Copy this bank reconciliation template to agree the cash book balance to the bank statement at a date. It starts from the statement balance, adds deposits in transit, deducts unpresented payments, and lists unmatched items until the adjusted figure equals the ledger. Guidance for each line and a worked sample follow, including what changes when an AI agent prepares it.
What is a bank reconciliation for?
It proves that the cash in your books is the cash in the bank, and it finds the things that make them differ: timing, bank charges the ledger has not caught, payments posted twice, receipts allocated to the wrong account, and occasionally fraud. The basics are in what a bank reconciliation is, and the wider family of controls in what reconciliation is.
Bank reconciliations are the control most firms trust an agent with first. Matching is high volume and rule-based, and every match can be checked against two independent records. That is why reconciliation is where finance agents earn trust.
When should you use it?
At least monthly for every bank account, and daily for operating accounts with high volume. Daily reconciliation keeps unmatched items small and fresh, which is where an agent helps most: it can match overnight and leave a short exception list for the morning.
Use the same template for every account so a reviewer can scan across them. Other balance sheet accounts use the wider balance sheet reconciliation template.
How do you fill in each line?
- Statement balance comes from the bank statement or the bank's data feed at the reconciliation date. Record which: a feed is sealed at source, a downloaded PDF is a copy.
- Deposits in transit are receipts in the ledger not yet on the statement. Each needs a date. Anything older than a few working days is suspicious.
- Unpresented payments are payments in the ledger not yet cleared. Old unpresented cheques need follow-up.
- Bank items not in ledger are charges, interest, direct debits or receipts the bank shows that the ledger lacks. The agent drafts the journal; a person posts.
- Ledger errors are items posted wrongly: wrong amount, wrong account, duplicates.
- Adjusted balances should agree. The difference line must be shown, even if zero.
An agent matching transactions should record why it matched each pair: reference, amount and date, or amount and date only. Weak matches go to the exception list, not the matched list.
The bank reconciliation template
| Line | Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Balance per bank statement at date | Source: feed or statement | |
| B | Add: deposits in transit | List below | |
| C | Less: unpresented payments | List below | |
| D | Adjusted bank balance (A + B - C) | ||
| E | Balance per cash book at date | ||
| F | Add: bank receipts not in ledger | Draft journals attached | |
| G | Less: bank charges and debits not in ledger | Draft journals attached | |
| H | Add or less: ledger errors | Correction journals attached | |
| I | Adjusted cash book balance (E + F - G +/- H) | ||
| J | Difference (D - I) | Must be zero to sign off |
Item list: Date | Description | Amount | Line | Age (days) | Match basis or reason unmatched | Action | Owner
Sign-off: Prepared by (agent name and version, or person) | Reviewed by | Date
A worked sample
A hypothetical wholesaler's operating account at month-end.
| Line | Item | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| A | Statement balance | 152,300 |
| B | Deposits in transit: customer receipt banked on the last day | 4,200 |
| C | Unpresented payments: two supplier payments in the final payment run | 9,800 |
| D | Adjusted bank balance | 146,700 |
| E | Cash book balance | 146,350 |
| F | Bank receipts not in ledger: interest | 50 |
| G | Bank charges not in ledger | 200 |
| H | Ledger error: supplier payment posted twice, added back | 500 |
| I | Adjusted cash book balance | 146,700 |
| J | Difference | 0 |
Line H is the one a reviewer should look at first. The agent found it because the same supplier, amount and reference appeared twice in the ledger but only once on the statement. It drafted the reversing journal, attached both postings and the statement line, and held it for a person. It did not post the correction itself, and it did not force the figures to agree: had the duplicate not explained the gap, line J would have shown the remaining difference as unexplained.
Where Pryme fits
In Pryme, the bank feed is a sealed source, so the agent's matches rest on it rather than on a downloaded statement. Matching runs at depth 3 within the customer's limits; journals for bank charges and corrections are drafted at depth 2 for a person to post. See whether an AI agent can do bank reconciliations and the finance guide, books you can audit.
Questions people ask
Who should review a bank reconciliation the agent prepared?
Someone who can post journals to cash and who did not configure the agent. The review should cover the difference line, every unmatched item and a sample of the agent's matches.
How old can an unmatched item be?
Set a limit in policy, often 30 days for receipts and payments. Beyond that, the item needs an owner and a written explanation on the reconciliation.
Should every bank account be reconciled daily?
Not necessarily. Daily suits high-volume operating accounts. Low-activity accounts can be monthly, provided the frequency is recorded and the reconciliation is still signed.