How to Reconcile Your Checking Account

Reconciling your checking account simply means matching your personal checking account records with those of your bank. Because it is easy to overlook a transaction or two, even if you are diligent about watching your money, keeping a regular reconciliation schedule can help prevent bounced checks and other types of overdrafts. With the advent of online banking and various financial software programs such as Quicken, reconciling a checkbook has become easier to do.

Things You'll Need

• Bank statement
• Checking account register

Instructions

1. Get a copy of your most recent bank statement. Generally speaking, your bank statement is the final authority on what is in your checking account. The goal of reconciliation is to get the entries in your checking register to match those in your bank statement, or, in unusual cases, to point out errors in your bank statement.

2. Open your checking account register. You will need to reference your most recent transactions to match them up with your bank statement.

3. Record the balance reported by your bank at the end of the current statement period.

4. Match up all entries in your checking register with those on your bank statement. You may want to place a check mark next to the entries that match in both places.

5. Note any deposits or credits in your checking register that do not appear on your bank statement. You may have made recent deposits that your bank has not processed. If your checking register shows any deposits during the statement period that do not appear on the bank statement, it may indicate an error that your bank made. Verify that your deposit entry is legitimate before you contact the bank.

6. Match any deposits or withdrawals in your checking register with those on your bank statement. As with your deposits and credits, you may want to check off those deposits that appear in both places to show that they reconcile.

7. List all checking account register withdrawals that do not appear on your bank statement. This should include any type of withdrawal or debit, including automated teller machine (ATM) transactions, checks, fees or electronic payments.

8. Verify that your checking register reconciles with your bank statement by entering your figures into a formula. Take the closing balance on your bank statement, add in the deposits and credits that are in your register but not on your statement and subtract any withdrawals or checks that have not cleared your bank account. Your final balance should be the same as what you have listed in your checking account register.

9. Perform the steps again if your numbers do not reconcile. A failed reconciliation typically means you overlooked one or more entries in your register or that you never actually entered them into your register. If you still cannot get your accounts to reconcile, you may want to contact the bank branch and ask for customer assistance or look at your up-to-date records online to see if you can find the discrepancy.

References

• MSN Money: No More Overdraft Protection? 5 Tips; Stacy Johnson; September 24, 2010
• Bankrate: Seven Ways to Keep Your Bank Account in Check; Jenny C. McCune; April 6, 2004
• Wells Fargo Bank: Money Management Tips
• Quicken: Reconciling an Account in Quicken; June 17, 2011
• The Henssler Financial Group: Reconciling Your Bank Account; Connie Holt