Accounts reconciliation refers to the process of comparison that is made between the accounting records held by a company about its bank accounts and the modifications that are made to these accounts by the bank itself.
It’s a necessary process but one that’s often very tedious and time consuming. However, luckily, this doesn’t always have to be the case. Keep reading for some tips on how to make the process more efficient.
- Have all necessary documents to hand
You need to have all necessary documents to hand to be able to get the best overall view possible. Not only this, but it’s a lot harder to complete the process without having the documents together in one easily accessible place because you’ll have to keep going back to find documents or get hold of the right people to obtain missing information, and so on.
- Remember the till
Tills have a big role in the finances of a company so they can’t be forgotten, or the accounts reconciliation process will be more complex. It’s best to carry out regular reconciliation using cash, a book balance, and an accounting balance so you can reduce the number of mistakes that occur.
- Automate the process
As I’m sure you’re well aware by now, manual admin always takes a lot longer and is more likely to go wrong than automated processes are. There are many tools out there to automate all of or at least part of this process to make it easier and more efficient, including Xelix, which uses AI technology to automate many financial processes, including, but not limited to, account reconciliation.
- Complete the process in sections
If you don’t have a platform to automate some of the process for you, it’s best to carry out the accounts reconciliation in sections. This is useful because if an error is found you won’t need to go back over everything, just that specific section.
- Analyse any discrepancies
More often than not, a problem with an accounts reconciliation is the result of a human error like making an entry twice or manually entering a figure with the digits in the wrong order, for example.
Instead of having to take your time going through accounts bit by bit, you can try and find the source of the issue by paying close attention to these kinds of errors and checking whether any discrepancies can simply be linked to an amount in another transaction.
- Remember that banks can make mistakes too
If you find an error but can’t figure out why, get in touch with your bank. Although they don’t often make mistakes, it is possible. Something like a wrong amount being taken from your account could result in an error, so be sure to check.
- Reconciling items is the last resort
It’s easy to put discrepancies down as a reconciling item but this doesn’t actually solve the problem and the discrepancy will still be there. Before doing this, make sure all information and documentation is up to date and ask for any receipts or invoices you’ve not received.
As you can see, accounts reconciliation can be made that little bit easier thanks to these 7 tips. Even better, by automating your process entirely, you might not even have to do a thing.
