Bank Reconciliation

You should reconcile (match up) your Pearl bank record with your actual bank statements on a regular basis. This is best done as soon as you receive a paper statement from your bank. You can choose to reconcile any bank account with a paper statement for the purpose of cross reference and double checking.

To switch on reconciliation for any account

Click edit by any of the bank accounts to edit the name or to set the ability to reconcile that account.

How to reconcile your bank accounts

This is the preferred method of bank reconciliation and will soon be the only method available within Pearl.

For each account that you receive paper statements, make sure that reconcile is switched on in the Chart of Accounts. If you have just added a bank account for reconciliation you will need to refresh your screen to re-load the main menu.

From the main menu click Accounts->Bank->Bank statements->Choose account

To create a new statement 

1. Click "add statement" at the top of the screen
2. Enter the end dates and end balance for the statement you wish to work on. The start date and start balance will be copied from the previous statment closing date and closing balance.
3. You will be taken to the statement screen which will show all the unreconciled entries for this bank account that fall before the end date of the statement.

Reconciling the transactions

1. As you cross reference each Pearl entry with the entry on the paper statement, tick the row in Pearl and put a tick on the paper statement.
2. Save at regular intervals. If you need to make a correction, save the screen then click the journal ID on the left hand column to go to the corrections screen.
3. Once the Pearl end balance matches the paper end balance, you will see a reconcile button; click this to close the statement and mark all transactions as reconciled.

You can un-reconcile a statement if you wish from within the statement list screen.

Bank payments and receipts

Bank payments should be used to record money that is leaving your bank account but that is not against an invoice. For example you may wish simply to record a one-off payment to a supplier for an invoice paid at the time by credit card, or for miscellaneous and sundry items such as stamps.

You do not have to enter the supplier as a contact, which makes the process faster for a single transaction but on the other hand you will not be able to track invoices and payments for the supplier.

You may wish to record credit card payments to the Royal Mail for stamps as a bank payment. Simply use the Accounts->Bank->Bank Payment screen and create a payment from the credit card account to the postage account (eg 7501). Enter the supplier name and perhaps a reference into the details box.

To choose the correct nominal account (transaction code), type a few characters into the autosearch box and wait a second. You will be given a few options for codes that match your search query (try a search for post for example - you will be given the option of postage and carriage or mispostings account - press the arrow key down to the required option and then hit the tab key to move to the next field.)

Bank Transfers

If you are paying for items on a personal credit card, the balance on your credit card account (which in Pearl is one of the bank accounts that you have set up) will need to be settled. When you actually make the payment from the company bank account to your personal card account, record the payment using the Accounts->Bank->Bank Transfer screen. Since a bank transfer is simply moving money around, there is no profit and therefore no tax implications, hence all bank transfers are T9 tax code.

Batch bank transfers

If you take regular, small credit card payments that are later transferred to your bank account from your credit card supplier, the following procedure should be used.

Each sale should be allocated into the Credit card sales account as set up in your Chart of Accounts. As the period progresses, the balance on the credit card sales account will increase.

When the batch arrives in your bank account:

1. Click Accounts->Bank->List bank accounts from the main menu and view the activity on the credit card sales account.
2. Select the date range that matches the batch
3. Select each row that falls within the batch dates, the total of selected rows will be shown on the screen
4. When the total matches the batch amount, choose to "transfer balance to"your main bank account.
5. Enter some details and the date that the batch appeared in your bank account
6. Create the transfer

Each individual transaction will be marked as transferred, and Pearl will create an automatic bank transfer from the credit card sales account into the bank account.

Loans

If you receive money from outside the business, enter a Bank Receipt against the Loans account (2300). As you make payments back to the loan, enter these as Bank Payments back into the 2300 account. Once the loan is cleared, the balance on the 2300 account will be zero. Note that any interest payable on the loan should be paid as a separate payment to the 7903 Loan interest paid (or similar) account.

Don't forget you can add or remove these transaction codes using Accounts->Chart of Accounts.