Reconciling Item Input Form

This input form is opened whenever you click on the New button to create a Reconciling Item. This window is used in all of the Reconciliation Types.

The main elements of the Reconciling Item window are:

• Open Date - this is the date the item you are about to describe first became a reconciling item. You may want to use the month end date of the reconciliation, or if you have a specific date that an event occurred, you may use that. The Open Date will be the earliest date that the item would appear in a reconciliation.
  • CAUTION - if you enter a date that is significantly earlier than the date of the reconciliation you are working on, the item will appear in earlier reconciliations when you print them. That could cause an Unidentified Difference to be calculated in a reconciliation that you had already completed. Be careful if you enter a date earlier than the current reconciliation period.

• Description - there are only three words to say about the description field...
                                   MAKE IT COMPLETE!!!
  Use as much space as you need. Remember... you will probably never know as much about the item you are describing as you do now. Use this opportunity to take that extra 30 seconds to add the journal entry number, or the name of the person who gave you the information you are entering, or the number of the account that should have been entered for the transaction. As Ben Franklin said, "a stitch in time saves nine" and we hope you save lots of stitches.
  

• Amount - enter the amount of the item.
• Close Date - when the reconciling item is no longer an active part of the reconciliation, click on the box to enter a check mark and fill in the appropriate date.
  • CAUTION - the date that you enter is critical because the item will disappear from the reconciliation as of that date. Notice I said "disappear from the reconciliation" and not "disappear from the database". Reconciling items are retained in your Account-Reconciliations.com database forever. This allows you to print historical reconciliations at any time.

  Suggestions for using the Open Date and the Close Date

  1. Make sure the Open Date and the Close Date are in different accounting periods. For example:
          Open Date: 12/31/2010
          Close Date: 01/01/2011
     If they are in the same accounting period, they will not show up on any reconciliation.
  2. Do not complete the Close Date until the next month is completed and the transaction has in fact cleared the account. You may be tempted to enter the Close Date when you are creating the reconciling item because you "know you won't forget to make the journal entry". But, things happen. We forget. It only takes a few mouse clicks and keystrokes to close an item, so we suggest you wait until it is actually closed.
  3. Consider using two reconciling items to document a transaction. For example, you accrue an amount in January for a fine you know you will be charged for a fuel spill. The amount is $5,000. The state isn't very efficient at billing for the fine, so you don't receive the notice and write the check until June. Here are the two ways to handle this:
     1. Method One:
        1. Create a reconciling item in January with an Open Date of January 31
        2. When the item is paid in June, add the check number and check date to the description section of the reconciling item and enter the Close Date as June 30
        3. The reconciling item will appear on every reconciliation until June. It will not print on the June reconciliation
        4. Method Two:
           1. Create a reconciling item in January with an Open Date of January 31
           2. When the item is paid, create a second reconciling item for the payment showing the check number, date and amount - this item will have an Open Date of June 30
           3. In July you will enter a Close Date for both items of July 1. By doing this the June reconciliation will show the item that was accrued in January and it will show the payment made to satisfy the obligation. In the July reconciliation, both items will no longer appear.

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  Type of reconciling item (Optional) - Required Adjustment, Timing Item or List Component. You may select one of these options to identify what type of reconciling item you have created. You can find out more about these choices on the
  Reconciling Item Type
  page.

When you have finished entering data in this window, click on the Save & Exit button and you will return to the reconciliation you were working on.

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