Each month when your bank statement comes balance your check book.  The instructions on the back that tell you how to balance your account.  If you have correctly entered your checks as you wrote them in your register it is a simple task.  It is important to verify that your records match those of the bank.

Bouncing checks is no laughing matter and that can happen easily if you forget to post a check.  If you make ATM withdrawals or debit card purchases you must record those.  Should you overlook any and the bank has recorded them you must include them now.

It isn't difficult and it doesn't take much time to balance your account if you do it regularly and systematically.  Just check off the cleared checks and record those that remain outstanding in a column by themselves.  Do the same with your deposits.  Be sure to include bank interest, even if it is only pennies and any bank fees.  Don't overlook any direct deposits.  

List outstanding checks and outstanding deposits separately.  Add the outstanding checks and deduct those from the bank’s balance.  Add outstanding deposits and add those to this last balance.  If there is a difference you can often divide the difference by nine and if it divides evenly it is probably a transposed problem.  This was totally new to me.  I’m anxious to give it a try.  It simply means that I wrote $24.49 instead of $24.94.

I record the bank's ending balance and my own balance.  If they are not the same I check to see how different they are.  Then I search for the answer.  I am never off more than a few cents if I reconcile my account regularly.

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