Bank Transactions Questions

I have created a new bank account in my Chart of Accounts, but it doesn't appear in the list of bank accounts to select within a transaction.

Edit the new account from the Chart of Accounts list and check that the Account Type is set to Bank. If it is not set to Bank, it will not appear in the list of bank accounts. Additionally check that Account is Active is ticked. Inactive accounts will not appear in the list of bank accounts for selection.

How does the Electronic Payment file work for sending vendor payments to the bank?

Initially you must ensure your Dealership card is completed with the full Banking details. This only needs to be done once. To create Electronic Banking files the first step is always to create the Vendor or Cash Payment transaction first: the payment method must be “EFT”. Make sure that the Payee's card file has Banking details fully completed. After the Payments are created open the Electronic Banking window and select the payments to include in the file by ticking, then press Process. You will be prompted to create and save the file, so ensure the file name and path can be located again later. From there the file can be imported into your online Banking application or website.

A cheque I've issued has never been presented and it's over a year old. How can I remove it from my Bank Reconciliation?

If the transaction was created as a Cash Payment then it's simplest to just delete it. However if it is recorded in a closed Financial Year, or if the transaction was a Vendor Payment then this is not a suitable method. Instead, create a Receipts entry and allocate it to the same expense account as the original payment (or purchase, if the payment was a Vendor Payment) with no GST (GNA). Tick both the new Receipts entry and the old outstanding cheque entry off in the next Bank Reconciliation. Note: recommend that the original payment entry have a Note added to indicate the cheque was never presented.

A customer's cheque that I've banked has bounced. I need to save the original payment in my Bank Reconciliation as it was part of a deposit, but I need to show the Sale as unpaid again.

Open (Edit) the original Customer Payment transaction and using the "Undo Receipt" button, select "Dishonour Payment". A new Customer Payment transaction window will appear that reverses the original one. Ensure the bank account selected is the correct one, it should be the normal trading account to which the dishonour has been debited by your bank, and press Process.

There is an amount showing in the Bank Reconciliation window that I’ve previously reconciled. Why has it reappeared?

2 possible reasons: The transaction may have been entered twice, once as a Customer or Vendor Payment against a purchase/sale, and again as a Disbursement /Receipt. To investigate this, go to Cashbook Register and sort by payee or amount. If a duplicate is found, then the correct transaction to retain is the Customer/Vendor Payment, and delete the other. Or, a previously reconciled transaction has been deleted and a new transaction created to replace it (to correct an error). You will need to tick this transaction even though it’s not on the Bank statement.

I have produced a Balance Sheet for the end of a previous financial period, but the bank account balance varies from the amount shown on the Bank Reconciliation as "Accounting" balance that I did at the time.

Generally this would be because of additional transactions entered after that Bank Rec was produced. Clearly these additional transactions would not have been presented on that Bank Rec, otherwise the Bank Rec would not have balanced at the time. This can typically occur at the end of a financial year, where transactions are dated in the previous financial year even though they may not have been physically transacted until later. This is not an error or an issue, as the Balance Sheet is correct now, and the Bank Rec was correct at the time it was printed.

I have ticked off every transaction on the bank statement and it is correct but I still have a discrepancy in my Bank Reconciliation.

Typically this is because a transaction entered and reconciled previously has since been deleted. Test this by attempting to re-reconcile back to your last bank statement: change the Bank Statement date back to the previous statement date, and change the Bank Statement balance to the closing balance shown on the previous statement. If the discrepancy is still showing, then the problem is a deleted transaction. To located previously reconciled but since deleted transactions, use the "Show Deleted" button on the Bank Reconciliation window. If the previous bank statement balances, then the problem lies within the current bank statement and careful checking should identify the problem.

I can't get my Bank Reconciliation to balance. The "Account Balance" showing in the Bank Rec window is not the same as the balance of the bank account in the General Ledger.

The Account Balance value displayed on the top right hand corner of the Bank Reconciliation is the final balance of that account taking into consideration ALL entered transactions. If that varies to the current balance in the General Ledger (by way of Balance Sheet or Account Inquiry) it is likely that transactions exist that post-date today. To identify these, open an Account Inquiry window, select the bank account in question and open out the date range well into the future. If the transactions have been post-dated in error, edit them to the correct date, or if necessary delete and re-key the entry correctly.