#Checkbook Register App How To Reconcile Your#

Checkbook Register App How To Reconcile Your

But whether you were a master checkbook balancer in the time of paper or are a digital native who didnвЂ™t realize paper statements were once a thing, you may not know exactly how to reconcile your accounts.HereвЂ™s what you need to know about how to balance a checkbook in a paperless world. Host your content, register your own custom domain name, sell products.However, even though the paper-and-pencil aspect of checkbook balancing has mostly gone the way of the dodo, the process is still a necessary part of maintaining your checking account. Now that all of your transactions are available immediately via your bankвЂ™s online portal or mobile app, you may assume that balancing your checkbook is the kind of skill thatвЂ™s lost all usefulness, like knowing how to use a pencil to rewind an unraveled cassette tape.Use our course search app to find an accredited bar-tending training program. Entry forms are quick to fill out since most of the information is already pre.

Making sure you recorded checks as you wrote them and reconciled your account with the bankвЂ™s statement ensured that you were never caught flat-footed when an old check finally cleared. Back when paper checks were more common, it could take quite some time for any one check to clear. There are several reasons for keeping such a record and balancing it regularly:

It also is easier to identify problems, such as missed automatic payments, incorrectly assessed fees, fraudulent charges and even your own mathematical mistakes, when you have a regularly balanced checkbook.Balancing your checkbook used to be a chore reserved for a specific time each month: after receiving your monthly paper statement from the bank. Keeping a record of your banking transactions can help you track your spending, making budgeting a simpler process. If a vendor charges you the wrong amount for a purchase, you may not otherwise know if you donвЂ™t balance your account at least once a month. You also can catch merchant errors more quickly if you reconcile regularly.

You can find this information on either your bankвЂ™s website or through its mobile app. Look up the вЂњcurrent available balanceвЂќ in your checking account. If you have never before balanced your checkbook, you need to start by recording your transactionsвЂ”starting with your bank balance:

YouвЂ™ll continue doing this until you have recorded all your transactions. For each credit, youвЂ™ll add the amount. For each debit, youвЂ™ll subtract the amount of the transaction from your balance. You will write down the date of the transaction and a brief description and, in the case of checks, the check number. This includes debits and credits, as well as any checks you may have written that have not yet been cashed. Record any pending transactions that you know are coming but have not yet cleared.

Perhaps you forgot to record a transaction or you transposed a couple of numbers. If they match, then you have a balanced checkbook.So what do you do if your numbers and the bankвЂ™s numbers donвЂ™t align? ThatвЂ™s when itвЂ™s time to backtrack through your records and the bankвЂ™s transaction history to see where the discrepancy is. About once every two weeks (or more often), log on to view your bank account and compare your bankвЂ™s total withdrawals and deposits with your own records. As you continue to make transactions, record them in your check register so you have a running tally of your debits, credits and total balance.

It also assumed that your transactions consisted primarily of paper checks going into and out of your account.Today, there are many more ways for transactions to happen: from ATMs and mobile deposits, to automatic bill-pay (ACH transfers) and direct deposit of your paycheck. Digital Balancing OptionsThe old-school method of checkbook balancing assumed that you would carry a paper check register with you everywhere you went, and that you would record your transactions by hand. You will have fewer transactions to comb through if you balance once a week or once every two weeks.

These amenities make it very easy to check your banking information each day.However, there are a couple of downsides to using a daily check-in as an alternative to checkbook balancing. You also can sign up for email or text alerts that will let you know everything from when your transactions clear to what your current balance is. For instance, the majority of modern banks offer smartphone apps that allow you to easily check your balance, see your transactions and even deposit checks via your phone. This will allow you to see all of your transactions within 24 hours of making them, so you can detect mistakes and errors quickly, and youвЂ™ll have a consistent idea of your current balance.If you struggle to get into this kind of habit, a number of modern banking conveniences can help remind you to check in once a day. Happily, there are a number of ways to keep track of your banking transactions that donвЂ™t rely on pen and paper: Daily Online Check-In With Your BankSince banks are able to update the transactions that clear your account in real time, you can recreate much of the same benefit of keeping and balancing a check register by simply logging into your account online every day.

Such an aggregator will do the tracking and recording for you, so all youвЂ™ll have to do is check it regularly and compare it to your banking information to make sure everything balances.Aggregators can be a great tool for anyone who wants to get a big-picture sense of their money. These aggregators allow you to see an overview of all of your financial accounts in a single place, from your checking and savings accounts, to your loans, to your college savings account. Using an Account AggregatorThere are a number of programs availableВ that will automatically track your banking information for you, such as Mint.com and Personal Capital. In addition, it is harder to find banking errors if you do not keep your own records, since you will be working from the bankвЂ™s numbers at all times. You may overdraw your accountВ if there is an outstanding check that you forget about.

This will mean you can access it from your phone, allowing you to make note of your transactions while youвЂ™re out and about. You can create your own transaction register on an open-source spreadsheet platform, such as Google Sheets. This means you have to remember to write down transactions when you get home, rather than record them as you make them, which is onerous and also a good way to forget transactions.What you probably have at all times, however, is your cell phone. Using an Open-Source SpreadsheetOne of the reasons why balancing your checkbook has become passГ© is because most people no longer carry a checkbook, or even paper and pencil. You need to know what your money is doing and make sure you compare your (or the aggregatorвЂ™s) records with the bankвЂ™s records. If you simply let the aggregator do the work and never stop to check in, this kind of program will not replace manual balancing.

The benefit of a program like this is that it often will nudge you to complete your necessary tasks, and it will walk you through the process of balancing your records. These programs may automatically populate some transactions, but there is still plenty of manual recording you can do with them, both on your computer and your phone. Using an Accounting ProgramIf youвЂ™d like the accountability of recording your own transactions but need a little more structure, you might consider using an accounting program, such as Quicken or YNAB.

Plus, with the addition of digital banking services like automatic bill payments and mobile deposits, itвЂ™s critical to know when your money is in motion.

Checkbook Register App For Mac