Bookkeeping
Bank and credit card reconciliation
Bank and credit card reconciliation for UK businesses: every transaction in every account, from your business current account to card and payment-provider feeds, is matched against its statement inside Xero or QuickBooks Online, so the ledger balance always agrees with the bank and nothing is left unexplained at month end.
Bank reconciliation summary
Illustrative client · August 2026
GBP
| Account | Difference | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating account··4821 | 184,220.16 | 184,220.16 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Reserve account··0937 | 60,000.00 | 60,000.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Company card··1006 | (12,418.52) | (12,418.52) | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Card processor clearing | 8,905.40 | 8,905.40 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Payroll clearing | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
Last weekly runFri 28 Aug, every account agreed to its statement.
Two open itemsTwo card receipts requested from you, marked on the card account until they arrive.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Every account, reconciled the same way
A UK business often banks with more than one provider: a current account, a savings account for VAT set-aside, a business card, and a payment processor such as Stripe or GoCardless. Each one gets reconciled to its own statement inside your ledger, not just the main current account.
Matching, not guessing
Bacs payments, Faster Payments, standing orders and card transactions are matched line by line to the bank feed. Where a payment does not match, we investigate before we code it, rather than posting a best guess that has to be unwound later.
Timing items that catch people out
Cheques that have not cleared, a Faster Payment sent on the last day of the month, or a card refund that lands a week after the purchase, all get tracked until they clear rather than forced to agree on the day. The reconciliation report shows exactly what is outstanding on each account.
Why this matters for VAT and lenders
A reconciled bank feed is the foundation VAT figures and management accounts are built on. If HMRC or a lender asks how a number was arrived at, a clean reconciliation report answers the question directly instead of sending someone back through months of statements.
Where this fits
Reconciliation is included inside monthly bookkeeping for ongoing clients, and it is the first thing we rebuild during a catch-up when records have fallen behind. If you run several UK entities that share a group bank arrangement, tell us during onboarding so the reconciliation reflects how the cash actually moves between them.
Multi-currency accounts
Where a UK business also holds a euro or dollar account for overseas suppliers or customers, each foreign-currency account is reconciled in its own currency first, then translated at the correct rate for your consolidated Xero or QuickBooks reports, so exchange movement does not get mistaken for a reconciling error.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Bank and credit card reconciliation
What if a foreign-currency account does not reconcile cleanly?
The exchange movement is isolated on its own line, so it does not get mistaken for an unreconciled transaction.
What happens when the bank and the books do not agree?
We trace the gap to a specific transaction, timing item or bank charge and note it on the reconciliation report rather than adjusting the balance to force a match.
Do you reconcile GoCardless or Stripe payouts?
Yes. Payment-provider settlements are reconciled to the underlying sales and fees, not just the net amount landing in the bank.
How are duplicate or missing transactions handled during reconciliation?
A duplicate is flagged and removed once confirmed against the bank statement, and a missing transaction is chased against your records rather than left as an unexplained gap. Both are logged so there is a clear trail of what changed and why, not a silent adjustment.
Can reconciliation cover a business credit card used for mixed personal and business spend?
Yes, though it works better once personal items are clearly flagged as they occur rather than sorted out months later, since untangling a mixed card retroactively takes longer and is more prone to a miscategorised expense than reviewing it close to the transaction date.
How many accounts can you reconcile?
As many as the business uses. Every connected bank, card and payment-processor account is reconciled on the same schedule.
What happens when the bank balance and the books disagree?
We trace the difference to a specific transaction, timing item or bank fee and note it on the reconciliation report rather than forcing the numbers to match.
What if our records for bank and credit card reconciliation are not up to date?
If your records are behind, we scope a catch-up first so bank and credit card reconciliation starts from a clean, reconciled base. That catch-up is priced and timed separately from the ongoing engagement, so you always know what each part costs.
Who reviews the work before it reaches us?
Every deliverable under bank and credit card reconciliation is reviewed by a senior reviewer before it reaches you. You keep access to the underlying file at every stage, so nothing about the work happens somewhere you cannot see it.
Related services
- BookkeepingMonthly bookkeepingOngoing monthly bookkeeping: transactions sorted into categories, accounts reconciled and month-end reports delivered in the software you already use.
- BookkeepingCatch-up and cleanup bookkeepingMonths or years of books brought up to date and reconciled, with a written record of every adjustment, so monthly bookkeeping can start from a clean base.
Industries
- Ecommerce (Amazon and Shopify)Bookkeeping for online sellers on Amazon, Shopify, Etsy and their own storefronts, built around clean payout and sales tax data.
- HospitalityBookkeeping for hotels, short-term rentals and hospitality operators reconciling booking platform payouts and occupancy-driven revenue.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.