Splasm Software Discussions

I have only been using CheckBook for a few days - getting used to it before leaving my existing program, iBank (which will soon not be supported on Apple OS). So I'm maintaining both now which allows me to continue to keep accurate records while having "training wheels" on CheckBook.

I'm concerned on how to go about doing my first Reconciliation in the new software. Is there anything I need to do special this first go-round? My iBank records go back to 1992 (and came over beautifully into CheckBook).

Thank you in advance for any guidance you can offer!

Pete

Just following the typical reconciling steps should have you set so long as all your iBank data was successfully transferred, with each and every entry that was reconciled in iBank appropriately marked as Resolved. One exception would be if you ever had to use any sort of adjustment to reconcile in iBank in the past, in which case, you may find yourself left with an Unreconciled amount after checking-off all your latest entries and updating the Ending Balance value—in that event, what you'll want to do is add an entry in the same Unreconciled amount (a Debit, if it's negative, or a Deposit, if it's positive), that you then mark as Resolved. After that, Unreconciled will go down to zero, allowing you to Reconcile.

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

Thank you, Allan! I’ll reach out for any further concerns at the first of the month. I appreciate your timely response!!

Pete

I just did my first reconciliation with an ending balance of $51.47. I see the unreconciliation of $37,335.47 and the resolved balance of $37,284. However, since this is all new, how do I know (without doing the physical mathematics) that the checkbook is accurately reconciled?

The only way to achieve a successful Reconciliation—as far as the app is concerned—is to take the Unreconciled amount down to zero. To do that, your Resolved Balance needs to match your Ending Balance exactly. So, what you may want to do is add 37,335.47 to your Account's existing Starting Balance, provided that is, in fact, what you see for Unreconciled as stated (though it seems more likely 37,284.00 is your Unreconciled figure since 37,335.47 minus 51.47 equals 37,284.00 and Unreconciled is always the difference between the Resolved and Ending Balance values). Anyway, to get to where you can edit your Account's Starting Balance, go up to click the Account menu at the top of the screen and select the Edit Account menu option.

Ultimately, when you're able to see Unreconciled displayed as 0.00, you'll see the Reconcile button light up, then clicking this button is the final step in the reconciling process. Upon clicking that button, the Resolved checkboxes for all checked-off entries will become locked along with the Amount field so as to signal true Reconciled status.

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

Allan, thank you for your feedback. I believe I followed what you shared. Is the the correct ending (in the screenshot provided)? The ENDING BALANCE should match the RESOLVED BALANCE or should I be seeing "zeros" somewhere? Again, coming over from iBank in adequate time to become comfortable with Checkbook.

Everything looks about right except that you have quite the high Unresolved total, which wouldn't be unusual if you have one or more large-sized deposits in your Account that haven't cleared yet. But, just to be clear, you have all your past entries that cleared prior to the current statement marked as Resolved, right? If so, then proceed with the Reconciliation by clicking "Reconcile". If not, get those checked-off, then you'll need to make a new adjustment to the Starting Balance, adding any additional Unreconciled amount that shows up to it.

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

Very helpful, Allan! As you can see in the screenshot I have corrected what needed to be done. Now, a new concern rears up: How can I get a Balance (last column) to reflect what is actually available? At a glance in Entry I want to see I have $51.47 current available INSTEAD of $31,174.19 after my Interest accrued ($.04). Is there a way to get that displayed??

Unfortunately, the Balance column can only ever show the overall Account Balance. But, if your overall Balance should actually be 51.74 and so needs to be adjusted as well, you could always input a debit with a very early date in the Amount of -31,122.72 that you leave Unresolved, forevermore.

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

Once again, Allan, much, MUCH thanks. I did exactly what you described and that post will remain unresolved. Not sure if there's a way for future releases to have that option made available without compromising resolution status.

I'm now very happy with Checkbook and happy I am making the transition!

That's great that all's well there now! And, we can most definitely look at adding support to a future version for a feature that makes including adjustments like that a little easier.

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

“Listening” to the user(s) is/are a very noble trait, Allan. More developers should follow your lead! I’m certain that would benefit many.

Thank you again!

I started using Checkbook Pro several years ago, and imported records extending back to 2017.

Faced with a massive reconciliation task, I created my own technique by creating Smart Folders named "Monthly Reconcile" for each of my accounts. In the "Monthly Reconcile" folder I add the definition "Date" "Is between". This pops up a handy pair of calendar views in which you can enter month/day/year for beginning and end of the month you are reconciling

This gives a view that should match the bank statement. It is a stand-alone view, so it can sort it by amount, which makes it much easier to find transactions. I typically have fewer deposits (such is life), so it's easy to get those scanned and tick off the "Resolved" button on each entry. Then I start scanning debits.

Most of my transactions are into or out of my checking, so it is easy to use those accounts to narrow down lengthy bank statements. I can sort on those account transfers, to make sure my checking account transfers concur with the receiving/sending account's reconciliation.

I can also sort by date, to see if any discrepancy is due to a late transaction that did not clear before the bank statement was created. I mark each item Resolved as I go. After I've scanned all items in my bank statement, I look at my "Monthly Reconcile" view and examine any unmarked items. I can use the PDF reader's search to look for any missed debits or deposits.

It took a while, devoting an evening to reconciling each month's bank statement, but was worth it —and very satisfying. I now have a pretty good idea of the state of my account during the current month, if I'm careful to log every transaction.

Things to watch out for: if you have account transfers, be very careful in adjusting those transactions after reconciling. Even a seemingly harmless change in a transfer can wreak unexpected havoc. It is easy, for instance, to convert a transfer to a simple debit to another account. The only difference is whether account is italicized. That is all too easy to miss on a computer screen with tired eyes...

It is easy to convert this Smart Folder to reconcile the current. Just revise to read "Date" "is during last" "month". .

The end-game is to arrive at a state at which the Checkbook Pro native Reconciliation procedure shows everything is resolved and reconciled, and let Checkbook Pro take over from there.

I hope Splasm designers consider this home-made mechanism (as well as making transfers bold italic to make the difference jump!)

Being able to isolate and deal with a month's transactions, in various ways is very helpful in detecting the source of difficulties during reconciliation of checkbook accounts, especially when transfers to and from other accounts are involved.

Great approach, Dwain! We can most definitely look at officially supporting something along those lines in a future version and consider representing Transfers in both bold and italics as well, while we're at it. Lots of solid ideas here—your support means a lot!

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Allan Woodall
Phosphorescent Phage
Splasm Software
http://www.splasm.com

Dwain, mine went back to 1992! Thank you for your generous contribution. I’ll have look into this. Seems interesting and Allan seems to concur to making it a possibility.