Bank Reconciliation Agent
Automated bank-to-GL reconciliation with discrepancy detection, adjusting entry suggestions, and audit-ready output.
What It Does
- Match bank statement transactions to GL entries by date, amount, and reference
- Flag unmatched items on either side (bank not in GL, GL not in bank)
- Identify common issues: duplicates, reversed transactions, timing differences, bank errors
- Suggest adjusting journal entries for unrecorded bank items (NSF fees, interest, service charges)
- Produce a formatted reconciliation worksheet (balance reconciliation + item detail)
- Export results as structured data (CSV/JSON) or formatted text report
Trigger Phrases
- "reconcile the bank statement"
- "match transactions for [account] in [month]"
- "find the difference between bank and GL"
- "I have a $X discrepancy in my checking account"
- "run month-end bank rec for [entity]"
- "upload bank CSV and reconcile"
Required Inputs
Bank Statement Data (any of):
- CSV export from bank portal
- OFX/QFX file
- Pasted tabular data (date, description, amount)
- PDF statement (agent will extract tabular data)
GL / Book Data (any of):
- QBO transaction export (CSV)
- Journal entry list from accounting software
- Excel/Sheets ledger extract
Account Info:
- Bank account name and number (last 4 digits)
- Entity/company name
- Reconciliation period (month/year)
- Beginning balance (statement) and ending balance (statement)
- Book balance as of period end
Reconciliation Workflow
Step 1 — Parse & Normalize
Parse bank statement → normalize to: {date, description, amount, type}
Parse GL data → normalize to: {date, memo, debit, credit, account}
Convert debits/credits to signed amounts for matching
Step 2 — Match Transactions
Matching priority (in order):
- Exact match: date + amount + description keyword overlap
- Fuzzy date (±3 days) + exact amount (common for ACH timing)
- Amount-only match within date window (flag for manual review)
- Partial matches flagged as "possible match — confirm"
Match confidence levels:
- ✅ Confirmed: exact date + amount
- 🟡 Probable: fuzzy date or partial description
- 🔴 Unmatched: no candidate found
Step 3 — Reconciliation Calculation
Bank Statement Ending Balance: $XX,XXX.XX
+ Deposits in Transit (GL not on stmt): +$X,XXX.XX
- Outstanding Checks (GL not on stmt): -$X,XXX.XX
= Adjusted Bank Balance: $XX,XXX.XX
Book Balance per GL: $XX,XXX.XX
+ Add: Bank items not in books: +$XXX.XX
(interest income, credits)
- Less: Bank items not in books: -$XXX.XX
(NSF fees, service charges, errors)
= Adjusted Book Balance: $XX,XXX.XX
Difference: $0.00 ← Target
Step 4 — Discrepancy Analysis
If difference ≠ $0, the agent performs:
- Transposition check: look for amounts where digits are swapped (e.g., $1,872 vs $1,782)
- Duplicate detection: same amount hitting both sides twice
- Missing transaction scan: amounts that sum to the difference
- Rounding error check: differences of $0.01–$0.10 often rounding
- Date boundary check: items crossing month-end
Step 5 — Output
Reconciliation Worksheet:
BANK RECONCILIATION
Entity: [Company Name]
Account: [Bank Name] – Checking (...1234)
Period: [Month Year]
Prepared by: [Agent] | Date: [Today]
BANK BALANCE RECONCILIATION
Statement Ending Balance: $50,000.00
Add: Deposits in Transit
03/28 ACH Deposit – Client A $5,200.00
Less: Outstanding Checks
Ck #1042 – Vendor B ($1,800.00)
Ck #1047 – Vendor C ($450.00)
Adjusted Bank Balance: $52,950.00
BOOK BALANCE RECONCILIATION
GL Ending Balance: $52,875.00
Add: Bank Interest Income $75.00
Less: NSF Fee – Check #891 $0.00
Adjusted Book Balance: $52,950.00
DIFFERENCE: $0.00 ✅
UNMATCHED ITEMS (require action):
[See detail tab]
Adjusting Journal Entry Templates
For each unrecorded bank item, the agent generates:
Bank Service Charge:
DR Bank Charges Expense $XX.XX
CR Checking Account $XX.XX
Memo: Bank service charge per [Month] statement
Interest Income:
DR Checking Account $XX.XX
CR Interest Income $XX.XX
Memo: Bank interest per [Month] statement
NSF Check Returned:
DR Accounts Receivable $XX.XX
CR Checking Account $XX.XX
Memo: NSF – [Customer] check #[XXX] returned [date]
Multi-Account Reconciliation
For entities with multiple bank accounts:
Reconcile [Checking – BoA ...1234] ✅
Reconcile [Savings – BoA ...5678] ✅
Reconcile [Payroll – Chase ...9012] 🔴 $234 discrepancy
→ Likely: ADP fee not recorded (check Jan statement)
Run as batch:
"Reconcile all three accounts for February. Bank CSVs are attached, QBO export is in the second file."
