You connected your business bank account to your bookkeeping software. Transactions are coming in, and the dashboard looks current. It is reasonable to wonder how much work is left - what more is there to do?
A bank feed helps bring information into your books. You still need to know whether that information has been recorded correctly, and make sure it’s not missing anything.
For a contractor or other small-business owner in Yakima County, that distinction matters. Before using the numbers to make a decision, it helps to understand what has actually been reviewed.
What a bank feed does
A bank feed downloads transaction information from a connected account. It can reduce manual entry and help you see recent activity.
Those transactions still need the right treatment. A downloaded payment might belong with a purchase already entered in the books. Adding it again could record the same purchase twice.
Software can suggest matches and categories (and with AI the suggestions are getting a lot better). The question is whether those suggestions reflect what actually happened in your business.
What reconciliation checks
Reconciliation compares an account's bookkeeping records with its statement for a defined period. In lay terms it compares what the bank says happened versus what your book says happened. (You should enter transaction separately from the bank feed in an ideal world). It helps you identify differences and work out why they exist. Intuit's reconciliation guide describes this statement-based review.
Some differences that always come up are timing issues. A check you recorded might not have cleared by the statement date. Other differences could involve a missing transaction or an extra entry.
The goal is to understand and account for the differences. A connected account or a familiar-looking balance does not tell you whether that review is complete.
One materials purchase, two entries
Consider this fictional example: a handyman buys $240 of materials and records the purchase in the books. Later, the bank feed downloads the same $240 payment.
There was one purchase. If the download is added as another materials purchase, the books could show $480 of expense instead of $240.
The next step is to compare the records and determine whether they describe the same payment. Intuit identifies adding a downloaded transaction instead of matching an existing record as one way duplicates can occur.
Two payments for the same amount are not automatically duplicates, though. If the actual bank statement shows two separate charges, the records need further investigation. Check the dates, supplier and supporting documents before changing anything.
Matching the bank is one part of the review
A purchase can agree with the bank statement and still need a better category or an explanation of its business purpose. For a contractor tracking work by job, it might also need the right job information.
That is why receipts, invoices and your answers to bookkeeping questions still matter. The IRS explains that supporting documents provide the information behind entries in your books.
Our monthly records checklist for contractors can help you gather information for that review.
Four questions to ask your bookkeeper
Instead of stopping at “Is my bank connected?”, ask:
Through what statement date has each account been reconciled?
Are any transactions still waiting for review or an explanation from me?
Are there outstanding items that need investigation?
What needs to happen before these reports are ready for us to discuss?
These questions give you a clearer picture of the period covered and the work still open.
If earlier records need attention, our guide to cleanup and monthly bookkeeping explains the differences to discuss.
Want help understanding where your books stand? Talk with Courage Bookkeeping. Tell us which accounts and periods you are trying to understand, and we can discuss what support makes sense.