Bank reconciliation in TallyPrime: step by step, and where it breaks

Short answerIn TallyPrime you reconcile a bank ledger from Banking, then Bank Reconciliation: pick the bank ledger, set the period, and enter the bank date against every entry that has cleared. What is left unmarked is what the bank has not yet shown. It works for one account. It slows down when a firm does it for dozens of clients every month.

Bank reconciliation is the check that the bank balance in your books matches the bank's own statement. For a CA firm it is also the first thing that goes wrong at month-end: statements arrive late, narrations do not match, and a junior ticks entries one by one. This guide walks through the TallyPrime way, then shows where the time goes.

The steps in TallyPrime

1. Open the reconciliation screen. From the Gateway of Tally go to Banking, then Bank Reconciliation, and choose the bank ledger you want to reconcile.
2. Set the period. Choose the month (or the dates) you are reconciling. Transactions in the period are listed with their voucher dates and amounts.
3. Compare with the bank statement. Keep the bank statement beside you. For every line that appears on the statement, find the matching entry in Tally.
4. Enter the bank date. Against each matched entry, enter the date the bank cleared it. Cleared entries move out of the unreconciled list.
5. Read the summary. The screen shows the balance as per company books, the amounts not reflected in the bank, and the balance as per bank. When the last figure equals your bank statement's closing balance, the account is reconciled.
6. Chase what is left. Entries still unmarked are cheques issued but not presented, deposits not yet credited, or entries that are wrong. Each needs an explanation, not just a tick.

Newer TallyPrime releases also offer options to import a bank statement and auto-match, so check what your release supports. Whatever the route, a person still has to explain the exceptions.

What the three figures mean

Where it breaks for a CA firm

• Volume. A busy client has hundreds of bank lines a month. Matching them by eye, across 30 clients, is the junior's whole week.
• Narrations do not match. The bank writes "NEFT-HDFC-RAMESH TRADERS-0912", the ledger says "Ramesh Traders". Exact search finds nothing.
• One payment, many entries. A single bank credit can settle three invoices, or three small payments can be one entry. Tick-by-tick matching cannot handle it cleanly.
• Entries that were never made. Bank charges, interest and direct debits appear on the statement but not in the books. They have to be created before the account can tie.
• Statements arrive late and in odd formats. PDF, Excel, sometimes a phone photo. Getting them in is its own task. See how to ask clients for documents without chasing.

A faster routine

1. Collect all bank statements for the month first, so nobody reconciles from half a picture.
2. Match the easy lines automatically: exact amount and date, then same-day, then close narrations.
3. Apply your firm's repeat rules, for example "monthly rent always goes to this ledger".
4. Handle split payments as a group, not line by line.
5. Give every leftover line a reason: no matching entry, amount differs, duplicate, or timing.
6. Have a second person review only the exceptions, with a note on each.

This is the order FynHelp's Recon agent follows: exact, same-day, close match, your firm's rules, then split payments. What does not match stays visible with a reason code, and a person decides.

Related reading

Need the statement format itself? See bank reconciliation statement: format and example. Doing GST as well? GSTR-2B reconciliation with your books uses the same habits.

Frequently asked questions

Where is bank reconciliation in TallyPrime?

Under Banking, then Bank Reconciliation. Choose the bank ledger and the period, then enter the bank date against each cleared entry.

Why do my balances not match after reconciling?

The usual causes are entries missing from the books (bank charges, interest), a wrong amount or date on an entry, a duplicate, or a cheque that has not cleared. Work through the unreconciled list and give each item a reason.

Can bank reconciliation be automated?

Matching can be automated for exact and close matches and for repeat rules. Exceptions still need a person to decide, which is the part worth spending time on.

How often should a CA firm reconcile client bank accounts?

Monthly is the norm, done soon after the statement arrives, so differences are fixed while the details are fresh.

Try it on your own client

Bring in a bank statement and a Tally export and see the matched and unmatched lines in minutes. FynHelp reconciles bank to Tally or Zoho, chases missing documents and drafts a source-traceable MIS that a partner signs off. Start free for 30 days or book a 20-minute demo.