Getting Started

While RecWizard is very easy to use and quite intuitive for anyone who works regularly with general ledger accounts, you should read this section of the tutorial to get an overview of what to expect as you venture through the program.

Using the Program the First Time - Setting up accounts to be reconciled.

Before you can actually begin reconciling your accounts you have to set them up in the database. To do this, click on the Application Setup item on the main menu. You can also select Account Setup from the menu to the left of the main menu.

The Application Setup dialog window will open and show all the accounts that have been set up in your database. When you use the program for the first time, there will be no accounts listed.

Click on the New button to add an account. For details about how to enter an account, go to the General Ledger Account Setup portion of this tutorial.

You do not have to enter all your accounts in the database. You only need to set up the accounts you intend to reconcile on a monthly basis using RecWizard. You can add new accounts at any time as you decide to add more to your monthly routine.

Entering period end balances.

While you can enter your account balances as you perform your reconciliations, we recommend that you enter all your account balances at once. Then you don't have to keep referencing your trial balance to see if you have the correct balance that you are reconciling to.

We have created a special input form for this task. Select Enter Period End Balances from the menu. Enter the Reconciliation Date and click Save & Exit. You will now be able to quickly enter your month end balances on this form.

You can examine a sample of this form in the Period End Balances section of this tutorial.

Reconcile your accounts.

You have set up your accounts, entered the balances from your General Ledger, and now you're ready to enter data and reconcile your accounts.

From the main menu you will select Prepare Reconciliations. You can also select Reconcile Accounts from the menu to the left of the main menu. Fill in the Reconciliation Date and then select the account you want to reconcile.

There are many sample reconciliations included in this tutorial and we suggest you go to the Sample Reconciliations page and find an account that is similar to the one you want to reconcile. You will see sample entries and suggestions about how to document your accounting transactions.

When you have completed the reconciliation remember to click on the Prepared by check box - and you're done. Don't forget to print a copy of your completed reconciliation and file it with the appropriate documentation.

Depending on the size of your company, you may also have a person that Approves and Reviews your reconciliations. They will sign in to RecWizard and click on the appropriate check box when they perform their functions in the reconciliation process.

Print the General Ledger Reconciliation Summary Report.

The last step is to print the summary report that will show you that all your accounts have been reconciled and whether there are any unidentified differences. To run this report click on the General Ledger Reconciliation Summary Report from the main menu. You can also select View Summary Report from the menu to the left of the main menu. Fill in the Reconciliation Date you want and click OK.

You can get more details about running the report from the General Ledger Reconciliation Summary Report that is included in the tutorial.

Using Dates - why they're important and how to use them.

RecWizard is a database designed program. That means that all the details you enter for your reconciliations are stored in a large file (or several large files). When you run a report, RecWizard uses two key pieces of information - what account(s) you want the report for, and the date of the report.

RecWizard will select information for your reconciliation report using calendar months. You can use any date in a month to show a reconciling item and it will show up in your month end report. Typically you would enter items with the end-of-month date, but you can use the actual date of the transaction if you like.

If you use the Enter Period End Balances input form, make sure the Reconciliation Date is correct. If you mistakenly enter the month end amounts with a date of December 30, they won't show up on your report dated December 31.

If you enter a reconciling item with an open date of December 1 and a close date of December 31, it won't show up anywhere. RecWizard will assume the item cleared before the end of the month. Make sure your open and close dates for reconciling items are in different accounting periods.

You should also be careful to not enter an item in a prior period. If you mistakenly enter an item with an open date of December 31, 2002 when you are preparing a reconciliation for December 31, 2003, the reconciling item will appear in every reconciliation that you had previously completed. Those previously reconciled accounts would now have an Unidentified Difference!!!

Changing databases.

There are four databases that are installed with RecWizard. They are located in the Database folder. The default location is:

C:\Program Files\RecWizard\Database

• RecWizardTutorialReconciliations.mdb and RecWizardTutorialDocuments.mdb - these databases includes all the reconciliations and supporting docmuments that are included in the tutorial. When you open RecWizard the first time you will be in this database. This is a good place to "mess around". If you aren't sure how a reconciliation might work, set up the account in this database and try it out. This won't create confusion in your regular working database.
  1. NOTE: All the reconciliations in the tutorial are based on a December 31, 2010 date. If you are looking for the sample information make sure you use the appropriate date.
• BlankReconciliations.mdb and BlankDocuments.mdb - these are empty databases that you can use to create new databases for the different companies that you would want to prepare reconciliations for. For more details on how to do this, go to the Multiple Entities section of the tutorial.

To change the database you are working on click on Change Database Location on the left side of the main menu. Use the Browse button and locate the database you would like to use. Then click Open.

Continue at the beginning.

Yes, that does sound a little bit strange, but now that you have the basics you should go back to the home page and cruise through the tutorial as you see fit. Click on the appropriate link below.

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