Whether managing a household budget with the use of a personal checking account or working in the accounting department of a business, chances are that you will engage in account reconciliation on a regular basis. Essentially, account reconciliation has to do with making sure that the amount of liquid assets you show in the checkbook are identical to the account balance shown on your bank statement as of the same date. Here are some tips on how to engage in account reconciliation that is simple, easy and accurate.

One of the first tools you will need for effective account reconciliation is documentation for each transaction conducted in the period of time under consideration. Keep all deposit slips, records of withdrawals from ATMs, electronic payments, canceled checks and the last set of bank statements together until you have reconciled the period in question. Being able to quickly verify the beginning balance for the period and then account for each transaction with a document will speed up the process of either affirming that you and the bank are in agreement, or will help you to quickly spot any discrepancies.

Should you find a discrepancy of any kind, use your documents to isolate the origin of the issue and get in touch with your bank immediately. For example, you notice that the beginning balance for the period does not match the ending balance for the previous period, even though everything reconciled at that time. This is a sign that you may need to speak with your financial institution and find out what occurred. Chances are that it is a simple error that will be corrected once it is brought to the attention of the bank. However, without having your documents in order and engaging in the process of account reconciliation, the discrepancy could go unnoticed for months and become very hard to track down.

Remember to set aside a specific time each month for account reconciliation. Putting off the task will simply make it harder to get around to performing. While this may not be a big problem at first, keep in mind that if there is something to research, it is much easier to do the investigation sooner than later. This is especially true in business, where an employee with an authorized debit card on a travel account may have failed to turn in a receipt. Jogging his or her memory and getting a copy of the receipt will be much easier if the event occurred in the last two weeks rather than two months ago.