What is Fund Reconciliation?
Fund Reconciliation is a page that checks your local's books against themselves. It compares the total of all your funds to the total of all your bank accounts, plus any money your secretary or comptroller has recorded but not yet deposited (untransferred funds).
These two totals should always match. Every dollar you record as income in a fund is, at any moment, either sitting in one of your bank accounts or still waiting to be transferred there. If the two totals don't match, M2 shows you the difference so you can track it down.
Before You Begin
You need local financial view access to see the Fund Reconciliation page. You need local financial write access to fix most of the things that cause a difference, such as correcting a bank account or fund adjustment.
Getting Started / How to Access
- Go to your local's dashboard.
- Click the Income & Expenses tab.
- Do one of the following:
- In the Financial Stats card, click the amount next to Fund Reconciliation.
- In the Bank Accounts card or the Funds card, click the menu icon (the stacked lines) and select Fund Reconciliation.
- From the full Bank Accounts list or the full Funds list, click the document icon in the card header.
Reading the Reconciliation Page
The top of the page summarizes the comparison:
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Funds | The combined current balance of every fund your local has. |
| Bank Accounts | The combined current balance of every bank account your local has. |
| Untransferred Funds | Money your secretary or comptroller has recorded on a receipt but hasn't yet moved into a bank account with an officer funds transfer. Click the amount to see the list of undeposited payments. |
| Difference | Funds, minus Bank Accounts, minus Untransferred Funds. This should be $0.00. |
A positive Difference means your funds add up to more than your bank accounts plus untransferred funds. A negative Difference means they add up to less.
Below the summary, you'll see one of two messages:
- A green checkmark reading "Everything is accounted for: the fund total equals the bank account total plus untransferred funds." This means your books are in balance.
- An information message reading "The fund total differs from the bank account total plus untransferred funds by [amount]." This means something needs a closer look. The message shows the amount without a minus sign.
Under those, a note with an information icon always explains what untransferred funds are. The message about a difference uses the same icon, but it states an amount.
Below that, two tables list every fund and every bank account individually, with their names, active/inactive status, and current balances, so you can see exactly what makes up each total. Click any fund or bank account's name to open its ledger.
Understanding the Red Balance on Income & Expenses
On your local's Income & Expenses page, the Financial Stats card includes a Fund Reconciliation row. This is the same Difference figure from the Fund Reconciliation page.
Whenever this number isn't exactly $0.00, it's shown in red, whether the difference is positive or negative. A red Fund Reconciliation figure is a signal to visit the Fund Reconciliation page and see what's causing it. Click the red amount to go there directly.
What to Do When the Balance Isn't Zero
A difference means a dollar amount was recorded on one side of your books (funds) without a matching entry on the other side (bank accounts and untransferred funds), or the reverse. Common places to check:
- Recent adjustments. A manual adjustment recorded on a fund but not on the matching bank account (or the other way around) will throw off the difference by that exact amount. Open the fund ledger and bank account ledger for the period in question and compare the adjustments listed on each.
- New bank accounts and funds. A bank account added with a starting balance but no matching amount on a fund (or a fund added with a starting balance but no matching bank account amount) throws off the difference by that starting balance.
- Amounts that don't match. An adjustment or starting balance entered on both sides, but with a different amount on each, throws off the difference by the gap between the two.
- Recently changed starting balances. If a fund's or bank account's starting balance or "as of" date was changed recently, confirm the change was applied to the correct one. A starting balance changed on one side only, such as a bank account without its fund, throws off the difference by the amount of the change. See How to Fix a Starting Balance.
Transfers don't cause a difference here. A bank account transfer moves money between two of your bank accounts, and a fund transfer moves money between two of your funds, so neither one changes either total. A missing fund transfer doesn't show on this page either. It shows as one fund too high and another too low.
If you can't identify the cause, note the amount and date the difference appeared and contact whoever manages permissions and support for your local, such as your district, region, or group office. Nothing is lost or at risk while a difference exists. It means two numbers that should agree don't, and it's worth understanding why before it's forgotten.
Tips
- Check reconciliation regularly, not only when the number turns red. Reviewing the page monthly, alongside your other closing tasks, makes a difference easier to trace back to a recent transaction rather than one from months ago.
- A difference of exactly one transaction's amount is a good clue. If the difference matches a specific adjustment or starting balance, that's very likely the source.
- The individual fund and bank account tables help you narrow things down. If one fund or bank account has an unusual-looking balance, start your review there.
Troubleshooting
Q: I don't have write access. Can I still view Fund Reconciliation? A: Yes. Local financial view access is enough to see the page and every balance on it. You'll need write access, or help from someone who has it, to make a correction.
Q: The difference is small, like a few cents. Should I worry about it? A: Small differences are usually easier to trace than large ones. Treat it the same way: check recent adjustments and starting balances around the date it appeared.
Q: Untransferred Funds looks high. Is that the problem? A: Not necessarily. Untransferred Funds is money recorded on receipts that isn't in an officer funds transfer yet, which is normal between transfers. But if some of it was already deposited at the bank, record the officer funds transfer. Until you do, your bank account's balance in M2 is lower than your bank statement, and the Difference doesn't show it, because the two amounts cancel out.
Related Guides
- 21 - How to View a Bank Account Ledger
- 24 - How to View a Fund Ledger
- Untransferred Funds / Cash To Treasurer
- 30 - How to Merge Duplicate Funds
- 31 - How to Start Using Multiple Bank Accounts
- 33 - How to Fix a Starting Balance
Glossary
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Local | The individual unit within your organization where members hold their primary membership. Depending on your organization, this might correspond to a chapter, local committee, or similar body. |
| Fund | An internal designation for tracking money set aside for a purpose, separate from the bank account it may sit in. |
| Bank Account | One of your local's real-world bank accounts, tracked in M2. |
| Untransferred Funds | Payments your secretary or comptroller has recorded but hasn't yet moved into a bank account through an officer funds transfer. |