Top Three Reasons to Reconcile Your Checkbook

I’m such a big fan of reconciliations!  It’s one way we can determine if our checkbook balance agrees with what the bank says it should be. It’s how we in the accounting field find errors. It’s like putting the pieces of the puzzle together to see the big picture. Of course, not everyone shares my desire to reconcile that’s why you need an easy tool to help.

Here are three of my top reasons to reconcile not only your checkbook but all your accounts.

1. You May Have Guessed this One – Peace of Mind

How many times have you gone online to view your checkbook balance?

We do it all the time. We have a balance in mind let’s say it’s $1000, we go to check it online, we know we spent $50 for something on Amazon yesterday so now the balance should be around $950, right? Well, you see the balance is $200 so there is a discrepancy somewhere. Bells and whistles are going off. Red flags are flying. We know we are not in balance. We know what balance was in our mind is not what is reflected in the online balance. Now we need to dig deeper to answer the question. To settle our mind. To know we are correct and in balance. After doing some research we find the check we wrote for $750 finally cleared the bank. Now, we can rest. Peace of mind!

2. To Prove the Checkbook Balance is Correct – Accurate Records

If you are like me you want to know the truth. Numbers don’t lie. Two plus three will always equal five. That is the beauty in numbers. When it comes to the checkbook it is easy to determine what your true and accurate checkbook balance is. We call it a “bank reconciliation”. It sounds like a big, scary word but in reality, it just means “match up to” or “aline with” and note the differences. It’s how we show “our balance” matches up with the “banks balance”. If we are reconciled both balances are the same and it means we are in balance. Of course, that is rare that “our balance” would match the “banks balance” so we need to note the differences. It usually has to do with outstanding checks that the bank doesn’t know about yet. Or it could be many other reasons like an error on our part or the banks. Hey, banks make mistake too. I once came across an error the bank made by entering the check number instead of the check amount. It happens. Obviously, Big E-Z Books makes reconciling easy. Any really good accounting software program will have this feature built in. In Big E-Z you just place an “x” next to each item that cleared on the “Deposits” and “Checks” sheets and it automatically notes the differences. Voila! You’re done!

3. To Be Sure Everything is Accounted For – Get the BIG Picture!

This is precisely where Big E-Z shines! We have something other programs don’t. We have the exclusive Account Balance Tracker (see video). It is the tool within Big E-Z that will allow you to reconcile ALL YOUR ACCOUNTS not just your checking account. This feature is relatively new and many people don’t know about it yet or how to use it. With it, you can track every penny of cash coming in or going out. And track all credit card fees and stay on top of your PayPal or any merchant account balance for that matter.  It also is what allows you to get a true Balance Sheet that balances.

As long as you set-up these extra account balances in the Big E-Z you will be able to reconcile all of these accounts and in turn get an accurate BIG picture.