Part 2 of “What does a Bookkeeper really do?” Bank and Credit Card Reconciliations: Do I really need them?

I know it’s not anyone’s favorite job but reconciling the bank accounts and credit card accounts is a necessary evil. Cloud based accounting has made this task a whole lot easier with bank feeds. Your bank or credit card accounts are linked up to your accounting software and as items flow through, they can be coded to the appropriate category (think asset, sales, expense etc...) Some of them can even have Bank Rules created so that reoccurring transactions will automatically be recognized. If you wait until the end of the month to do your bank reconciliation, then it will talk longer and will be a whole lot harder. Working on it daily helps because the transaction will be fresh in your mind and not seem so overwhelming.

Reconciling your Bank Accounts allows for:

1.      You to rule out possible double charges, overcharges or possible fraudulent charges. You can link each deposit or charge to specific Invoices or Bills.

2.      Let’s you stay on top of money coming in and going out. How much did you really spend this month on office supplies? You should be able to quickly pull that info up.

3.      Let’s you know quickly if a check or payment from a client was returned. Returned payments and fees can create a nightmare if your account if not addressed quickly.

4.      Helps you understand your bank fees. Do you know what all those fees are for? Do you need to find a new bank?

5.      Accurate Financial Reports. Your Financial Reports are important and useful to the health of your business. They can not be accurate if the Bank Accounts are not accurate. It all begins there.

As a Bookkeeper, I can get your business set up in Accounting Software that will allow this process to be almost seamless. Contact me to get started.