Key takeaways
What this article covers, in order:
- Why use a checklist at all?
- Before you start
- While you reconcile
- After it balances
- A sign-off record you can copy
- The most-missed items, in our experience
A month-end bank reconciliation checklist keeps you from skipping the small steps that cause big differences later. Below is the one we'd stick on the wall: what to sort before you start, what to tick off while you reconcile, and what to do once it balances. Print it, copy it into your notes app, or adapt it for your bookkeeper.
Why use a checklist at all?
Because reconciliation is repetitive, and repetitive jobs are where people get sloppy. You do it right 11 months running, then one month you forget to check the opening balance, and a small error from a backdated edit sails through. A checklist is boring on purpose. It means you don't have to remember the order, just follow it.
It also helps if more than one person touches the books. When your bookkeeper is away and you're doing it yourself, the checklist is the handover.
Before you start
Do these in the first few days of the new month.
- [ ] All statements downloaded or synced for every account: transaction account, savings, credit cards, loan accounts, payout accounts like PayPal.
- [ ] Statement end dates noted. Bank accounts usually end on the last day of the month. Credit cards often don't.
- [ ] Last month's reconciliation report on hand, with its list of outstanding items.
- [ ] Invoices for the month entered, so customer payments have something to match against.
- [ ] Supplier bills for the month entered, for the same reason.
- [ ] Any cash takings or petty cash for the month recorded, so deposits make sense.
- [ ] Bank feed caught up, or this month's CSV statement imported.
The point of this section is that reconciling is much quicker when the other side of each match is already in your books.
While you reconcile
Work through one account at a time. Finish it before starting the next.
Opening position
- [ ] Opening book balance equals last month's reconciled closing balance.
- [ ] Last month's outstanding items have been located on this statement (or are still genuinely outstanding).
- [ ] No edits to last month since it was signed off.
Matching
- [ ] Every deposit on the statement matched to a receipt, invoice payment or transfer.
- [ ] Every withdrawal matched to a payment, bill payment, expense or transfer.
- [ ] Card-terminal and payment-platform deposits split into gross sales and fees, not recorded as one net figure.
- [ ] Transfers between your own accounts recorded on both sides, never as income or expense.
- [ ] No duplicates from the bank feed plus a manual entry.
Statement-only items
- [ ] Account-keeping and transaction fees entered.
- [ ] Interest earned or charged entered.
- [ ] Direct debits entered with the right category.
- [ ] Dishonoured payments reversed, and any related fee entered.
Categories and coding
- [ ] Every transaction has a category, nothing left in "uncategorised".
- [ ] GST codes checked on anything unusual. Keep GST coded correctly; your BAS agent or accountant handles lodgement.
- [ ] Personal spending on business accounts coded to drawings or a loan account, not to expenses.
Closing position
- [ ] Deposits in transit listed.
- [ ] Outstanding payments and unpresented cheques listed.
- [ ] Adjusted bank balance equals book balance.
- [ ] Any outstanding item older than 60 days flagged for follow-up.
After it balances
- [ ] Reconciliation report saved with the month and account in the file name.
- [ ] Sign-off recorded: who did it, the date, and any notes.
- [ ] Period locked so nothing changes quietly.
- [ ] Exceptions emailed to whoever needs to act: a customer to chase, a supplier double-charge to query, a mystery transaction for the owner.
- [ ] Reports run: profit and loss, balance sheet, and receivables and payables ageing, now that cash is right.
A sign-off record you can copy
Most small businesses don't need a fancy form. A short note with each month's report is plenty. Here's an illustrative one for a florist in Hobart, for September 2026.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Account | Business transaction account |
| Period | 1 Sep 2026 to 30 Sep 2026 |
| Statement closing balance | $9,804.60 |
| Add: deposits in transit | $455.00 |
| Less: outstanding payments | −$1,120.40 |
| Adjusted bank balance | $9,139.20 |
| Book balance | $9,139.20 |
| Difference | $0.00 |
| Outstanding items over 60 days | None |
| Exceptions raised | Supplier charged twice for 14 Sep 2026 delivery, $86.00 credit requested |
| Prepared by / date | Owner, 4 Oct 2026 |
| Reviewed by / date | Bookkeeper, 5 Oct 2026 |
| Period locked | Yes |
Check: $9,804.60 + $455.00 = $10,259.60, less $1,120.40 = $9,139.20.
A dozen lines like that, one per month, are worth a lot when your accountant asks how you know the books are right.
The most-missed items, in our experience
If your reconciliation keeps coming out wrong, these are where to look first:
- Transfers recorded on one side only. Money moved to savings, but only the bank account entry exists.
- Net deposits. Card or payout deposits recorded as the net figure, so sales and fees are both understated.
- Card payments as expenses. Paying off the credit card coded as a cost, which double-counts.
- Edits to closed months. Someone fixed an old category and changed an amount by accident.
- Bank-feed duplicates. A manual entry plus the same transaction from the feed.
What about multiple accounts?
Reconcile every account to the same month-end date, even if you check some of them more often during the month. If you move money between them, a transfer that's right on one side and missing on the other will show up as a difference on both. Do the account with the most transfers last, so you can confirm all the matching entries exist.
Who should do it?
Ideally, not the same person who makes the payments. In a two-person business that's often not practical. If you do your own, at least have your bookkeeper or accountant review the sign-off once a quarter. A second pair of eyes on a reconciliation report takes five minutes and catches the odd thing you've stopped seeing.
How HelloBooks helps
HelloBooks covers most of this checklist on one reconcile screen. You can connect your bank account (most Australian banks and cards are supported) or import a CSV statement, and transactions land in a review list where you confirm or change categories. On the reconcile screen, each statement line gets an AI match suggestion with a confidence score and the reason for it, so you only work through the exceptions.
When it balances, you get a reconciliation report showing opening balance, cleared items, outstanding items and closing balance, exportable as PDF or CSV. Signed-off periods can be locked, with any reopening logged. AP and AR ageing, P&L, balance sheet and cash flow reports are all included on the Free plan. See reconciliation and cash flow management for more.
FAQs
When should month-end reconciliation be finished?
Aim for the first five to ten business days of the next month, before you rely on that month's reports.
Do I need to reconcile savings accounts that barely move?
Yes, but it takes a minute. Interest still needs recording, and a reconciled zero-activity account is still a proof.
What's the most important item on the checklist?
Checking the opening balance. If it's wrong, the rest of the reconciliation can't be right.
Should I lock periods after reconciling?
Yes. Locking stops accidental edits to months you've already signed off, and a logged reopening shows when and why something changed.
Can my bookkeeper sign off instead of me?
Yes. Whoever prepares or reviews should record their name and the date. Invite them into the same books so they're working from the same numbers.
Tape it to the wall, tick it every month, and the reconciliation stops being something you dread.
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