Bank reconciliation is how you prove that a cash account on the books matches the bank statement. It is a month-end close step — not the same as importing history, categorizing a transaction, or tying out cutover numbers.
If you are bringing books onto Vlge, read Financial Imports: Opening Ledger first. Importing years of history does not mean you re-reconcile every historical month.
Where to find it
Financial Dashboard → Banking → Bank Reconciliation. You need permission to view financials. Finalizing a session requires manage-financial permission.
What you are matching
Each session is for one GL cash account (for example 1010 Operating Checking).
The bank side is every imported CSV row and posted Plaid (or WAB) row mapped to that cash account.
The book side is every journal line that hits that cash account.
Pending Plaid rows are excluded until they post — amounts can still change.
A session is balanced when: beginning balance + cleared deposits − cleared withdrawals = the statement ending balance (within one penny).
Start a reconciliation
Open Bank Reconciliation and choose the GL cash account.
Enter the statement date and the statement ending balance from the bank PDF.
If this account already has a finalized reconciliation, the beginning balance fills in automatically from that prior ending balance.
If this is the first session for the account, turn on catch-up mode and type the beginning balance from the last statement you can prove.
Only one in-progress reconciliation is allowed per cash account.
Catch-up mode
Use catch-up when:
This is the first reconciliation ever for the account
You switched banks and need a clean starting balance
You are starting formal Vlge recon at a recent date even though older activity exists on the ledger
Outside catch-up, the beginning balance is locked to the prior finalized ending balance. That is intentional — it keeps the chain of statements honest.
Catch Up mode simply makes the beginning balance editable due to where you aare starting vs inheriting.
Clear items
Auto-match suggestions
Vlge suggests strict 1:1 pairs: same amount, dates within 3 days, and only one obvious candidate. Accept one, dismiss one, or accept all. The system never auto-groups many lines into one deposit.
Group match
Use Group match when one bank deposit is several unit payments (lockbox, multi-check deposit). Select the GL lines until the running sum equals the bank amount.
Manual clear
Check a bank row or a GL line to mark it cleared. Filters (search, source, max amount) only change what you see — they do not change the running totals.
Adjustments
For items that appear only on the statement (bank fee, interest, a forgotten deposit), click Add adjustment. That posts a balanced journal entry and auto-clears the cash side on this session.
Finalize, PDF, and void
When Difference is $0.00, Finalize enables. That locks the cleared lines.
Every session (in progress, finalized, or voided) has a PDF for the board packet.
If you find a mistake, Void the session. Lines become uncleared so you can redo that statement.
Onboarding: when to start
Pick a reconciliation start date. Reconcile from that date forward.
How you brought history in | Typical first recon |
Opening balances only | First statement after cutover. Beginning balance = cash on the opening journal entry. |
Opening balances + recent activity | Reconcile the imported recent window (or one catch-up through the cutoff), then monthly. |
Full history | Still start at a recent date (bank change, fiscal year-end, or go-live). Older imported months stay as ledger history. |
Do not reconstruct years of monthly recs in Vlge. Keep prior-system statements as the audit trail. See Opening Ledger.
How this differs from other screens
Financial Inbox - daily work: categorize, match deposits, clear outstanding items.
Transactions - history of bank activity. Not the month-end close.
Cutover tie-out (A/R = unit ledgers, GL cash = statement as of go-live) — a number check before launch, not a historical recon project.
Accounting Review
Financial Dashboard → Accounting Review scans for exceptions (mismatches, uncategorized items, odd balances). Use it after you have a recon start date — it helps month-end, it does not replace reconciling a statement.
Related setup
Opening Balances — seed cash and other balance-sheet accounts at cutover.
Bank Accounts — map Plaid, WAB, and manual accounts to the GL cash account you will reconcile.
Stripe & WAB Accounting — how online payments land in cash vs clearing.