reconciliation.md
Reconciliation
Reconciliation is the process of comparing your transactions in Kick against your actual bank or credit card statements to confirm everything is accounted for and accurate. It's typically done once a month at close, and is usually handled by your accountant - but understanding what it is and why it matters helps you work together more effectively.
What reconciliation does
Every transaction in Kick comes from a bank feed or an import. Reconciliation verifies that the transactions Kick has on record for an account actually match what the bank has on record - same amounts, same dates, no missing transactions, no duplicates.
When reconciliation is complete for a period, those transactions are marked as reconciled. If your accountant then locks the period, the numbers are frozen and protected from accidental changes.
Which accounts can be reconciled
- Checking accounts
- Savings accounts
- Credit cards
- Lines of credit
How reconciliation works in Kick
Step 1 - Upload your bank statement
Open Reconciliation from the sidebar and select the account to reconcile. Upload the bank statement for the period as a PDF. Kick extracts the statement's opening balance, closing balance, and transaction list automatically.
Step 2 - Review matches
Kick pairs each statement line against the transactions already in your Kick account. Most will match automatically. For any differences - a transaction that's in the statement but not in Kick, or in Kick but not the statement - you review and resolve each one.
Common resolutions:
- Add a missing transaction - the bank has it but Kick doesn't (often from a disconnected account)
- Remove a duplicate - Kick has an extra transaction that doesn't exist on the statement
- Mark as from a previous period - a transaction that belongs to an earlier reconciliation
Step 3 - Finish
Once Kick's reconciled closing balance matches the statement's closing balance exactly, you can finish the reconciliation. The period is marked as reconciled and a record is saved.
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Undo a reconciliation
The most recent reconciliation can be undone from the Reconciliation page if a mistake is found. Earlier periods cannot be undone - changes to those require your accountant to unlock the period and make corrections.
Reconciliation and Import Transactions
If your bank statement has transactions that aren't in Kick - because the account was disconnected or the bank's Plaid history doesn't go back far enough - use Import Transactions first to bring them in, then reconcile.