Performing an Initial Reconciliation in GLS

Last reviewed: 12/22/2011
Article ID: R10927

The information in this article applies to:

Tabs3 General Ledger Software (GLS) Version 16, 15, 14, & 12

SUMMARY

When using the Reconciliation program for the first time, you will need to perform an initial reconciliation. An initial reconciliation is used to configure and in some instances get "caught up" so a bank statement can be reconciled. This article describes how to perform an initial reconciliation.

More Information

The following table describes different scenarios along with a summary of what the initial reconciliation entails for the scenario. Detail step-by-step procedures for performing an initial reconciliation are provided after the summary table.

Scenario 1
Your firm recently started using GLS and journal entries were posted for opening balances.

Your firm recently started using GLS. To transfer the balances from your old system, journal entries were posted for the opening balances instead of "plugging in" the balances on the Balances tab in the Chart of Accounts file. Additionally, individual journal entries were posted for all outstanding journal entries that have not cleared the bank.

When performing an initial reconciliation for this scenario, you will mark only the opening balance journal entry as cleared and then finalize the reconciliation.

Scenario 2
Your firm recently started using GLS and opening balances were "plugged in" the Chart of Accounts (as opposed to posting journal entries).

Your firm recently started using GLS. To transfer the balances from your old system, the balances on the Balances tab in the Chart of Accounts file were plugged in instead of posting journal entries for the opening balances. Additionally, individual journal entries were posted for all outstanding journal entries that have not cleared the bank.

When performing an initial reconciliation for this scenario, you will finalize the reconciliation without marking any journal entries as cleared.

Scenario 3
Your firm has been using GLS for some time but has never used the reconciliation program.

Your firm has been using GLS for some time. During this time your firm has received several bank account statements to reconcile but your firm only wants to reconcile the most recent statement.

When performing an initial reconciliation for this scenario, you will mark all journal entries that have cleared the bank on past bank statements and then finalize the reconciliation.

To perform an initial reconciliation

The following procedure can be used to perform an initial reconciliation for all scenarios described above.

Determine which bank statement you want to reconcile. For this initial reconciliation, you will need the beginning statement balance from this statement. Once you have this bank statement in front of you, continue to the next step.

If your firm recently started using GLS and opening balances were "plugged in" the Chart of Accounts or journal entries were posted for opening balances, skip to step 3. Since all of the previous activity that cleared the bank would have been included in the opening balance, you do not need to complete this step.

Make sure all journal entries included on previous bank statements have been entered in GLS. If you encounter missing journal entries during the reconciliation process, they can easily be added during the Reconciliation.
- Make sure you enter any service charges or interest that have been included on past statements.
- If integrating with APS, make sure the Post Checks program has been run with a posting cut-off date on or after the statement date.
- If integrating with Tabs3, make sure that all payment and cost transactions that post to the GLS bank account have been entered.
- If integrating with TAS, make sure that all payments to "FIRM" that post to the GLS bank account have been entered and all checks to "FIRM" have been posted.

Start the Reconciliation program by selecting Maintenance | Reconciliation.

In the Reconciliation Settings window, select the bank account in the GLS Account # field. (Note: Only accounts configured as bank accounts in the Chart of Accounts can be selected. If the bank account is not shown in the list, you will need to configure the GLS account as a bank account. To configure a GLS account as a bank account, select File | Open | Chart of Accounts. In the Account # field, select the account. Select the Bank Account check box. Press Ctrl+S and close the Chart of Accounts window.)

In the Statement Date field, enter a date that is one day prior to the beginning date on the bank statement in front of you. For example, if the beginning date on the statement is May 1, then enter April 30.

Note: If opening balances were "plugged in", and only the previous month's and the current month's balances were plugged in, and you are reconciling for the current month, use a Statement Date that is the first date of the current month. For example, if you plugged in a balance in the Chart of Accounts for May and June, specify a Statement Date of June 1.

In the Beginning Balance field, enter 0.00.

In the Ending Balance field, enter the beginning balance from the bank statement in front of you. (Note: Make sure you enter this amount in the Ending Balance field.)

The List Options section allows you to specify how you want the journal entries sorted in the Reconciliation window. Specifying a sort of Checks / Other Withdrawals / All Deposits may help you more easily identify the journal entries that need to be reconciled.

Click OK.

At this point, one of two things will occur; either you will receive a message, or the Reconciliation window will be displayed.
- If a message is displayed indicating that the calculated beginning balance and the statement beginning balance do not match, write down the Calculated Beginning Balance amount and click OK. You will use this calculated beginning balance as the statement beginning balance once the reconciliation is started.
  --or--
- If the Reconciliation window is displayed and you did not receive a message indicating that the calculated beginning balance and statement beginning balance do not match, skip to step 14.

In the Reconciliation window, click the Settings button.

In the Beginning Balance field, enter the Calculated Beginning Balance (i.e., the amount you wrote down).

Click OK to close the Reconciliation Settings window.

In the Reconciliation window, mark all journal entries included on previous bank statements as "cleared" by clicking the journal entry's "Clr" column.

Note: If you are a brand new user, you may not need to mark any journal entries if the only journal entries in the Reconciliation window are outstanding journal entries. Or, you may only need to mark the opening balance journal entry if the only other journal entries in the Reconciliation window are outstanding journal entries.

Note: Multiple journal entries can be marked at the same time by clicking the first record, dragging the mouse to the last record, and pressing the spacebar.

Once the appropriate journal entries are marked as cleared and the Difference field is 0.00, press Ctrl+P to print a Reconciliation Report.

If the Difference is not 0.00, KB Article R10904 - "GLS Reconciliation Troubleshooting" includes a Difference Other than 0.00 exists in the Reconciliation window section that will help determine how to correct it.

Click the Finalize button to finalize the reconciliation.

Once the reconciliation is complete, click OK.

You have just completed the initial reconciliation and are now ready to reconcile the bank account statement in front of you. The GLS Help provided with the software includes step-by-step procedures for reconciling subsequent bank statements. In GLS, press F1, on the Index tab, type reconciliation and double-click reconciling a GLS bank account.

REFERENCES

KB Article - R10904 - GLS Reconciliation Troubleshooting

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