Open items

Some differences are not mistakes, just timing. A cheque you issued on 30 September is in your books in September but reaches the bank in October. In September’s reconciliation it is unmatched; in October’s it should match. An open item is such a record: left open by one run and followed into the next ones, until it matches, is resolved, or leaves the data.

Reconcile → Open items lists them.

What the page shows

• Totals by age: how many items are open, and how many are older than 30, 60 and 90 days. Old items deserve a look: a cheque that has not cleared in 90 days may have been lost.
• Each item: its reference and reconciliation, side, date, amount, its age in days, how many runs it has been open for, and its status: Open, or how it was cleared (matched in a later run, resolved).

Filter by status (Open, Open and cleared, Older than 30 / 60 / 90 days) and search by reference or values.

How items are carried

Whether a reconciliation carries open items into the next run depends on its data:

• When each run’s files hold only the new period, switch on Carry open items into the next run in its run options, so last month’s open items are there to match.
• When the files hold the full history, leave it off: open items are still followed, and a record resolved once stays resolved.

Tip

The Open items by age check adds an ageing table to every run’s results, with the age bands you choose.