gnucash/doc/sgml/C/xacc-recnwin.sgml

<ARTICLE ID="XACC-RECNWIN">

<ARTHEADER>
<TITLE>The Reconciliation Window</TITLE>
</ARTHEADER>
<PARA>The Reconciliation window is used to reconcile a GnuCash account with
    a statement that a bank or other institution has sent you.
    Reconciliation is useful not only to double-check your records
    against those of your bank,  but also to get a better idea of
    outstanding transactions, e.g. uncashed checks.
    </PARA>
    <PARA>
    At the bottom of the account window, there are two running balances:
    the "cleared and reconciled" balance, and the "total" balance.
    The "cleared and reconciled" balance should correspond to how much
    money the bank thinks you have in your account, and the "total" balance
    includes outstanding transactions.
    </PARA>
    <PARA>
    For example, when you write a check for something, you should enter
    the transaction into GnuCash.  The reconciliation
    (<GUILABEL>R</GUILABEL>) field of the transaction will initially
    contain <LITERAL>n</LITERAL> (new).  Your new entry will contribute
    to the "total" balance, but not to the "cleared and reconciled"
    balance.  Later, if you think
    that the check has been cashed, you might click on the transaction's
    <GUILABEL>R</GUILABEL> field to change it to <LITERAL>c</LITERAL>
    (cleared).  When you do this, the "cleared and reconciled" balance
    will change to include this amount. 
    When the bank statement arrives, you can then compare
    it to what you've recorded in GnuCash in the Reconciliation window.
    There, you will be able to change the <GUILABEL>R</GUILABEL> field
    to <LITERAL>y</LITERAL> (reconciled).   You cannot reconcile in the
    register window, you must use the reconciliation window. Once a
    transaction has been marked "reconciled", it can no longer
    be easily changed.
    </PARA>

<SECT1>
<TITLE>Reconciling</TITLE>
<PARA>
    <ITEMIZEDLIST>
<LISTITEM>

<PARA>Choose <GUIMENU>Reconcile</GUIMENU> from the Accounts menu, 
      and GnuCash will prompt you to
      enter the ending balance from the bank statement.

    </PARA>
    
    <MEDIAOBJECT>
    <IMAGEOBJECT>
    <IMAGEDATA FILEREF="image/recninfo.png">
    </IMAGEOBJECT>
    </MEDIAOBJECT>

</LISTITEM>
<LISTITEM>
<PARA>Enter the date of the end of the period that the statement covers,
     and the final balance from the statement, and press
     <GUIBUTTON>OK</GUIBUTTON>.  The Reconcile window will pop up.  It
     looks like this:

     </PARA>
      
     <MEDIAOBJECT>
     <IMAGEOBJECT>
     <IMAGEDATA FILEREF="image/recnwin.png">
     </IMAGEOBJECT>
     </MEDIAOBJECT>

     <PARA>The <GUILABEL>Debits</GUILABEL> and <GUILABEL>Credits</GUILABEL>
     groups list all the unreconciled transactions.  The
     '<GUILABEL>R</GUILABEL>' columns show whether the transactions have 
     been cleared or reconciled.

     </PARA>
</LISTITEM>

<LISTITEM>
<PARA>Now, examine each item on the bank statement, and look for the
     matching item in the Reconcile window.   

     </PARA>
<PARA>If you cannot find one, then perhaps you forgot to enter a
     transaction, or did not know that the transaction had happened.  You
     can use the <GUIBUTTON>New</GUIBUTTON> button on the tool bar, or the
     <GUIMENUITEM>New</GUIMENUITEM> menu item in the
     <GUIMENU>Transaction</GUIMENU> menu, to open a register window and
     enter the missing transaction.  The new item will appear in the
     Reconcile window when you press <GUIBUTTON>enter</GUIBUTTON> after
     entering the transaction.

     </PARA>
<PARA>When you find the item in the Reconcile window, compare the amount in
     the item to the amount on the statement.  If they disagree, you may
     have made an error when you entered the transaction in GnuCash.  You
     can use the <GUIBUTTON>Edit</GUIBUTTON> button on the tool bar, or the
     <GUIMENUITEM>Edit</GUIMENUITEM> menu item in the
     <GUIMENU>Transaction</GUIMENU> menu, to open a register window and
     correct the transaction.

     </PARA>
<PARA>If the amounts agree, click on the item in the Reconcile window. The
     '<GUILABEL>R</GUILABEL>' column will change to '<LITERAL>y</LITERAL>'
     (reconciled) from '<LITERAL>n</LITERAL>' or '<LITERAL>c</LITERAL>'.

     </PARA>
<PARA>You then repeat this for each item that appears on the
        bank statement, verifying that the amounts match with the
        amounts in GnuCash, and marking off transactions in GnuCash
        as they are reconciled.
      
      </PARA>
</LISTITEM>
<LISTITEM>
<PARA>At the bottom of the "Reconcile" window is a "Difference" field, which
      should show $0.00 when you are done reconciling. If it shows some other value,
      then either you have missed transactions, or some amounts may
      be incorrect in GnuCash. (Or, less likely,
      the bank may have made an error.)
      </PARA>

</LISTITEM>
<LISTITEM>
<PARA>When you have marked off all the items on the
      bank statement, and when the difference is $0.00, press the
      <GUIBUTTON>Finish</GUIBUTTON> button on the tool bar or select
      <GUIMENUITEM>Finish</GUIMENUITEM> from the
      <GUIMENU>Reconcile</GUIMENU> menu (the latter method will work
      even if your "Difference" isn't $0.00).
					The Reconcile window will close.
      In the <LINK LINKEND="xacc-regwin">Register window</LINK>, the
      <GUILABEL>R</GUILABEL> field of the reconciled transactions will
      change to '<LITERAL>y</LITERAL>'.
      
    </PARA>
</LISTITEM>
</ITEMIZEDLIST>
</PARA>
</SECT1>

</ARTICLE>

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