Electronic Bank Reconciliation allows you to import a bank statement and match its transactions against unreconciled transactions in Access Education Finance. This article explains how to enable the required access permissions, prepare your bank statement and complete the reconciliation setup.
If the Electronic Bank Reconciliation feature is not showing for you, it might need enabling for your school or trust. Please contact your Access Account Manager, Customer Success Manager or reach out to support via the Digital Assistant and a member of the team will be happy to assist.
Configure Access to Electronic Bank Reconciliation
Before completing an Electronic Bank Reconciliation, check that your access profile includes the required permission.
Users with a Master access profile already have access to Electronic Reconciliation.
For users without a Master profile, update their access profile as follows:
Click System set-up, then select Users & Access Profiles.
Select the access profile you want to update.
Under Bank Reconciliation, select Electronic Reconciliation.
Export Your Bank Statement
Before starting the reconciliation, you must download a bank statement from your online banking provider.
Log in to your online banking account.
Find the bank statement you want to reconcile.
Export the statement in CSV (.csv) format.
Keep the downloaded file available, as you will need to import it during the reconciliation process.
Complete Bank Reconciliation
Once you have downloaded your bank statement, you can begin the reconciliation process.
Log in to Access Education Finance.
Click Bank Reconciliation, then select Electronic Reconciliation.
Select the CSV bank statement you downloaded from your bank.
Complete the required Statement Details and File Settings.
Click Next to continue to the mapping section.
Statement Details
Complete the following fields to identify the statement you want to reconcile.
Field | Description |
Bank Account | Select the bank account associated with the statement you want to reconcile. |
Period | Select the accounting period that relates to the bank statement. Only open periods are available. |
Date | Enter the date up to which the statement applies. |
Statement Reference | If you have previously reconciled this bank account, the system automatically enters the previous statement reference plus one. Click the padlock icon if you need to change the reference. |
Opening Bank Balance | If a previous reconciliation exists for the selected bank account, the system automatically uses the previous statement's closing balance. This value cannot be edited. |
Closing Bank Balance | Enter the closing balance shown on your bank statement. |
đNote: The Statement Reference must be unique for each bank account.
File Settings
Configure the following settings to ensure the system reads your imported CSV file correctly.
Field | Description |
Row Start | Enter the row number containing the column headings in your uploaded bank statement. |
This file has separate columns for Incoming/Outgoing amounts | Select this checkbox if the bank statement uses separate columns for incoming and outgoing amounts. Clear it if the statement uses a single column for debit and credit amounts. |
Map Your Bank Statement Columns
After entering the statement details, you must map the columns from your imported CSV file to the corresponding fields in Access Education Finance.
This allows the system to identify transaction dates, amounts and other information required for reconciliation.
Review the column headings from your imported bank statement.
Match each required field in Access Education Finance to the corresponding column in your CSV file.
Complete the mandatory mappings and any relevant optional mappings.
Click Next to continue to the bank reconciliation screen.
Field | Description |
Date | This is a mandatory field and you need to map it to the Date column from your statement. |
Value | This is only available if you have one column for incoming and outgoing amounts. This is a mandatory field and you need to map it to the transaction value column from your bank statement. |
Receipts | This is only available if you have one column for incoming and outgoing amounts. This is a mandatory field and you need to map it to the incoming value column from your bank statement. |
Payments | This is only available if you have one column for incoming and outgoing amounts. This is a mandatory field and you need to map it to the outgoing value column from your bank statement. |
Reference | If you have a separate field on your bank statement for reference, you can map it to this header. This isn't mandatory. |
Customer / Supplier | If you have separate fields on your bank statement for customer and supplier you can map them to this header. This isn't mandatory. |
Description | If you only have one column for description and reference on your bank statement, we recommend you map it to the Description header. This isn't mandatory, however, it could make the transactions difficult to auto match and identify without it. |
Bank Reconciliation
The system tries to match the transactions from your imported bank statement to the unreconciled transactions for this bank account in Access Education Finance, you then see the following screen.
The transactions from your imported bank statement show in the column titled Bank Statement Items. There's a card for each line of your bank statement.