A bank reconciliation difference means a transaction, balance, or date entered in the software doesn't match the bank statement. Identifying the source of a reconciliation difference isn't always straightforward, because more than one factor may contribute to the difference.

Working through the checks below can help you narrow down where the reconciliation difference originated.

Make sure the reconciliation period and statement ending date entered in the software match the bank statement exactly. A reconciliation with the wrong statement ending date can include or exclude transactions that belong to a different period.

Compare the beginning balance of the current reconciliation to the ending balance from the previous reconciliation. If the beginning balance does not match the previous reconciliation ending balance, a transaction may have been changed, deleted, or entered after the previous reconciliation was completed.
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Confirm that the ending balance entered for the reconciliation matches the ending balance printed on the bank statement. A mistyped ending balance is one of the most common causes of a reconciliation difference.
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The reconciliation difference amount can provide a clue. For example, a difference that exactly matches one transaction amount may indicate that the transaction was omitted, duplicated, or entered incorrectly. A difference that is evenly divisible by 9 often points to a transposed number (for example, entering $54.00 instead of $45.00)--but not always.

Compare the bank statement line by line to the transactions recorded in the software. Pay particular attention to:

Look for transactions that may have been entered into the software more than once. Duplicates are especially common when transactions were imported from the bank and also entered manually.

Even a small difference in a transaction amount — such as $45.00 entered as $45.50 — can prevent the reconciliation from balancing. Also check that each transaction is recorded in the correct period; a transaction dated in the wrong month can cause a reconciliation difference.

A transaction appearing on the bank statement may not yet be marked as cleared in the software, or a transaction recorded in the software may not have cleared the bank yet. Make sure only the transactions that appear on the bank statement are marked as cleared in the reconciliation.

If a prior reconciliation was balanced but the current beginning balance is now different, review prior-period transactions for:

Look for items on the bank statement that may not have been entered in the software, such as:

If the reconciliation difference remains after working through the checks above, identify the cause rather than entering an adjustment simply to make the reconciliation balance. An adjusting entry can hide the underlying issue and affect account balances going forward.

If an adjustment is necessary, post the adjustment to a separate, dedicated ledger account — for example, you can add a new account named "Ask My Accountant" — so the adjustment is easy to identify and review later with your accountant.