Nolan Business Solutions created Advanced Bank Reconciliation (ABR) for NetSuite because the standard functionality found within NetSuite didn't provide the convenience, flexibility and automation that most clients who are having to reconcile multiple transactions needed.
This blog will walk you through how ABR can automatically match imported bank transactions against extracted NetSuite GL transactions.
This a side-by-side view of our imported bank transactions that can come from a CSV file, a BAI file or other international bank formats.
- The left-hand side shows the extracted NetSuite GL transactions and the right-hand side shows our imported bank transactions.
- The GL transactions are linked to either a cash GL account or a credit card type GL account.
To initiate the process, we will click on the Auto-Match button, which will look for exact amount matches between the GL and the Bank. But we can make the process smarter by creating configurable Auto-Match rules by transaction type. Checks, deposits, and bank fees are example of different transaction types that can have their unique rules. For example, we can create a rule for checks that will only auto-match them together if both the amount and the check number agree.
Once we Auto-Match process is completed, you have the ability to change the Display to either view all the transactions or the ones that matched or simply concentrate on the ones that didn’t match. The transactions that were auto-matched will have a sequential Match ID to identify them as cleared transactions.
If we switch to our Unmatched transactions, we can focus on those transactions that did not meet my reconcile rules.
- One example is a transaction where the amounts agree but the check number is slightly different, failing one of my reconcile rules. In this case, as long as the total amount selected agree, I can manually Match them.
- Another example can be recurring charges on the bank side, like bank fees or interest revenue, which are not yet recorded on the GL side. We can use a Template to define what account will be affected on the GL side and specify when the Auto-Generate Template process will be kick off. In this case, it will create the GL transaction when it sees the word “AmericaCharge” in the bank description and I hit the Auto Generate This will create the GL entry for that transaction, bring it to the Reconcile window, and assign it a Match number.
- We can also have 2 transactions that need to match between the GL ($90) and the bank ($99), but the amounts are different (for example, an additional bank fee). I can click on the Create-GL Trx button, and it will know the cash GL account that it is crediting. The user has to input the offset GL account that this charge will go to. This process will update the NS Financials, will bring the ($X) transaction into the Reconcile window, and will auto-match it for me.
If we switch the view to my Matched transactions, I can see that all the exceptions that I had so far, are matched.
- Going back to the Unmatched transactions, I can see that I have one more scenario that did not meet my reconcile rules. On the right hand-side, I can see a bank deposit recorded as a lump-sum that is actually made of several transactions on the GL side. Instead of looking up each transaction individually, I can use a filter to set a criteria to narrow down the list of outstanding transactions on either the GL or the bank side. In this case, I know that my deposits are customer payments in NS and I also know the date. Then, the Reconcile window will only show me the transactions that meet that criteria. I can mark them all, and if the totals agree, I can manually match those transactions.
When my difference between the GL and the bank is zero, I can successfully Reconcile. Anything that didn’t get match on the GL side during this process will continue to be on my outstanding list for future reconciliations.
After we finish the Reconcile process, we can view our Closing Balance Report, that will show us in summary the difference between my GL Account Balance minus my net outstanding NS transactions, to get to my calculated Reconcile Balance, which matches my bank balance. The second page will show the details of my outstanding transactions.
Clients across Canada and the United States use Nolan’s ABR to reconcile high transaction volumes, multiple bank accounts and multiple currencies.
Simplify and streamline your reconciliation process with us. .
By Arelis Fontanez, Technical Consultant NetSuite, Nolan Business Solutions, .