QBO Integration
When GL data comes from QuickBooks Online:
- Export from QBO: Reports → Custom Reports → Transaction Detail → filter by account + date range → export CSV
- Feed to agent: "Here's the QBO export and the bank statement for March. Reconcile them."
- Agent maps: QBO columns (Date, Transaction Type, Num, Name, Memo, Amount) → standard format
- Output: Reconciliation worksheet + list of entries to record in QBO
Common Discrepancy Patterns
| Pattern | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|
| Round number difference ($100, $500) | Missing transaction | Search GL/bank for that amount |
| Off by 9 ($9, $90, $900) | Transposition error | Check digit order in data entry |
| Small difference (<$1) | Rounding | Verify import format (2 vs 3 decimal places) |
| Recurring same amount | Duplicate entry | Check for double-import of data |
| Difference = sum of items | Multiple unrecorded | Review bank items not in GL |
| Same difference each month | Systematic error | Check prior month carry-forward |
Negative Boundaries (When NOT to Use)
- Real-time bank feed matching → Use QBO bank rules (automated), not this skill
- Payroll account reconciliation with ADP/Gusto → Requires payroll register data; use payroll-specific reconciliation
- Investment/brokerage accounts → Use crypto-tax-agent or a dedicated securities reconciliation tool
- Intercompany eliminations → This is GL-to-bank only; intercompany requires consolidation logic
- Tax return preparation → Reconciliation ≠ tax basis; use tax-specific workflows
- Real-time dispute resolution with banks → This is an analysis tool, not a bank portal interface
- Accounts payable/receivable sub-ledger recon → This skill handles bank-to-GL only; AP/AR aging has its own workflow
Output Formats
Text Report (default): Formatted reconciliation worksheet + adjusting entry list
CSV Export: date, description, amount, match_status, match_confidence, action_required
JSON: Full structured result for pipeline consumption
Excel Template: Pre-formatted reconciliation workbook with formulas (describe desired layout)
Example Prompts
"Here's March bank statement [CSV] and QBO export. Reconcile and list any adjusting entries needed."
"I have a $1,247 difference in my Chase checking for February. Here are both files — find it."
"Run bank rec for all three accounts. Files attached. Flag anything over $500 that's unmatched."
"Bank statement shows $89,340 ending balance. Our books show $87,100. Statement and GL export attached."
"Reconcile this and give me the adjusting JEs I need to post in QBO."
Error Handling
- Mismatched date formats → Agent normalizes MM/DD/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, DD-Mon-YY automatically
- Negative/positive sign conventions → Detects and normalizes (debits as positive vs negative)
- Missing beginning balance → Warns; can still match transactions but reconciliation formula incomplete
- Duplicate rows in input → Flags and deduplicates before matching
- Partial period data → Warns if bank/GL date ranges don't align
Audit Trail
Every reconciliation produces:
- Preparer: Sam Ledger / PrecisionLedger AI
- Timestamp: ISO 8601
- Input checksums (row counts, file names)
- Match statistics (% matched, # unmatched each side)
- Adjusting entries count
- Final difference (must be $0.00 for clean close)
