up. By reconciling daily, you minimize the time spent by reducing the number of transactions you look through.
Just in case you aren’t convinced, read on to know the top five reasons for daily bank reconciliation:
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Nip Bank Errors in the Bud
According to Forbes, “While banks generally reimburse consumers for any theft-related to personal credit cards and accounts, that is not always or even typically the case with business accounts which don’t have the same protections.”
This means if you leave fraud to fester, your company could be on the hook for the loss. By working through bank reconciliations daily, it is possible to catch potential fraud and cash flow leaks immediately.
People aren’t perfect and neither are banks. Bank records are still susceptible to human error and if you aren’t checking the validity of your transactions, you could be letting mistakes slip.
Frequent Reconciliations Lead To Fewer Frustrations
The more frequently you run through your bank statement the easier it gets. Not only do you know what to expect, but you know the red flags. Since you’re not looking through a month’s worth of transactions, the process is as quick and painless as possible.
Utilizing Trovata’s integration with the Sage Banking Service makes reconciliation easier than ever. Through the outbound integration, Sage users can self-administer aggregated bank data from key bank accounts. Users can receive the most up-to-date, unified bank data directly from Sage, eliminate rekeying through automating bank reconciliation, and streamline the reconciliation process to only a few clicks.
Monthly Bank Reconciliations Mean Working With Outdated Info
Monthly bank reconciliations leave room for discrepancies between your accounting records and your actual cash balance. This leaves you susceptible to bouncing a check and incurring overdraft fees.
Bouncing a check has more consequences than the annoyance of resending payment. Failed payments can damage partner relationships and lead to strict repayment options in the future. Reconciling daily also helps avoid unnecessary overdraft fees.
Cash is the lifeblood of any operation; don’t give it away when you don’t have to.
Books Do Not Always Equal Reality
Under the accrual system, you can debit an account when you finish a project. The books will reflect the payment, but a bank reconciliation will show whether or not the payment has actually been received.
In addition, QuickBooks highlights another common discrepancy between the accounting books and the bank record. “There are bank-only transactions that your company’s accounting records most likely don’t account for. These transactions include interest income, bank deposits, and bank fees.”
Monthly reconciliation leaves you playing guessing games with your cash balance. If you don’t reconcile frequently, you are making business decisions with outdated information.
Tracking Cash Flow Daily Offers Insight Into Daily Spending Habits
Spending on shipping or even the occasional office coffee/donut run can impact the bottom line. The little things can add up quickly when unmonitored. Having a solid understanding of cash flow is critical to being able to forecast and plan for future financial positions. Daily monitoring gives you a better understanding of your cash flow and spending habits.
You don’t need to be a company with high-volume transactions to do daily reconciliations. With daily reconciliation, the process doesn’t have to be draining. Cut the number of transactions you need to sift through and use tools like automation technology to further lighten the workload.
Gain Global Cash Flow Visibility With Trovata
Trovata can help you by automating the aggregation of your bank transactions in one place, which means no more multiple websites and logins. Need to identify troublesome or missing transactions? Trovata’s Google-like search tool allows you to find and tag specific transactions within milliseconds, making banking reconciliation as painless as its ever been.
Get tips for bank reconciliation and month-end close in our article, “5 Ways to Improve Your Month-End Close Process with Trovata.”
