How do I reconcile my account with a bank statement?

If you are in the habit of comparing your records to your bank's on a regular basis, iBank makes it easy to do! Reconcile individual transactions every time you check your bank's website, or track the monthly statements your bank sends in the mail.

To reconcile transactions directly in the transaction view:

Simply check the box under the '√' column in list view or thumbnail view to mark a transaction as "Reconciled." The transaction will then be counted in the "Reconciled value" displayed beneath the source list (assuming the account has been marked for inclusion in that total).

Checking individual transactions in this way can be useful when you import transactions that you downloaded from your bank's website (which you know have already been reconciled). You might also reconcile transactions this way if you like to keep a close eye on your records by comparing them to your bank's records every few days or so.

To reconcile transactions using a virtual statement:

For those of us who still like to save our reconciling for the end of the month, iBank provides a handy option to track printed statements. When you receive a statement from your financial institution, select the iBank account you want to reconcile and choose Account>Reconcile with Bank Statement. The following sheet will appear:

Enter a name for the statement that can be used to help distinguish it from others, then type in the starting and ending balance as indicated on your printed statement. Type in the first and last dates that appear on the statement, with times if necessary.

Generally, you will want to leave the start and end times at 12:00 AM and 11:59 PM , respectively. This will ensure that all transactions on the specified dates are included on the statement.

Click "OK" when you are finished. You will notice that a new item, statements Statements, has been added to the source list under your account (click the small disclosure triangle next to the account name if you don't see it):

statements in source list

On the right side of the main window you will see the statement view:

The left side of the statement view displays a list of all the statements you have saved under the current account. The top-right side shows all transactions associated with the selected statement; this section is automatically populated with any transactions that fall inside the date range you specified when creating the statement. The bottom-right side of the statement view shows all transactions that have not yet been added to a statement.

Comparing the virtual statement to the printed statement

To reconcile this list with your printed statement, check off any transactions in the top-right section that match those listed on the printed bank statement. If you need to make adjustments to a transaction, simply double-click the field you want to change.

Keep in mind that any changes made in the statement view affect the original transactions in your account, so be sure to double-check any changes you make.

You can add new transactions directly in the statement view by clicking the plus button at the bottom of the transaction list, but you must return to the account register if you want to delete any transactions.

Adding transactions from outside the statement period

Sometimes transactions must be carried over from one statement period to the next, for example when you write a check that is not cashed until the following month. When reconciling a statement in iBank, these "carry-overs" appear in the "Unreconciled Transactions" section at the bottom-right side of the statement view.

To add a transaction appearing in this section to the current statement, simply drag and drop it into the section above with your other transactions. It will automatically be marked as "Reconciled" and counted towards your reconciled balance for that statement.

To remove a transaction that doesn't belong on the current statement, select it and click the minus button at the bottom of the transaction list - this will cause it to be sent back to the "Unreconciled Transactions" section, where it will be available for use on other statements if necessary.

Any given transaction can only be included on one statement at a time. If a transaction appears in the top-right side of one statement but you need it to appear on a different statement, you must remove it from the statement it is currently on. You can then switch to the correct statement and drag & drop the transaction from the "Unreconciled Transactions" section to the top-right side where it belongs.

Reconciling the statement

To help you complete the statement reconciliation, iBank displays three figures that automatically update as you check off transactions:

Check off transactions and make adjustments as necessary until the "Difference" reaches zero - then you have successfully reconciled the statement!

To adjust your account balance after reconciling:

Sometimes, after you have finished reconciling the transactions in iBank with those on your printed statement, a discrepancy may still exist between your cleared balance and the ending balance of your printed statement. If you check and double-check your records, and just can't seem to find a transaction that was overlooked, you can enter a balance adjustment to sync up your records.

Click on your account in the source list to leave the statement view and return to the transaction view. Choose Account>Adjust Balance, and the following sheet will appear:

Enter the desired account balance and click "OK." A transaction similar to this one will be added to the account:

If you return to the statement view and check off the "Balance adjust" transaction, your statement should now be properly reconciled.

To edit statement settings:

If you make a mistake while setting up your statement in iBank, you can easily correct it. Select the statement in the statement view, then click the edit button at the bottom of the list of statements (on the left side of the statement view). Make any changes necessary in the sheet that appears and click "OK"; the statement will refresh itself automatically and show you the updated list of transactions that belong to it.

To add additional statements:

Once you have created a statement under an account, you don't have to choose Account>Reconcile with Bank Statement to create another one. Simply go to the statement view for that account and click the plus button at the bottom of the list of statements to add a new one.

To delete a statement:

Under the account from which you want to delete the statement, select Statements in the source list (click the small disclosure triangle next to the account to reveal this item if it is hidden) to bring up the statement view for that account. Select the statement you want to remove and click the minus button at the bottom of the statement list to delete it.