Preparing Reconciliations

Reconciliation Methods

The way you prepare reconciliations depends on the reconciliation method. There are three methods supported and an administrator sets up the reconciliation using one of these methods:

Balance Comparison
Account Analysis
Variance Analysis

For example, if the reconciliation has a Subledger balance to compare against a General Ledger balance, you can use a Balance Comparison method.
balance comparison graphic

If there's no Subledger balance, then you can use an Account Analysis method which allows a preparer to explain the GL balance.
account analysis method graphic

Another method is the Variance Analysis method which can be used to compare a current month end balance to a prior period end balance. For example, the previous month, quarter, or year end and the preparer explains the variances as required.
variance analysis method graphic

For any of the methods, an administrator can run scheduled auto reconciliation rules to automatically reconcile reconciliations that meet specified criteria such as zero balance accounts and accounts with no activity.

Adding Transactions

There are three ways to add transactions and adjustments to reconciliations. You can either:

Manually enter transactions and adjustments. See Adding Transactions
Import them from a file. See Understanding Data Loads in Account Reconciliation Cloud
Copy transactions from a prior reconciliation. See Copying Transactions from Prior Reconciliation

Accessing the Reconciliations

Users can log on to access assigned reconciliations from:

Worklist card - allows you to view your open reconciliations. By default, the Worklist shows all open reconciliations for which you are a preparer or a reviewer, or for which a team that you belong to is a preparer or reviewer.
Dashboards card (Overview or Compliance tabs) - You can identify the accounts for reconciliation in the Overview dashboard. You can see visual indicators for the reconciliation status for the period. There are also options where you can select how to view or sort the reconciliations. You can select components on the dashboard to present the underlying data. When you click on a pie chart, the underlying data is presented.
Reconciliations card

Example: Working on Reconciliations Using the Worklist and Reconciliation Summary

Let's walk through an example using the Worklist to identify the reconciliation to work on and how to use the Reconciliation summary dialog to work on reconciliations.

From Home, click Worklist.

Here's some ways you can easily get information about reconciliation work that is ongoing:
- You can see a summary of the status by All, Late, Due Today, or Due in 7 days .
- You can toggle the view to look at the reconciliations for yourself or another user.
- You can use the Filter bar to filter by attributes such as name or account type.
Open a reconciliation on the list by clicking the Actions icon next to the reconciliiation. For example,
The Reconciliations summary dialog displays. You can easily do all your work from this dialog. let's take a short tour.
- There is a toggle on the upper left that allows you to access the list of reconciliations. There is also a caution that there are unexplained differences and how many.
- Note that on the upper right the Unexplained Difference shows up and also is automatically updated as you reconcile transactions.
- Balance Summary numbers panels showing columns for GL Balance and the AP Subledger Balance. If you click on the adjustments number or the tab, you can see a detailed list of transactions.
- The graph panel displays the trend over time of the previous reconciliations. New reconcilers can see if they are in the range that was previously achieved. Existing users can see trends and figure out if there are new issues to address based on those trends.
- The right hand side contains key metrics for the reconciliation: who owns it, when it’s due, and any violations. You can also see the most recent attachments and comments.
- There are drawers on the right hand side that allow you to view or enter additional information. When you click once on the icon, the drawer opens, and when you click again, it closes.
  - Properties
  - Instructions. These are instructions that give you help on reconciling.
  - Alerts. Displays alerts and their status on reconciliations and transactions. See Creating Alerts
  - Workflow. Displays the deadlines and workflow users and their status.
    
    Note:
    The system stores who did the initial work on the reconciliation as a preparer (Preparer Actual) or reviewer (Reviewer Actual). This is helpful in case the reconciliation is reassigned or a member is deleted from a team. See Submitting, Approving, and Rejecting Reconciliations
  - Warnings
  - Attributes
  - Questions. These are questions that must be answered by preparers before submitting the reconciliation for review.
  - Attachments
  - Comments
  - Prior Reconciliations shows status for prior periods.
  - History
If you are part of a team that is assigned a reconciliation, and no one else has claimed it, you can click Claim to claim the reconciliation so that you can start working on it.
Now you work on reconciling the account by adding transactions to get the unexplained difference down to zero which is the goal of reconciling accounts. See the Preparing Reconciliations video to follow this example through to adding transactions as well as Adding Transactions
If needed, you can add comments and attachments to the individual transactions.
Answer any required questions on the reconciliation.
Click the Summary tab to view the updated totals. The unexplained difference is now zero, so you can click Submit to send the reconciliation for review.

Note that when you refresh the list, the status changes to With Reviewer Level 1.

Watch a Preparing Reconciliations Video

Click this link to watch the video: