Reconciling your bank transactions doesn’t have to be a chore! Aplos' Bank Reconciliation tool offers powerful features that make it easier to match your records with your bank statements. Whether you're doing monthly reconciliations or catching up on a backlog, these detailed tips and tricks will help you work smarter, not harder. If you are more of a visual learner, check out this video from a previous webinar to walk through all of the tips and tricks we recommend below:

Filter and Sort

The Bank Reconciliation interface is designed to display all transactions in a single scrollable list, instead of a two-column view (deposits vs. payments). This view gives more customization to align with the way many banks present their statements—often in one list.

💡 Tip:

Use the filter and sorting options at the top of the screen to view transactions in a way that mirrors your bank statement. You can sort or filter by:

• Type: Deposits, Payments, or All
• Date
• Check Number
• Name
• Amount

This flexibility allows you to tailor the reconciliation screen to fit your statement’s format, making it faster and more intuitive to match transactions.

Use the Sticky Balance Bar

A key feature to speed up reconciliation is the sticky balance bar at the bottom of the screen. This bar stays visible as you scroll and provides a real-time summary of:

• Total checked payments
• Total checked deposits
• Number of items selected in each category

✅ Why This Matters:

Most bank statements list summary totals at the top. You can quickly compare those totals to what’s selected in Aplos. If the totals and item counts match and the balance turns green—congratulations! You can hit Reconcile.

If they don’t match, use the item counts and amounts to narrow down where the issue lies: are you missing a payment? Did you forget a deposit?

Quick Edit/Add

If you notice a transaction doesn’t match your bank statement—for example, a check was entered as $49.72 instead of $49.42—you can edit it without leaving the reconciliation tool entirely.

How To:

• Click the blue date link next to the transaction. (This opens the register view for that specific transaction.)
• Make your correction and click Submit.
• Click the blue return bar at the bottom to return to your reconciliation screen.

⚠️ Reminder: Blue links navigate you in and out. Avoid using the browser’s back button

Add Missing Transactions on the Spot

Sometimes you realize during reconciliation that you forgot to record something, like interest earned or bank fees.

Instead of starting over:

• Click a the blue date link for one of your transactions.
• Instead of editing that transaction, add the missing transaction at the top of the register.
• Be sure to click submit once all information is filled out
• Click the blue return bar to come right back.

The new transaction will appear immediately, and you can check it off.

Handling Date Discrepancies

Sometimes a transaction may needed to be posted in the next month’s books but appears on the current month’s bank statement.

Aplos' reconciliation filters won’t show that future-dated transaction by default. The workaround? Change the statement end date to one day later (e.g., from June 30 to July 1).

This will:

• Allow the future-dated transaction to appear in the reconciliation.
• Not affect your financial reports, because changing the statement end date only affects what’s visible in the reconciliation screen.

This trick ensures you can still reconcile June accurately even if the transaction was posted to July for reporting purposes.

Search for Specific Amounts

If you’re off by a specific number—say, $128.47—and can’t figure out why, use your browser’s search tool:

• Press `Ctrl + F` (Windows) or `Cmd + F` (Mac).
• Type in the amount.
• Your browser will highlight all instances of that number on the page.

This can help you find missed or duplicated transactions quickly, without scanning line by line.

Handling Duplicate Values

When reconciling a statement with multiple transactions of the same value (e.g., five $100 checks), click the "Amount" column to sort by amount.

Then:

• Compare the count on your statement with the number of transactions selected in Aplos.
• This helps catch if you’ve checked off too many or too few transactions of that amount.

Useful for spotting subtle errors where dates don’t match exactly, but amounts do.

Reopen a Past Reconciliation

Previously, if you needed to correct an old reconciliation, you had to undo all reconciliations that came after it. Not anymore.

Aplos now allows you to:

• Reopen any individual reconciliation, even if you’ve completed later ones.
• Make corrections, re-save, and move on—without breaking the rest of your history.

This is especially useful when a discrepancy from a previous month is discovered after the fact.

Placeholder Transactions

If you're behind and can't locate a small discrepancy (like $100.28), don’t waste hours trying to track it down.

Instead:

• Create a temporary transaction labeled clearly (e.g., “Placeholder – Reconciliation Discrepancy”).
• Post it to a register you are reconciling.
• Reconcile the month and move on.

When you later discover the true cause (e.g., a bank error corrected months later), you can:

• Reopen the affected reconciliation.
• Delete the placeholder.
• Enter the correct transaction.

⚠️ Avoid guessing or checking off random items just to balance. Placeholder transactions keep your books tidy and help you avoid bigger messes down the line.

By mastering these tools and tricks, you’ll not only reconcile more efficiently but also reduce stress, avoid errors, and keep your financials accurate!

Have a specific scenario you need help with? Contact our care team for personalized guidance!