Reconciling a bank account manually

1. Navigate to Accounting > Banking.
2. Click the name of the bank account you'd like to reconcile.
3. From the transactions page, click the Reconciliations tab.
4. Select Reconcile account.

5. Begin the form.

   On the left side of the form, enter information from your bank statement. On the right, Buildium will show you numbers calculated from your previous work.

   Your beginning balances from your bank statement and Buildium should match. If they don't, check for typos and other issues.

6. Click Start.

Now, complete the reconciliation form.

The summary at the top totals your selections and tells you when you're done. The transactions at the bottom allows you to select transactions and include them in this reconciliation.

Summary

Transactions

1. Check the box next to a transaction to include it in your bank reconciliation.
2. By default, only transactions with dates before or equal to the statement ending date appear. It's unusual to include future transactions in a bank reconciliation because those typically won't have been processed by the bank yet. 

To access these transactions anyway, check the box next to Show all uncleared transactions.

This option is only available if you have fewer than 5000 uncleared transactions. If it's unavailable, see our topic on troubleshooting bank reconciliations.

As you reconcile a bank account, you may find a transaction on your bank statement that still needs to be added to Buildium. If this happens:

1. Click Add check or Add Deposit.

2. Complete the form for your new transaction.

   Add check allows you to record a check or other bank transaction.
   Add deposit allows you to record a bank deposit or other bank transaction.

3. Save the transaction and continue your bank reconciliation.

Manual bank reconciliations can be time consuming, so sometimes you need to Finish later.

To resume a pending reconciliaton:

1. Navigate to Accounting > Banking.
2. Click the name of the bank account for which you'd like to correct.
3. Click the Reconciliations tab, then select Resume reconciliation.

To see the details of a bank reconciliation, review the book balance and access reconciliation reports:

1. Navigate to Accounting > Banking.
2. Click the name of the reconciled bank account.
3. Click the Reconciliations tab.
4. Click on the date of the reconciliation.

Tip: The Book balance is the balance of an account “on the books” that includes all cleared and uncleared transactions as-of a date.  

For example, there’s $1000 in the bank.  Sam writes check 101 for $500 to Hank the Handyman on Monday.  Hank cashes the check on Wednesday.  As soon as the check is written, the book balance changes from $1000 to $500.  The actual balance of the bank account doesn’t change until Hank cashes the check on Wednesday.

As you reconcile a bank account, you may find a transaction that needs to be changed. If this happens:

1. Click the date of your transactions in the bank reconciliation.

2. Make your changes.

3. Save the transaction and continue your bank reconciliation.

To prevent errors on past and future reconciliations, the amounts of reconciled transactions cannot be edited.

Individual details, like dates, properties, and accounts can be changed.

Why is this? Buildium's cleared balance calculation relies on the reconciled transactions in your bank account. Changes here have an immediate impact.

For example, let's say that you completed January's bank reconciliation without issue. This report included check #101 to Hank the Handyman for $450 for "repairs". He cashed the check for $450 and it appears on your real world bank statement.

If you change the memo from "repairs" to "big repairs," no harm is done. February's cleared balance will find a $450 check and the opening balance should match January's closing balance.

If you change the amount from $450 to $350, then we have a problem. Your bank cashed check #101 for the higher amount and now your Buildium bank account doesn't match the real world. When you begin February's reconciliation, Buildium will find a check for $350. Even if everything else in February's reconciliation matches, you'll still be off by $100 because the opening cleared balance was incorrect.

To change the amount, delete or void a reconciled transaction, you will need to unreconcile the bank account to the statement period in which the transaction occurred.

Reconciled transactions appear on your bank transactions page with an R next to it.

If you attempt to change the amount or bank account on a reconciled transaction, Buildium will warn you:

You can undo the most recent reconciliation performed. This option is not available when there is a pending reconciliation.

1. Navigate to Accounting > Banking.
2. Click the name of the bank account you want to unreconcile.
3. Click the Reconciliations tab.
4. Click Undo last reconciliation. 
   
   Don't worry. All of the transactions remain in your bank account. Only their reconciled status is removed.