How often should you reconcile your accounts?
Reconcile every business bank and credit card account at least once a month, as soon as the statement closes. Busy businesses with heavy card sales often do it weekly. Reconciling catches errors, fraud and missed entries while they're still easy to fix, and it's the step that makes your reports trustworthy.
Updated November 2026 · By Pankil Kumar, Managing Partner
Quick facts
- Minimum. Every account, every month
- Busy shops. Weekly works better for high card or cash volume
- Why. It catches errors, fraud and duplicates early
What does reconciling actually mean?
It means proving your books match reality. You take the ending balance on your bank statement and confirm your bookkeeping software shows the same number once timing differences, like a check that hasn't cleared, are accounted for. If they match, every transaction in that account is accounted for.
How do you reconcile an account?
- Open the statement for the month and note the ending balance.
- Start the reconciliation in your software and enter that balance.
- Tick off each transaction that appears on the statement.
- Add anything on the statement that's missing from your books.
- Investigate anything in your books that's not on the statement.
- Finish when the difference is zero, then save the report.
Why isn't a bank feed enough?
Bank feeds are handy, but they aren't a reconciliation. Feeds can duplicate transactions, drop them when a connection breaks, or import a deposit that's already been entered by hand. If you only "accept" feed items, your balance can drift from the bank for months without anyone noticing.
What if it doesn't balance?
Most differences come from a short list.
- A transaction entered twice
- A deposit recorded net when the processor sent it gross
- A check or payment dated in the wrong month
- A transposed number, like $54 entered as $45
- An old reconciled item someone edited
Start by checking whether the difference equals a single transaction. If you're many months behind, don't try to fix it line by line. Treat it as a catch-up project.
Which accounts should you reconcile?
Every one that touches the business. That includes checking, savings, credit cards, lines of credit, loans and merchant or payment accounts such as PayPal, Stripe and Square. Payment accounts are the ones owners forget, and they're where sales go missing. Reconciled accounts are also what make your profit and loss statement worth reading.
Sources
General information, not tax advice for your situation.
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See our bookkeeping serviceDo I need to reconcile if I have only one bank account?
Yes. One account can still hold duplicates, missed items and fraud. It just takes less time.
Should I reconcile credit cards too?
Yes. Card statements are one of the most common places for missing expenses and personal charges to hide.
What happens if I never reconcile?
Your reports may be wrong without you knowing, which can mean overpaying tax or missing a fraudulent charge past your bank's dispute window.
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