I am new to the bookkeeping position I was 3 months behind on reconciling some accounts and it is took much longer than expected.... Going forward I would like to reconcile it daily. Would that cause an issue with Sage if I check off the transactions as they hit my bank account?
Thank you in advance for any help!
Hi Cynthia. I don't use the "automatic download" from the bank that Sage offers, so my input would be different from someone who does. After some time doing this, you may decide the automatic download is something you would be interested in. I tried it a while back and it just didn't work for our use. I hope the following helps: One thing I would suggest, if the statement reconciliation is still behind by 2 or more months, reconcile one month at a time, starting with the oldest month. Looking at that month's bank statement, open Sage 50, go "tasks", "Account Reconciliation". At "Statement Date", enter the last day of the month you are trying to reconcile. You will see a list of unreconciled transactions. At the bottom of the window, you will need to enter the dollar amount that the bank says is your ending balance in the "Statement Ending Balance" box. Then it will show you the "Unreconciled Difference" between the account in Sage and your bank. As you go through the list of transactions on the bank's statement, check off the boxes under "status" (in the Sage reconciliation window) that show up on your bank's statement. As you go through the bank statement, make a notation next to any transactions that do NOT show up in Sage, if there are any. You will need to enter those transactions into Sage and check those off also. As you check these off, you will notice the "unreconciled difference" amount will change with each cleared transaction. The goal is to get the unreconciled difference to 0.00. If there is a bank service charge, or if the bank paid interest on the account, there are two places at the bottom of the window to enter that information. either "Interest Income" amount or "service charges" amount. Enter the date they were applied and what account "meaning in your chart of accounts" this interest or bank charge should be applied to. If your "unreconciled Difference" does not equal 0.00 after following all the steps, look at the top of the window and you will see the total cleared for "Checks and Bank Debits" and also the total cleared for "Deposits and Bank Credits". Compare these totals to those same categories on your bank statement. That will give you insight as to where the difference might be. Once you get the accounts balanced and up to date, you might find it helpful to do it on a daily basis, which I posted down below in reply to Breezy32 question. Please note one thing, before making any changes to the account you're reconciling, adding transactions that are not already in Sage, interest, service charges, etc,, please check with your Accountant for approval before proceeding. I hope this helps to get started. After doing it a few times, you will develop the way that works best for you. 
Hi Cynthia. I don't use the "automatic download" from the bank that Sage offers, so my input would be different from someone who does. After some time doing this, you may decide the automatic download is something you would be interested in. I tried it a while back and it just didn't work for our use. I hope the following helps: One thing I would suggest, if the statement reconciliation is still behind by 2 or more months, reconcile one month at a time, starting with the oldest month. Looking at that month's bank statement, open Sage 50, go "tasks", "Account Reconciliation". At "Statement Date", enter the last day of the month you are trying to reconcile. You will see a list of unreconciled transactions. At the bottom of the window, you will need to enter the dollar amount that the bank says is your ending balance in the "Statement Ending Balance" box. Then it will show you the "Unreconciled Difference" between the account in Sage and your bank. As you go through the list of transactions on the bank's statement, check off the boxes under "status" (in the Sage reconciliation window) that show up on your bank's statement. As you go through the bank statement, make a notation next to any transactions that do NOT show up in Sage, if there are any. You will need to enter those transactions into Sage and check those off also. As you check these off, you will notice the "unreconciled difference" amount will change with each cleared transaction. The goal is to get the unreconciled difference to 0.00. If there is a bank service charge, or if the bank paid interest on the account, there are two places at the bottom of the window to enter that information. either "Interest Income" amount or "service charges" amount. Enter the date they were applied and what account "meaning in your chart of accounts" this interest or bank charge should be applied to. If your "unreconciled Difference" does not equal 0.00 after following all the steps, look at the top of the window and you will see the total cleared for "Checks and Bank Debits" and also the total cleared for "Deposits and Bank Credits". Compare these totals to those same categories on your bank statement. That will give you insight as to where the difference might be. Once you get the accounts balanced and up to date, you might find it helpful to do it on a daily basis, which I posted down below in reply to Breezy32 question. Please note one thing, before making any changes to the account you're reconciling, adding transactions that are not already in Sage, interest, service charges, etc,, please check with your Accountant for approval before proceeding. I hope this helps to get started. After doing it a few times, you will develop the way that works best for you.
