
How often do YOU reconcile?
I normally enter transactions as they happen and don't import from the bank. I will usually reconcile once at the beginning of the month when the previous months statement comes out. Occasionally if i am worried about the balance or feel i missed entering something ill reconcile again in the middle sometime using the transactions shown on bank website.
Do you all reconcile more, less, or not at all because you import from bank instead?
-
I reconcile in the morning several times a week, depending on how late I'm running 🙂 I don't import either and use the bank websites.
I used to reconcile once a month when I tried to track my expenses a few years back and it was a protracted nightmare every time so even if things get busy, I'm keen to keep doing it at least once a week. It only takes a few minutes when done regularly.
Reply -
I reconcile fairly infrequently, maybe one a month. I check in with all my bank accounts every morning, and clear transactions as they appear, with the result that my cleared, uncleared and working balances are always in sync. I found that reconciling sometimes makes it impossible to make adjustments later on, meaning I have had to delete and recreate transactions to make a change to one that had been reconciled.
As for uncluttering the screen, I use the date filter to view the current month only; I like seeing some past transactions for historic purposes, and I can adjust the date filter accordingly.
Reply -
Manual entry, all the way. Credit cards are reconciled monthly, when I get the statement. Deposit accounts are reconciled monthly, when I record the interest earned. Cash is reconciled infrequently, typically after a trip when I use a lot of cash.
If I had more transaction activity, I'd want to reconcile more often. But I can forget to reconcile checking for a couple months and still find no errors. Credit cards . . . lots of activity. Definitely need to reconcile each statement. Cash . . . if I see a screen full of uncleared transactions, it's time to count my cash and make sure it matches the account. That could be 4 or 5 months at a time, since I normally don't have many cash transactions.
Between formal reconciliations, I may look at an online account and note that it matches my records. But that's not a regular, planned thing.
Reply -
I reconcile whenever I've had too many transactions to feel good about my balance. For my most used account, that's about once a month but sometimes more often if I'm being vey spendy (e,g. I'm on vacation). For my least used account, it's sometimes a year because there are often only 12 transactions in that time.
Reply -
Its very awesome to hear this was such a popular topic. It seems that reconciling is very personal and has a wide range of timing. Thank you!
For me, i still enjoy seeing transactions. Its just pretty. Sometimes ill open my budget just to look at it! I reconcile once a month. It feels very cyclical. Almost like I am starting the month brand new!
Reply -
Since I use YNAB 90% of the time with mobile devices (iPhone/iPad), I don’t reconcile very often, however I verify daily in my accounts if the balances matches YNAB balances and I clear all the transactions that needs to be cleared. So basically when I do log in on my computer, I don’t have much to do other than hit the reconcile button.
Reply -
Everyday I import transactions. I then go through each account that has had activity and reconcile it. I also check each account online and manually add any transactions that are showing as pending that I may have missed from the previous day.
For the most part, reconciling takes about 2 seconds. Hit the reconcile button and yes, the amount is correct.
It's all just part of my morning routine now and I do it most every day. I like going into the day knowing exactly where I stand financially and , with the way things are these days, that there is no activity on my accounts that is not me. I also check my credit report daily for the same reason.
Reply