This tool gives you a fictional cash book balance and bank statement, then asks you to decide what to do with each difference and reconcile the two to the same balance.
Free tool
Bank reconciliation practice
Your cash book and bank statement never seem to agree.
Everything you enter stays on this device.
Who is this tool for?
It helps students who mix up items that change the cash book with items that are only timing differences. It also helps students who have seen a finished reconciliation but cannot build one from the start.
The two scenarios go from a basic case to one with a dishonoured cheque and a direct credit.
How do I use it?
- Choose a scenario and note the cash book balance and the bank statement balance.
- For each difference, choose one action: add or deduct in the cash book, or add or deduct on the statement balance.
- Enter the updated cash book balance.
- Enter the statement balance after your reconciliation items. It should equal the updated cash book balance.
- Press Check my work, then read the worked answer and try the other scenario.
How does it work?
Each difference is used exactly once. If the bank has already acted, the cash book is wrong and you update it. If the bank has not acted yet, the cash book is right and the reconciliation carries the item.
Bank charges, interest, standing orders, dishonoured cheques and direct credits update the cash book. Unpresented cheques and uncredited deposits adjust the statement balance. The statement balance in each scenario is calculated from the answer, so the two always agree.
What does a short example look like?
In a worked example, the cash book shows RM4,250.00. Three items are on the statement but not yet in the cash book: RM35.00 taken by the bank, RM12.00 interest received and a RM180.00 standing order. The updated balance is 4,250.00 - 35.00 + 12.00 - 180.00, which is RM4,047.00.
Two timing items remain: a cheque (RM620) that has not reached the bank and a deposit (RM1,150) not yet credited. The statement shows RM3,517.00, and adding 1,150.00 and taking away 620.00 gives RM4,047.00. The two balances agree.
What are its limits?
The figures are fictional and the tool is not an audit tool or a way to reconcile a real personal or business account. It practises the method for the classic cash book and statement layout and does not cover every possible difference or error.
Practise further with accounting controls practice and the accounting controls lessons. The debit-credit transaction trainer is a useful warm-up for the entries behind each update.
If you want a teacher to work through your own reconciliations, see accounting tuition and how the one-hour trial class (from RM50) works.
Common questions
Why is an unpresented cheque not a new expense?
The cash book already recorded the payment on the day the cheque was written. The bank has not paid it yet, so it is a timing difference. You deduct it from the bank statement balance in the reconciliation, not from the cash book again.
Why does a bank charge go into the cash book?
The bank has already taken the money, but the cash book does not show it yet. You record it once in the cash book as a deduction. It is not repeated in the reconciliation.
Can I use this for my real bank account?
No. It uses fictional figures and is not an audit tool. It is for practising the method.
Are my answers saved?
No. They stay in this tab and are cleared when you reset or close the page.
If you keep putting timing differences in the wrong place, a one-to-one accounting teacher can go through your own reconciliations with you. The one-hour trial class (from RM50) is a real lesson, so bring the items you got wrong.
- Online one-to-one lessons for your child with an experienced teacher.
- Your first class is a one-hour trial, from RM50. The fee is agreed before you book.
- Happy with the teacher? Continue with lessons of about 1.5 hours. If not, ask for another teacher.