20 - How to Manage Bank Accounts

What is a Bank Account?

A bank account in M2 represents one of your local's real-world bank accounts: a checking account, savings account, or similar. M2 keeps a running balance for each one based on the deposits, disbursements, transfers, and adjustments you record against it.

You can track more than one bank account if your local keeps money in more than one place, for example a general checking account and a separate savings account for a building fund.

Every local starts with one bank account already set up automatically, named Operating Account. You can rename it, add more accounts alongside it, or change which account is the default.

Before You Begin

You must have local financial write access to add, edit, or deactivate bank accounts. If you only have financial view access, you can see bank accounts but not change them.

Getting Started / How to Access

1. Go to your local's dashboard.
2. Click the Income & Expenses tab.
3. Find the Bank Accounts card. It lists your active bank accounts and their current balances.

From here, click the menu icon (the stacked lines) in the corner of the card for quick actions, including adding an account. Or click the open-in-browser icon to see the full list of bank accounts, including inactive ones.

Adding a Bank Account

1. From the Bank Accounts card on the Income & Expenses page, click the menu icon and select Add Bank Account. (You can also reach this from the full Bank Accounts list by clicking the green plus icon in the card header.)

   

2. Fill out the form:

   Field	What to Enter
   Name	A name that identifies this account, such as "Main Checking" or "Building Fund Savings." Required.
   Institution Name	The name of the bank holding this account. Optional, but helpful for your records.
   Last Four	The last four digits of the account number, for identification purposes. Optional.
   Starting Balance	The balance to start tracking from in M2. If you're beginning to use M2 for this account, enter the balance as of a specific date. Leave at 0.00 if this account has no history to bring in.
   Starting Balance As Of	The date the starting balance was accurate. Required if you enter a starting balance other than zero. M2 won't let you record a deposit, disbursement, transfer, or adjustment on this account dated on or before this date (online payments are the one exception). Pick a date before the first transaction you'll record in M2.

   

3. Click Save.

You'll see a confirmation that the account has been added, and it appears in your Bank Accounts list.

Editing a Bank Account

1. Go to the Bank Accounts list: click the open-in-browser icon (View All) on the Bank Accounts card, or open the main menu and click Financials, then Bank Accounts.
2. Find the account and click the pencil (edit) icon in its row, or open the account and click the pencil icon next to its name.
3. Update any fields as needed.
4. Click Update.

If you change the starting balance or its date on an account that already has deposits, disbursements, transfers, or adjustments dated on or before that date, M2 automatically recalculates so your balance stays accurate. It shifts the starting balance date back to the day before the earliest transaction and adjusts the starting balance amount to match. You don't need to do this math yourself.

M2 doesn't tell you when it does this. The confirmation only says the account has been updated, so check the date and amount on the account page afterward. If the starting balance itself is wrong, see How to Fix a Starting Balance.

Setting a Default Bank Account

If your local uses more than one bank account, you can change which one is the default. Online payments are always deposited to the default account, and a new deposit (an officer funds transfer) starts on it. Disbursements and transfers between accounts don't use the default. You choose the account each time.

1. Open the bank account you want to make the default (click its name in the Bank Accounts list).

2. On an account that isn't already the default, click Make Default Bank Account.

   

You'll see a confirmation that the account is now the default. Only one bank account per local can be the default at a time. Making a new one default automatically removes the setting from whichever account had it before. If you make an inactive account the default, M2 reactivates it.

Deactivating or Removing a Bank Account

The default bank account can't be deleted or deactivated, so it has no trash icon in the list. To remove it, first open another account and click Make Default Bank Account.

If you're removing an account because you closed it at the bank, first check that its balance reads $0.00. If money is left in it, record a bank account transfer to move that money to another account (see How to Transfer Between Bank Accounts). M2 doesn't check for a leftover balance when it deactivates an account, and Fund Reconciliation keeps counting an inactive account's balance.

1. Go to the Bank Accounts list.
2. Find the account and click the trash icon in its row.
3. Confirm when asked "Are you sure you want to delete this?"

What happens next depends on whether the account has any history:

• If the account has no recorded activity (no deposits, disbursements, transfers, or adjustments), M2 removes it completely.
• If the account has recorded activity, M2 keeps it for your records but marks it inactive instead of deleting it, since deleting it would break the history of past transactions. You'll see a message explaining it was deactivated instead of removed.

Inactive accounts no longer appear on the Bank Accounts card or in the account choices for new deposits, disbursements, and transfers. They still show up in the full Bank Accounts list, shown in gray. You can reactivate an account at any time by editing it and turning the Active switch back on.

Tips

• Check your default. If your local mostly uses an account other than Operating Account, make that one the default.
• Use "Last Four," not the full account number. M2 only asks for the last four digits. There's no need, and no field, for the complete account number.
• Don't delete an account with history. M2 protects your records by deactivating instead of deleting whenever an account has activity attached to it, so you won't lose the trail of past transactions.

Troubleshooting

Q: I don't see the option to add or edit a bank account.

A: You need local financial write access. Contact whoever manages permissions for your local.

Q: I deactivated an account by mistake. Can I bring it back?

A: Yes. Edit the account and turn the Active switch back on.

Q: Why can't I make the starting balance date later than some of my transactions?

A: M2 doesn't allow a starting balance date on or after your earliest transaction, so it moves the date back for you and adjusts the amount so your running balance still comes out correct. The explanation is under Editing a Bank Account above. If the new amount looks wrong, see How to Fix a Starting Balance.

Related Guides

• 21 - How to View a Bank Account Ledger
• 22 - How to Transfer Between Bank Accounts
• 23 - How to Create and Manage Funds
• Entering Disbursement Authorizations (previously known as Vouchers)
• 31 - How to Start Using Multiple Bank Accounts
• 33 - How to Fix a Starting Balance

Glossary