3-Way Reconciling in ProTrust (Standard Edition)

Transcription

1 Introduction 3-Way Reconciling in ProTrust (Standard Edition) The steps below outline the process of reconciling your trust account(s) in ProTrust with your monthly bank statement. More detailed instructions follow. It is recommended that you reconcile all of your trust accounts monthly since it becomes more difficult to isolate problem transactions the farther back in time you must go to find them. STEP 1: STEP 2: STEP 3: STEP 4: STEP 5: STEP 6: STEP 7: Print a Missing Checks Report for the trust account you are reconciling. If any missing checks appear on this report, research the problem and make the necessary changes to the appropriate ledgers. Then re-print the Missing Checks Report to verify that the problems have been corrected. Print a Transferred Funds Report for the trust account you are reconciling. If the balance on this report is not 0.00, the transferred funds for the account are out of balance. Correct any errors (for example, you may have forgotten to make an offsetting entry for a transferred fund), then re-print the Transferred Funds Report to verify that the balance on the report is Enter any miscellaneous transactions appearing on the statement such as bank corrections, service charges, interest, and other fees charged to the account into your Firm Ledger, using a transaction type of Miscellaneous. You will clear these transactions later, in the same manner as you clear checks and deposits. Use the Reconciliation Function to select and clear all checks, deposits and miscellaneous transactions that have cleared the bank. Print a Statement Proofing Register from the Print Reports function. You should use the Statement Proofing Register under the 3-Way Reconciliation section. The beginning and ending balances on the Proofing Register and the Bank Statement should match. The Proofing Register should reflect each receipt and disbursement that cleared the bank for the subject month. Also, the total of the receipts should equal the total deposits on the bank statement, and the total of the disbursements should equal the total checks and miscellaneous disbursements on the bank statement. Compare the receipts and disbursements on your proofing register against the bank statement. If the total receipts and disbursements shown on the Proofing Register do not equal those shown on your bank statement, you must make corrections before proceeding. Use the Search function to recall any ledger in which a correction is necessary. Make corrections and re-print the Statement Proofing Register until the total receipts and deposits for the subject month are the same as the bank statement totals. Compare the beginning and ending balances on the Proofing Register and bank statement again to be sure they match. Print a Receipts & Disbursements Report (Outstanding) - This report allows you to verify the outstanding receipts and disbursements as of the bank statement date. This figure will match the outstanding receipts and disbursements on the Statement Proofing Register. Page 1 of 14

2 STEP 8: Print Escrow Account Reconciliation Summary report to verify the balances shown on the Statement Proofing Register Summary, Proofing Balance Sheet. You will then print the following reports to balance back to the Escrow Account Reconciliation Summary report: Escrow Trial Balance Report (Balances Only) The total on this report should equal the Bank Balance on the Summary report. Run this report for all ledger types. Bank Adjustments Report This report allows you to verify the Adjusted Balance (Non-Guaranty ledger balance) on the Proofing Balance Sheet. (Net adjustments) Book Balance Report - Shows the adjusted and non-adjusted book balances and should match the summary report balance. STEP 1: Print a Missing Checks Report Print this report BEFORE clearing transactions. If the report reveals any missing checks, you will need to determine why the checks are missing and make any associated corrections to your ProTrust ledgers before proceeding with your reconciliation. If a range of check numbers is missing (ex ), it could be an indication that the closing file has not been exported. 1. Open ProTrust for Windows. 2. Choose Reports/Missing Checks Report.. The Missing Checks Report dialog box appears. 3. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 4. In the Beginning Check Number: field, enter the check number after which missing checks are to be found. (For instance, if the first check used was 101, enter 100). The beginning check number cannot be negative. 5. If desired, select Report Comment. to enter any miscellaneous notes to appear on the report. The Report Comment dialog box will appear. Enter your notes in the Report Comment field and select OK to return to the Missing Checks Report dialog box. 6. Choose Print.(or Print Preview). Page 2 of 14

