Bank Reconciliation field guide

Bank reconciliation proves that the cash ledger agrees to an external bank statement after explaining timing, fees, FX, chargebacks, and errors. A reconciled total without line-level evidence is not a completed control. Use Demo Retail Group LLC and account UAE-OPS-AED while practising.

Reconciliation header fields

Open Accounting → Bank Reconciliation → New.

Field	Example	Purpose and impact
Reconciliation ID	BR-2026-00917	Control and audit key
Company	Demo Retail Group LLC	Ledger scope
Bank account	UAE-OPS-AED	Cash account
Statement period	2026-09-01 to 2026-09-30	Control boundary
Opening statement	AED 2,400,000	External starting point
Closing statement	AED 2,550,000	External ending point
Opening ledger	AED 2,399,750	Internal starting point
Closing ledger	AED 2,549,750	Internal ending point
Currency	AED	Matching and FX
Import source	CAMT / bank API	Provenance
Tolerance	AED 1.00	Materiality
Owner	Treasury analyst	Accountability
Status	In progress / approved	Close gate

The header also stores statement file hash, imported time, reviewer, bank contact, cutoff, rate source, and notes. A new statement import should not overwrite a prior period.

Statement line fields

Field	Example	Purpose and impact
Bank transaction ID	BNK-889210	Duplicate and source key
Booking date	2026-09-16	Bank posting
Value date	2026-09-16	Cash availability
Amount	AED 180,000	External cash event
Direction	Credit	Receipt/payment behavior
Currency	AED	Conversion
Counterparty	Al Noor Hospital	Match candidate
Bank text	REMIT AR-004281	Search evidence
Reference	AR-2026-004281	Exact match key
Match status	Matched / exception	Reconciliation state
Ledger ID	RC-2026-004281	Internal drill-down
Reason	Bank fee / unknown	Exception explanation

Keep original bank text unchanged. Normalised fields can be added for matching but must not replace external evidence.

Matching rules

Rule fields include priority, reference pattern, amount tolerance, date tolerance, currency, counterparty, account, source type, confidence, and auto-match permission. Exact reference and amount is strongest; amount-only matching is unsafe when duplicates exist.

For a receipt of AED 180,000 with reference AR-2026-004281, match the receipt to the invoice or allocation. A bank fee of AED 250 uses fee mapping. An unknown transfer becomes unapplied with owner and review date.

Auto-match results store rule, confidence, candidates, decision, and timestamp. Manual match records user, reason, evidence, and approval.

Timing differences

Deposits in transit, outstanding payments, card settlements, and bank-cleared but unposted receipts explain legitimate differences. Each timing item records source, amount, expected clearing date, owner, and age. It should clear automatically when a future statement line matches.

An issued supplier payment may be in ledger but absent from bank statement; it remains outstanding, not a duplicate expense. A bank receipt may be present before an AR receipt is posted; import or post the internal event with source evidence.

Fees, interest, and FX

Bank-fee lines include account, date, amount, currency, tax, mapping, and approval. Interest income or charges are separate lines. A USD bank line stores transaction amount, rate, source, date, and functional amount; realised FX applies at settlement, while revaluation covers open balances.

Never force a foreign-currency match by changing the ledger transaction rate. A difference is classified as FX, fee, timing, or error with reason.

Exceptions and corrections

Exception fields include line, type, amount, currency, owner, due date, reason, action, status, evidence, and approval. Types include unknown cash, duplicate ID, amount mismatch, date mismatch, unposted ledger, bank error, chargeback, and stale timing item.

Correct a bank import by reversing or excluding the source line with reason; never edit the original bank statement. Correct a ledger event through its business reversal or adjustment. High-value differences require escalation.

Approval and close

Approval validates statement completeness, matched count, unmatched amount, timing ageing, fees, FX, suspense, and reviewer independence. Close fields include approved by, approved time, difference, threshold, exception list, evidence pack, and period lock.

Once approved, the reconciliation is read-only except for controlled reopen. A reopened reconciliation records requester, reason, approver, scope, and expiry.

API and audit mapping

Statement APIs use account, period, currency, source file/hash, lines, and idempotency key. Matching actions reference statement line ID, ledger ID, rule, amount, and reason. Webhooks such as bank.statement.imported and reconciliation.approved include event ID and correlation ID.

{"accountId":"bank_uae_ops_aed","period":{"from":"2026-09-01","to":"2026-09-30"},
 "sourceHash":"sha256:...","lines":[{"transactionId":"BNK-889210","valueDate":"2026-09-16",
 "amount":"180000.00","currency":"AED","reference":"AR-2026-004281"}]}

Audit includes source hash, import, rule, match, unmatch, manual override, journal, approval, reopen, user, request ID, and timestamps.

Practice checklist

Import a statement with exact receipt, partial receipt, bank fee, outstanding payment, unknown transfer, duplicate ID, and USD line. Auto-match safe lines, investigate exceptions, post fee, classify timing, settle FX, approve, and close. Explain every field, precision, owner, rule, status, permission, journal, tax, API ID, and evidence. Then replay the same statement and prove no duplicate receipts or fees appear.

Related: Payment Receipt field guide, Treasury banking day, Journal Entry field guide, Audit and Compliance field guide, and API cookbook.

Reconciliation worksheet

Control	Field or evidence	Demo value	Pass condition
Scope	Company/account/period	DGV UAE / UAE-OPS-AED / Sep	No cross-company lines
Provenance	Source/file hash/import time	CAMT / SHA-256	Replay is detectable
Opening	Bank and ledger opening	2,400,000 / 2,399,750	Difference explained
Lines	ID/date/value/amount/reference	BNK-889210	Original bank text retained
Matching	Rule/confidence/candidate	Exact reference	Safe auto-match only
Timing	Item/age/expected clearing	Deposit in transit	Owner and due date
Fees	Account/tax/mapping	AED 250 bank fee	Approved journal
FX	Currency/rate/source	USD / dated rate	No manual rate rewrite
Exceptions	Type/owner/action/status	Unknown cash	Evidence and escalation
Approval	Reviewer/difference/threshold	Treasury manager	Independent sign-off

Matching decision matrix

Bank line	Internal evidence	Default	Reason
Exact reference and amount	One open receipt	Auto-match	Strong identity
Exact reference, amount differs by fee	Receipt plus fee rule	Review	Separate fee journal
Amount only, many candidates	Several invoices	Manual	Avoid false allocation
Bank payment, no ledger payment	Approved payment batch	Timing	Await clearing
Bank receipt, no AR receipt	Customer/bank proof	Post/import	Create source-linked receipt
Unknown transfer	No safe candidate	Exception	Suspense with owner
Duplicate transaction ID	Prior imported line	Reject	Idempotency control
USD line, open USD ledger	Same account and reference	Match + FX	Preserve rates

Close and reopen controls

Before approval, reconcile opening plus credits minus debits to closing for both bank and ledger. Report matched count, unmatched count, unmatched value, timing ageing, suspense, fees, FX, and threshold. Approval freezes the reconciliation. A controlled reopen records requester, reason, scope, approver, expiry, and subsequent changes. Reopening should not silently re-import the source file or alter original bank text.