You will need the Full Write Accounting permission to perform this action.
Bank reconciliation is an important process that all churches should do for many reasons. First, it helps ensure the balances of your books match the bank's - and helps identify why any differences exist. Secondly, it prevents some of the editing of reconciled transactions, improving your internal security controls.
We recommend reconciling monthly, though needs vary across organizations.
Creating a New Bank Reconciliation
Download your monthly bank statement for the last unreconciled month in One Church (for a first reconciliation, use the first full calendar month of transactions).
Then go to Accounting > Banking in the left-hand menu, click the Reconciliations tab at the top, and click + Add New.
The New Bank Reconciliation pop up will open.
Account - Required. Choose the register account you are reconciling. The dropdown is grouped by account type: Asset (checking, savings) and Liability (credit cards, loans). Only accounts with Use as register? checked appear here. If the account isn't in the list, add it to your chart of accounts first and check Use as register? in its Options section. This article details how.
If the selected account has a pending reconciliation, you'll be notified and a button will appear that takes you to finish it. You cannot have two reconciliations for the same account active at the same time.
Once an account is chosen, the Bank Statement Details section reveals the reconciliation fields:
Last Reconciliation - Shows the ending date of the previous reconciliation (if any) so you know where to pick up. Click on to be open the specific reconciliation.
Beginning Balance - Pre-filled and read-only. For a first reconciliation this is the starting balance set in the chart of accounts (or $0.00). Otherwise it is the ending balance of the previous reconciliation. This should match the beginning balance on your bank statement. If it doesn't, past reconciliations should be reviewed before continuing.
Ending Balance - Required. The ending balance for the month you are reconciling, from the bank statement.
Ending Date - Required. The ending date from the bank statement.
Click Save to create the reconciliation. You'll be taken to the reconciliation screen to begin matching transactions.
Reconciliation Process
On the reconciliation screen, the Date, Payment, Deposits, and Total columns are sortable. The screen is split into multiple sections:
Entries Tab - All unreconciled transactions.
Go through each transaction on your bank statement and check the matching transaction in the table. The sum of payments and deposits should exactly match between One Church and the bank statement. Changes save immediately upon checking or unchecking - no need to click Finish Later.
For a missing entry, click Add New at the top to create one. For a duplicate, use the 3-dots menu at the start of the row and select Void to enter in a linked counter entry or Edit the transaction.
Notes Tab - Add notes to the reconciliation report (for example, explanations of any variances).
Overview Box - The running totals that determine when you're done:
Beginning Balance - should match the bank statement.
Payments - count and total for payments selected.
Deposits - count and total for deposits selected.
Cleared Balance - Beginning Balance − Payments + Deposits.
Expected - the ending balance on the bank statement.
Difference - Cleared Balance − Expected.
Important: The bank reconciliation can only be marked as successfully completed if the Difference is $0.00.
Details Box - Informational summary of the reconciliation: Reconciliation #, Statement Ending Date, Account, (Reconciled On, Reconciled By is included in a completed reconciliation).
Once the report matches exactly, the button in the upper right changes from Finish Later to Finish Reconciling. Clicking it closes the reconciliation, marks each included transaction as reconciled, and prevents edits to those transactions (unless you delete the reconciliation report).
Helpful Tip
Deleting a bank reconciliation does not delete any transactions contained within.