3 After correcting any errors found, print another Missing Checks Report to insure that all problems have been resolved. STEP 2: Print a Transferred Funds Report Print this report BEFORE clearing transactions. The balance on the report should be zero (see the Total transferred funds: amount in the sample report below): 1. Choose Reports/Transferred Funds Report.. The Transferred Funds Report dialog box appears. 2. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 3. Leave the Transfer Date From: blank and enter the bank statement date in the Through: field to include all transferred funds transactions. 4. Full Detail from the Format Options section should be the default option but if not then select. 5. Choose Print.(or Print Preview if you want to review report before you Print). 6. If the Total transferred funds: amount on your report is less than or greater than zero (0.00), determine which transferred fund transactions are missing a corresponding entry. Make the corrections that are necessary before proceeding with the reconciliation. Page 3 of 14

4 STEP 3: Enter Miscellaneous Transactions (if any) 1. Choose Search/Enter Search Criteria. 2. Enter the Firm File ID for the FIRM LEDGER to which you will be adding bank fees and charges. 3. Choose Search/Go (Begin Search) or click the Go (green light) button on the toolbar. 4. Choose Ledger/Transaction/ Add New Transaction. 5. Select Miscellaneous from the Transaction Types list. 6. Choose OK. 7. Enter the transaction amount in the Amount: field. 8. Enter the bank statement date in the 0ate: field and enter information into the Medium: (ex: Bank Stmt) and Memo: fields if desired. 9. Enter the payee name or transaction description in the Payee Name: field. 10. Select OK. STEP 4: Use the Reconciliation function to select and clear transactions 1. Choose Tools/Reconciliation. 2. Enter the code of the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account Code: field. 3. Enter the cleared date (usually the bank statement date) in the Bank Statement (Cleared) Date: field. 4. Select the type of transaction you want to clear (Checks, Deposits, or Miscellaneous items). You can clear one type of transaction at a time. 5. (Optional) If desired, select a range of transactions to find, using either Check/ Reference Numbers or Transaction Dates. After selecting, enter the desired range using the From: and Through: fields. 6. Select a clearing option. Choose Outstanding items only to search for only outstanding transactions, or All matching items to search for all transactions to clear. 7. Select Reconcile... NOTE: The ProTrust Auto Number feature is available when clearing deposits or miscellaneous items. The Auto Number feature assigns reference numbers to all outstanding deposits or miscellaneous transactions. To enable the Auto Numbering feature, select Auto Number after selecting either Deposits or Miscellaneous items to clear. Page 4 of 14

5 Selecting Transactions to Clear: The Reconciliation list box containing all transactions that met your criteria will appear. 8. Select transaction(s) to clear. Mouse Selection options: 1) To select a non-adjacent range of transactions, click on the first item, press and hold the <Ctrl> key, click the next item, and the next and so on. 2) To select an adjacent range of transactions, click the first item in the range, press and hold the <Shift> key and click the last item in the range. (use scroll bars to see additional transactions). 3) To select all transactions at once, choose Select All. (Individual items can be unselected if needed by pressing and holding the <Ctrl> key and clicking on the desired item(s)). **Keyboard Option: You can select and clear transactions by using the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to select transactions and pressing the Spacebar to clear them.** 9. Once all transactions have been selected, choose Mark Cleared. The cleared date specified in the reconciliation criteria appears in the Cleared column for each selected transaction. (Optional) To mark selected transactions with a different cleared date, choose Alt Clear Date, enter a date, and choose OK. 10. After clearing all applicable transactions, choose Save. 11. Repeat steps 4 through 10 above to clear deposit and miscellaneous transactions. 12. When all transactions have been cleared, choose Done on the Reconciliation Criteria screen. Page 5 of 14

