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Reconciliation Best Practices

Reconciliation is quick when it is done often and with the statement in hand, and slow when it is left for the year end. These habits keep it on the quick side.

Reconcile Every Month​

Reconcile each bank and cash account as soon as its monthly statement arrives. A month has a few dozen transactions and one or two differences, which take minutes to resolve. A year has hundreds, and a difference from March is hard to explain in December.

Fiskl starts each period the day after the last one ended, so monthly reconciliation also keeps the periods lined up with your statements.

Always Upload the Statement​

Entering the closing balance alone tells you whether Fiskl and the bank agree. It cannot tell you which transaction is wrong when they do not. Uploading the statement does: Fiskl matches each line and labels whatever is left with the fix it needs.

You need the statement to read the closing balance in any case, so upload it at the same time. If you only enter the balance and the difference is not zero, upload before you start looking for the cause.

Upload the Export as It Comes​

Export the account from your online banking as CSV, OFX, QIF or QBO and upload it as it is. You do not need to trim it to the period:

  • Fiskl works out which lines belong to the period and hides the rest, with a count so you know they are there.
  • A line dated a day or two outside the period can be shown with Show 3 more days and matched as normal.
  • A quarter's export can be uploaded once for each of its three months.

Fiskl maps the date, description and amount columns itself. Check the preview before you confirm.

Fix Errors When You Find Them​

Each card in Needs Attention says what is wrong and offers the action that fixes it. Take the action at the time rather than noting it for later:

  • A typo in an amount: select Fix amount in Fiskl. The bank figure is the right one.
  • A transaction that is not on the statement: delete it, correct it, or move its date to the period it clears in.
  • A fee or payment missing from Fiskl: select Add to Fiskl and give it a category straight away.

Correct the Fiskl transaction rather than deleting and re-adding it. Deleting loses the category, attachments and history.

Never Force the Difference to Zero​

If every card is matched and the difference is still not zero, the breakdown under the tiles says how much is unexplained. Resist adjusting the statement balance to make it fit. Check the balance you typed against the statement, then look for a duplicate transaction in Fiskl or a pair that was matched wrongly. A forced zero hides the error until the next period, where it is harder to find.

Deal With Needs Attention Promptly​

A period that is later changed, by editing or deleting a transaction inside it, moves to Needs attention on the reconciliation list. Open it and reconcile it again the same day. Each period builds on the one before, so a period left in that state holds up every later one.

Common Issues​

I reconcile quarterly and the periods do not line up with my statements

Fiskl periods default to one month. You can change the end date of the latest period to cover three months, but the statement you upload must then cover the same span. Monthly periods against monthly statements are simpler.

My bank feed is connected, so do I still need to upload a statement?

Yes, for reconciliation. The feed brings transactions into Fiskl; the statement is the bank's own record of what cleared. Reconciliation checks one against the other.