We recommend Xero bookkeeping software to all of our clients. No matter whether you have a very basic knowledge of Xero or are a self-certified Xero pro, your bank feed should be your base when it comes to keeping accurate records and sometimes things do not always go exactly as planned. Here are some simple ways to check that your bank feed is working correctly, and ways to rectify common issues you may find.

Firstly, the main way you can check your bank feed is displaying accurately is by running a bank reconciliation report:

1. In the Accounting menu, select Bank accounts.
2. Next to the bank account, click Manage Account, then select Reconciliation Report.
3. Select the date in Xero to match the date of the physical bank statement you would like to check.
4. Check that the “Balance in Xero” and the “Statement Balance” match. This will confirm whether the transactional information held in Xero is correct. An additional check that you should perform is to confirm that the “Statement Balance” on Xero matches the balance on the physical bank statement.

What if I run the reconciliation report and the balances do not match?

If your balances differ, the next step for you is to check whether there are duplicate transactions in your bank feed. Duplicate statement lines can arise from the automatic bank feed or manually imported statements into Xero so they are pretty common and easy to find and remove via the means of another report:

1. In the Accounting menu, select Reports.
2. Under Accounting, click Duplicate Statement Lines.
3. Under Accounts, select the bank account you would like to search.
4. Set a date range.
5. Under Columns, select the checkbox for each column you want to show on the report.
6. Click Update.

This should show whether there are any duplicated transactions that need to be removed and any identified in your report can be easily deleted by going back to your bank statement tab on Xero, ticking the checkbox next to the transaction you wish to remove, and then clicking delete.

Is there anything else I can do if my reconciliation reports still do not match?

Bookkeeping and bank reconciling may be a menial task at times but it is essential for both compliance and planning purposes as it will provide the foundation for your accounts. If there is a difference and the duplicate transactions report does not show you where the difference is, you may find it easier to run the reconciliation report month by month to see where the bank has “gone wrong”. Once you have found the time period where things have gone a little skewed, go line by line through your statement and compare it to your bank feed on Xero. This is your best way to spot any transactions that may be missing entirely, especially in the event that your Xero feed has stopped and then started to import again.

Ultimately, it is recommended that you keep on top of your bookkeeping regularly (and we understand that you can get very busy), but this should ensure the problem does not persist longer than necessary and will make any tidying up much easier. Xero Central is a really helpful resource where you can find answers to any functional Xero questions you may have, but at Hive we are always happy to help so feel free to reach out if you need a hand.