6 Hints: Transactions in the Reconciliation dialog box are sorted by check/reference number. To view information about a transaction, select it from the list and choose Information. To unclear a previously cleared transaction, select it and choose Un-clear. You can restore the most recently saved cleared date for an item by selecting it and choosing Restore. You can display a total of all selected transactions by choosing Total of Highlighted Items. STEP 5: Print a Statement Proofing Register The Statement Proofing Register is made up of three major sections: Receipts, Disbursements, and Proofing Balance Sheet. The Proofing Balance Sheet section reports the amounts of the statement beginning balance, computer account balance, outstanding deposits, outstanding checks, and statement ending balance. NOTE: Print this report AFTER you have cleared Checks, Deposits and Miscellaneous transactions. Printing a Statement Proofing Register: 1. Choose Reports/3-Way Reconciliation/Statement Proofing Register The Statement Proofing Register dialog box appears. 2. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 3. Make sure that Bank Statement Date option is selected and type the date of your bank statement in the Statement Date: field. 4. Select Full Proofing Register (Brief Format) from the Format Options section. 5. Choose Print (or Print Preview) RECEIPTS DISBURSEMENTS Page 6 of 14

7 STEP 6: Compare the receipts and disbursements on your Proofing Register against the bank statement. If the total amounts of the receipts and disbursements shown on the Statement Proofing Register do not equal those shown on your bank statement, you must make corrections before proceeding. Use the Search function in ProTrust to recall any ledger in which a correction is necessary. Make all corrections and then re-print the Statement Proofing Register until the total receipts and deposits for the subject month are the same as the bank statement totals. Compare the beginning and ending balances on the Statement Proofing Register and bank statement again to be sure they match. STEP 7: Print a Receipts & Disbursements Report (Outstanding) using your bank statement date to verify the balances shown on the Statement Proofing Register. Run the Receipts and Disbursements report as of the Bank Statement Date. 1. Choose Reports/Receipts & Disbursements Report The Receipts & Disbursements Report dialog box appears. 2. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 3. Select Receipts & Disbursements (Outstanding) under Transactions to be included. 4. Type the date of your bank statement in the Outstanding as of: field. 5. Select either Sort by Reference/Check Number or Sort by Transaction Date. Page 7 of 14

8 6. Choose Brief Format under Format Options. 7. Choose Print (or Print Preview) Receipts & Disbursements Report (Outstanding) example: This report allow you to verify the Outstanding Receipts (deposits) amount AND Outstanding Disbursements (checks) amount. The Statement Beginning Balance shown on your Proofing Balance Sheet should match the beginning balance on you bank statement but if you wish to double check the beginning balance on the report you may also opt to print a Receipts & Disbursements Report (All) using the previous month's statement date as the Cleared Date Through. STEP 8: Print Escrow Account Reconciliation Summary report to verify the balances shown on the Statement Proofing Register - Summary, Proofing Balance Sheet. 1. Choose Reports/3-Way Reconciliation/Escrow Account Reconciliation Summary dialog box appears. 2. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 3. Type the date range of your bank statement in the Transaction Date From and Through fields. 4. Choose Print (or Print Preview). Page 8 of 14

9 Escrow Trial Balance (Balances Only) 1. Choose Reports/3-Way Reconciliation/Escrow Trial Balance Report (Balances Only) dialog box appears. 2. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 3. Type the statement date of your bank statement in the Balances as of: field. 4. Choose Print (or Print Preview) Page 9 of 14

10 Book Balance Report 1. Choose Reports/3-Way Reconciliation/Book Balance Report dialog box appears. 2. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 3. Type the date range of your bank statement in the Transaction Date From and Through fields. 4. Choose Print (or Print Preview). Page 10 of 14

11 Bank Adjustments Report (only needed if you have Non-Guaranty Ledgers) 1. Choose Reports/3 Way Reconciliation/Bank Adjustments Report dialog box appears. 2. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 3. Type the date range of your bank statement in the Transaction Date From and Through fields. 4. Choose Print (or Print Preview). Page 11 of 14

