Handle outstanding checks and deposits
Leave genuinely uncleared items unchecked so they carry forward correctly instead of distorting the period.
What Counts As Outstanding
An outstanding item is a real transaction the bank has not processed yet. It belongs in the books and must stay unchecked until it clears.
- A check written before the statement date that the payee has not deposited.
- A deposit made near the cutoff that the bank credited after it.
- An electronic payment initiated but not settled by the statement date.
These make the register balance and the statement balance differ legitimately. That difference is expected and is not something to adjust away.
Leave Them Unchecked
Check only what appears on the statement. Every outstanding item stays unchecked and stays eligible for later reconciliation until the statement that clears it.
If the reconciliation balances with those items left unchecked, the period is correct. See Match transactions to the statement.
At A First Reconciliation
When setting a starting point for an account reconciled before it moved to LedgerHQ, select the posted items still outstanding on that date in Account Settings. Check the selected total before confirming. Omitting a real carry-forward changes the eligible pool for later reconciliation.
See Prepare for your first reconciliation.
Review Aging Items
Each period, look at what has been outstanding a long time. A check outstanding for several months usually means one of:
- it was never delivered or was lost;
- it was recorded twice and one copy will never clear;
- it was voided at the bank but not in the books.
Investigate the cause and correct the source transaction. Do not check it to clear the list, and do not delete register history to tidy the balance.
Use Outstanding Transactions
In the account's Bank Recs tab, open Outstanding transactions. This list covers active posted, unreconciled entries from the saved starting date through the latest completed reconciliation's closing date. It excludes later activity; without setup or a completed period, it explains why there is no review window. Search and counts cover the full list before pagination.
Choose Ask Tally to investigate the list against statements, journals, and completed reconciliations. A balanced reconciliation alone does not prove an unchecked entry is a duplicate. Tally proposes corrections before changing the books; approval to remove identified duplicates covers undoing and excluding those duplicates while preserving valid postings and their audit history.
If it cannot be explained, create a support ticket with the company, account, transaction date, amount, and description before adjusting anything.