Account Reconciliation

This guide explains how account reconciliation works in Fiskl and why it is one of the most important habits for keeping your books accurate.

What bank reconciliation is · 1:23

Read the transcript

In accounting, "reconcile" means two things. Matching a payment to an invoice is one of the everyday kind, and Fiskl does much of it for you. This video is about the other: bank reconciliation. It started with paper books: each month, you ticked your ledger off against the bank statement, line by line. Today your bank feeds Fiskl, but the account in Fiskl can still drift from the real one. A duplicate. An edited amount. A mistaken internal transfer. One deleted by mistake. Your bank account in Fiskl should hold exactly the lines on your statement, just categorised or matched. Bank reconciliation checks that they agree, one month or quarter at a time. Your bank feed only tells Fiskl the last sync balance. Your statement gives the two that matter: the balance at the start of the period, and at the end. If Fiskl's transactions get you from one to the other, you can mark it done. Here they don't, so upload the statement, and Fiskl compares it line by line. Remove what's extra, add what's missing, and correct what's changed. Now both sides agree, and January is reconciled. The more often you do it, the less there is to check.

What is account reconciliation

Reconciliation verifies that the transactions recorded in Fiskl match your actual bank statement. When they match, you can trust that your books reflect your true financial position.

Fiskl compares your ledger account balance against your bank statement balance. Any gap between the two is a discrepancy that needs investigating.

Why reconcile regularly

Regular reconciliation protects your business from compounding errors and gives you reliable financial data.

Catch errors early

• Identify data entry mistakes before they affect reports
• Spot duplicate or missing transactions
• Find incorrectly categorised entries
• Detect timing differences between your records and bank processing

Protect against fraud

• Identify unexpected withdrawals quickly
• Spot unusual transaction patterns
• Detect compromised accounts early

Ensure accurate reporting

• Verify your cash position is correct
• Provide reliable data to stakeholders
• Meet compliance and audit requirements

Manage cash flow confidently

• Understand your true available cash
• Track outstanding transactions
• Plan spending based on accurate balances

We recommend reconciling at least once a month. More frequent reconciliation — weekly or daily for high-volume accounts — keeps sessions short and discrepancies easy to trace.

Key concepts

Term	What it means
Bank statement	The official record from your bank showing all transactions and balances for a period
Ledger account balance	The balance in Fiskl based on all recorded transactions
Statement balance	The closing balance on your bank statement for the reconciliation period
Reconciliation difference	The gap between your ledger balance and statement balance
Outstanding transactions	Items recorded in Fiskl that have not yet appeared on your bank statement
Missing transactions	Items on your bank statement not yet recorded in Fiskl (for example, bank fees or automatic payments)
Matched transactions	Transactions that appear in both Fiskl and on your bank statement with the same amount and date
Timing difference	A legitimate gap caused by processing delays between recording a transaction and the bank processing it
Reconciliation period	The date range you are reconciling, typically matching your bank statement period

How reconciliation works in Fiskl

Fiskl automates the matching process so you can focus on resolving genuine discrepancies rather than comparing transactions manually.

• Select your account — Go to Accounting > Reconciliation. Select a ledger account name or a month on the timeline, then select Reconcile and enter your statement end date and closing balance
• Automatic matching — Fiskl compares your recorded transactions with the statement and identifies matches
• Review discrepancies — Check any differences between your records and the statement
• Resolve issues — Add missing transactions, correct errors, or account for timing differences
• Complete — Finalise the reconciliation when the difference reaches zero

You can save a reconciliation as a draft at any time and return to it later without losing your progress.

Locking reconciled months

A row of lock icons sits above the timeline, one for each month. Once every account is reconciled through a month, select its lock and confirm to close the books up to the end of that month. A closed lock shows the month is final. Select a closed lock to reopen that month; earlier months stay locked. See Locked Period for what a lock prevents.

How automatic matching works

Fiskl uses one ledger for bank activity and accounting. Bank transactions enter it directly, with no separate posting step, and Fiskl categorises each one as it arrives.

Matching runs continuously. Fiskl's AI matches bank activity against:

• client invoices and payments
• vendor bills and accounts payable
• AI-processed expenses and their source documents
• transfers between your own accounts
• payment provider payouts, including Stripe

Fiskl compares the amount, date, currency, client or vendor, and invoice or bill reference. A confident match links the invoice or bill, the payment, the bank transaction and the resulting accounting entries. Chain matching links these records across up to four currencies.

When a match is uncertain, Fiskl gives it a lower confidence rating and flags it for your review. You can then match, split, correct or categorise the transaction. When you reconcile, the confirmed matches are already in place.

Common reconciliation scenarios

Zero difference

All transactions match and your statement balance equals your ledger balance. You can finalise immediately.

Discrepancies requiring attention

• Transactions missing from Fiskl (such as bank fees or automatic payments)
• Duplicate entries
• Amount differences
• Outstanding items not yet processed by the bank

First-time reconciliation

If you are reconciling for the first time, you may need to establish opening balances or import historical transactions before you can complete the process.

Reconciliation guides

Where to go next

The guides below walk you through each part of the reconciliation process in detail:

• Bank account reconciliation — Step-by-step instructions for reconciling a bank account
• Handling reconciliation discrepancies — How to investigate and resolve differences
• How Fiskl handles reconciliation — The matching logic and automation behind the process
• Reconciliation best practices — Tips for building a consistent reconciliation routine
• Reconciliation reports — How to review and export reconciliation history

Related topics

• Chart of Accounts — Understand the ledger accounts used in reconciliation
• Journal entries overview — Learn how manual entries affect your reconciliation
• Match and split transactions — Manage transactions before reconciling
• Banking integrations — Connect your bank to import transactions automatically