Bank Reconciliation

Overview

Bank reconciliation confirms that the cash balance in LAMS matches your actual bank statement. Perform this monthly to catch errors, identify uncleared items, and maintain accurate financial records.

Performing a Reconciliation

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Bank reconciliation screen showing the bank statement ending balance field, the LAMS book balance, and a list of uncleared transactions

Bank reconciliation screen showing the bank statement ending balance field, the LAMS book balance, and a list of uncleared transactions

1. Get your bank statement for the period.
2. Navigate to Bookkeeping > Bank Reconciliation.
3. Enter the bank statement ending date and ending balance.
4. The screen shows all uncleared transactions in LAMS (outstanding checks, deposits in transit, etc.).
5. For each item on your bank statement, find the matching transaction in LAMS and click Clear.
6. When all matches are made, verify: LAMS balance + outstanding items = bank statement balance.
7. Click Post Reconciliation to finalize.

Tip

Perform bank reconciliation monthly, ideally within a few days of receiving your statement. The longer you wait, the harder it is to investigate discrepancies.

Items to Clear

During reconciliation, you will work through:

Item Type	Where it comes from
Outstanding checks	Checks printed but not yet cashed
Deposits in transit	Payments recorded in LAMS but not yet on the bank statement
Bank fees	Service charges from the bank
Interest income	Interest credited by the bank
NSF items	Returned (bounced) checks
Wire fees	Fees charged for incoming or outgoing wires

Adjusting Entries During Reconciliation

For items that appear on the bank statement but not in LAMS (bank fees, interest, NSF fees), create a journal entry while reconciling:

1. Click New Adjustment from the reconciliation screen.
2. Select the account to debit or credit.
3. Enter the amount and description.
4. The adjustment is immediately reflected in the reconciliation balance.

After Reconciliation

Once the reconciliation balances:

• Print or save the Reconciliation Summary for your records.
• Archive it with the bank statement for audit purposes.

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Completed reconciliation summary showing beginning balance, cleared items, outstanding items, and ending balance matching the bank statement

Completed reconciliation summary showing beginning balance, cleared items, outstanding items, and ending balance matching the bank statement