Bank Feeds
Part of Bank feeds and reconciliation
Investigating a bank balance that does not reconcile
Trace a bank reconciliation difference through statement dates, starting balances, missing items, duplicates and earlier changes.
Start with the bank statement and the last reconciliation known to agree. Confirm the account, statement closing date and closing balance. Then decide whether the difference belongs to the current period or was carried forward before you change an entry.
Key reconciliation facts from MYOB and QuickBooks
Check the comparison
Check that the software and statement use the same bank or credit-card account and cut-off date. Use the statement's closing balance for that date, not its opening balance or today's online balance. A feed balance may reflect transactions later than the period under review.
On a first reconciliation, check the opening ledger balance against bank evidence and identify uncleared items at the starting date. On a later reconciliation, compare the beginning position with the last approved reconciliation. An opening-balance error needs a different investigation from a transaction missed this month.
Find when the difference began
Compare the prior reconciliation report with its bank statement. If that position still agrees, focus on current-period entries and cleared selections. If it has changed, inspect entries previously reconciled.
MYOB identifies edited or deleted reconciled transactions as possible causes and uses this current-versus-prior distinction in its troubleshooting guidance.
| Finding | Evidence to inspect |
|---|---|
| Statement movement missing from the books | Bank line, feed status, filters and imports for that date. |
| Book entry absent from the statement | Source document, bank account, date and evidence of later clearance. |
| Same amount appears twice | Actual bank movements, imported lines and ledger entries. Equal amounts are only a clue. |
| Wrong amount or direction | Source record, entered amount and any split. |
| Difference exists from the start | Opening balance and uncleared items at changeover. |
| Earlier reconciled period has changed | Prior report and edited, deleted or newly reconciled entries. |
An item recorded near month end may clear on the next statement. Keep its reference and carry it as outstanding; later clearance should support that explanation.
Check an apparently missing feed item
First confirm that the bank has processed the movement. MYOB says an unprocessed transaction will not yet appear in its feed; delivery delays and display filters can also hide an expected line.
Check the bank record, feed status and filters before importing a replacement. An overlapping file can introduce a second bank line.
If the bank shows one movement but the software shows two, determine whether the repeat is among imported lines or ledger entries. If the bank shows two movements, investigate both. Also check whether a single genuine line was matched to the wrong record.
Correct the cause and keep the trail
Record the difference, affected references, cause, correction and reviewer. Use the product's supported correction process and check the affected reconciliation again. Avoid an adjustment whose only purpose is to force a zero difference.
Have an accountant review the method before changing a previously approved or reported period. Changing or deleting a reconciled transaction can affect the reconciliation, and the affected periods may need to be reconciled again.
Finish when the dated statement agrees and outstanding items are identified. Another reviewer can then follow the correction.