12 Correcting OUT OF BALANCE Situations: 4800 Falls of Neuse Road, Suite 400 To correct an out of balance situation, re-print a Statement Proofing Register for the month that you first noticed that the account was out of balance. Does the beginning balance match the previous month's ending balance? 1f the beginning balance matches the previous month's ending balance, it indicates that the problem is in the current month. Print a Receipts & Disbursements Report (All) using the criteria shown below and check to see if there are any items on it that were not cleared with this month's statement date. Use the Reconciliation function to clear any items not previously cleared. Print a Receipts & Disbursements (All) Report: 1. Choose Reports/Receipts & Disbursement Report. The Receipts & Disbursements dialog box appears. 2. Enter the code for the trust account you are reconciling in the Trust Account: field. 3. Make sure that Receipts & Disbursements (All) is selected. 4. Enter the first day of the current month in Transaction Date From: and the last day of the current month in Through:. 5. Select Sort by Reference/ Check Number and Detailed Format options. 6. Choose Print (or Print Preview). If the beginning balance does not match the previous month's ending balance, it indicates that the problem is in a previous month. Re-print a Statement Proofing Register for the previous month and then answer the questions below: Are the cleared receipts and deposits the same as the original Statement Proofing Register for that month? If not, correct any errors that are found. Is the beginning balance the same as the original Statement Proofing Register for that month? If the answer is yes, print a Receipts and Disbursements report as shown above. If the answer is no, re-print the Statement Proofing Register for the month prior to that month. Continue going back one month at a time until you have a month with the correct beginning balance and cleared receipts and disbursements. Reconcile forward, month by month, making any necessary corrections along the way. Page 12 of 14

13 Common out of balance situations: The beginning balance on the Statement Proofing Register equals the beginning balance on the bank statement, but the ending balances for the two are not equal. This means that the error is in the CURRENT MONTH. Locate the transaction that is causing the account to be out of balance by matching each item of the Statement Proofing Register with your bank statement. If there is an item on the Statement Proofing Register that is NOT on the bank statement, it means that the transaction was cleared by mistake. Retrieve the ledger containing the transaction and unclear it. If there is an item on the bank statement that is NOT on the Statement Proofing Register, it means that the transaction was not cleared, but should have been. Retrieve the ledger containing the transaction and type in the cleared date of that transaction. If the deposit (or check} amount on the bank statement does not match the amount shown on the Statement Proofing Register, verify the amount on the original deposit slip or check. Make the necessary correction to the ledger or contact the bank if it is their error. After making any necessary corrections, print a new Statement Proofing Register and check it against the bank statement. The beginning balance on the Statement Proofing Register does not equal the beginning balance on the bank statement: Check the bank statement and the original Statement Proofing Register for the previous month to make sure they were in balance. Then, print a Statement Proofing Register for the previous month and compare it to the original one. If the ending balance on the previous month's Statement Proofing Register is now HIGHER than it was previously, check for one of the following: A previously cleared check has become un-cleared, meaning that money has been added back in to the account. A previously cleared check has been deleted. A previously outstanding deposit has been cleared by mistake. If the ending balance on the previous month's Statement Proofing Register is now LOWER than it was previously, check for one of the following: A previously cleared deposit has become un-cleared. A previously cleared deposit has been deleted. A previously outstanding check has been cleared by mistake. Work backward month by month, printing the Statement Proofing Register and comparing it to the one that was run when the account was last in balance. If you find a month in which the beginning balance matches the bank statement and the previously run Statement Proofing Register, but the ending balance does not match, make the necessary corrections for that month. Then print a Statement Proofing Register for that month again. If it is not in balance, work forward from the point where you were most recently in balance to that month. Check each month's Statement Proofing Register, isolating and correcting problem transactions. Make sure you are in balance for each month before moving on to the next. NOTE: We recommend running a Receipts and Disbursements (Outstanding) Report when reconciling each month. This report may be used in resolving out-of-balance problems that occur after the account has been reconciled. Page 13 of 14

14 There is a discrepancy between the Computer Account Balance shown on the Statement Proofing Register Summary and the total reported on the Multiple Ledger Balances Report (Balances Only). Check the Total transferred funds amount on the Transferred Funds Report, it must be zero (.OO). If the balance is not zero (.OO), find the transaction that is missing an offsetting entry and make a correction to the applicable ledger. Page 14 of 14