Trust reconciliation compares Trust transactions in mattero with the transactions presented to your bank during a given month. Reconciliation must occur monthly, and must generally be completed shortly after the end of each month.

(Consult your relevant local authority for the specific number of days allowed for your region.)

Please note, if you are unsure of how best to record a Trust transaction, or if an adjustment is required, contact your state's Law Society for advice.

Also, before beginning a Reconciliation, all Trust transactions must be recorded in mattero for the reconciliation period, and all Trust receipts must be published, and bank deposit listings created, published and presented to the bank.

(View the Creating and Maintaining a Trust Record article for more information.)

Contents

• Creating a New Reconciliation
• Constructing the Reconciliation
• Processing the Reconciliation
• Resolving Discrepancies
• Unpublishing a Reconciliation
• Additional Information - Transaction Reporting
  
  

Creating a New Reconciliation

At the beginning of the month, a new Reconciliation must be created. Please note, if a Reconciliation exists for the past month, ensure it has been reconciled and a Bank Reconciliation Report published.

To create a new Reconciliation:

1. Select the Trust page and select the Reconciliation tab, then select New. (The Trust Account filter automatically sets to your organisation's default Trust Account.)

2. A window will open to confirm a new Reconciliation will be created; select Yes.

Please note, all past Reconciliation reports are displayed in the Reconciliation tab, however only one Reconciliation can be open at a time, and a new Reconciliation cannot be created before the open Reconciliation is reconciled.

It is strongly recommended you regularly schedule time to review your ongoing Reconciliation, either daily, weekly or monthly. Regular reviews assist in identifying discrepancies and in tracking your organisation's accounts payable and receivable.

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Constructing the Reconciliation

Constructing the Reconciliation ensures information is up to date and that transactions are recorded in a clear and accurate manner. This process can be routinely completed on an open Reconciliation before it is officially reconciled.

To construct a Reconciliation:

1. On an open Reconciliation, select the Action menu, then select Edit.
   
   Please note, all Trust transactions available for reconciliation will display, provided all Receipts are published, and that any Receipts with a Media Type of Cash and Cheque are also part of a Deposit listing and published. (Payments and Invoice payments are automatically available for reconciliation.)

2. If this is your first Reconciliation with mattero, select an Opening Date; if this is not your first Reconciliation, this will fill automatically and cannot be changed.
   
   
3. If this is your first Reconciliation with mattero, enter the Opening Balance (the Closing Balance from the previous month's Reconciliation); if this is not your first Reconciliation, this will fill automatically.
   
   
4. Enter the Closing Balance as per your bank statement, then select the checkboxes of any entries in the Trust Transactions section that also appear on your bank statement. (The Reconciled Total, Total Adjustments, and Variance sections will automatically update as entries are selected.)
   
   
5. Ensure the Reconciliation Status remains set to "Open" at this time.
   
   
6. When all current updates have been made, select the arrow on the Save button, and select Save and Preview to review the Draft Bank Reconciliation Report.

During the month, repeat this process regularly, and select the Trust transactions on your bank statement for your reconciliation period as needed.

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Processing the Reconciliation

At the end of each month, you must process your Reconciliation. To process your Reconciliation:

1. Obtain your bank statement for the Trust account.
2. On an open Reconciliation, select the Action menu, then select Edit.

3. Enter the bank statement's closing balance in the Closing Balance section.
   
   
4. Select the checkboxes of any entries in the Trust Transactions section that also appear on your bank statement. (The Reconciled Total, Total Adjustments, and Variance sections will automatically update as entries are selected.)
   
   If there is still a discrepancy (the Variance section is not $0.00), you may need to add an Adjustment. If so, view the Resolving Discrepancies section of this article below.
   
   
5. Ensure the Reconciliation Status remains set to "Open" at this time.

Please note, a variance could exist due to discrepancies between the bank statement and the Trust Account records in mattero, such as bank fees, unknown deposits into the Trust Account, or Trust records created in mattero outside the Statement period (for example, a transaction from the end of one month that was not entered in mattero until the next month).

In all cases, you must only reconcile records entered in the month you are reconciling.

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Resolving Discrepancies

Adjustments can be added to calculate an adjusted balance to resolve discrepancies in the Trust Account. Once the discrepancies are resolved, these Adjustments can be removed from future Reconciliations.

To add an Adjustment:

1. Select Add Adjustment, then enter any Adjustments as needed; once an Adjustment's details are entered, select Save. The Variance field will automatically update as you enter Adjustments.

2. Enter Adjustments until the Variance is $0.00, select Save and Preview, and check the balances on the Bank Reconciliation Report.
   
   The Reconciled balance and Cash Book Closing balance should be the same amount.
   
   
3. Generate the Trust reports for the Reconciled period, and check that the Trust Trial Balance, Trust Ledger, and Cash Book balance is the same as the Reconciled Bank Balance on the Bank Reconciliation Report.
   
   For more information, view the Generating Trust Reports article.

4. Once the balances are confirmed as correct, change the Reconciliation Status from Open to Reconciled.
   
   

5. To generate the Reconciliation report, select Save and Preview, then select Publish in the Draft Bank Reconciliation Report that opens.

6. The Publish Report window will appear; select Publish.

Please note, once the report is published, it can be viewed by selecting the Trust page and the Reconciliation tab, then selecting the Reconciliation's Actions menu, and selecting View Report.

All published Bank Reconciliation Reports can also be viewed by selecting the Reports page and the Published Reports tab, then selecting a report's Action menu and selecting either Preview or Download as needed.

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Unpublishing a Reconciliation

If your Reconciliation includes an error when it is published, it can be unpublished so that the error may be corrected.

Please note, only the most recent Reconciliation can be unpublished; any prior published Reconciliations cannot be unpublished.

To unpublish a Reconciliation:

1. Select the Trust page, then select the Reconciliation tab.
2. Select the Reconciliation's Actions menu and select Unpublish.

2. In the window that opens, select Yes.

Make changes as needed to the unpublished report, then republish the Reconciliation (following the processes described in this article).

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Additional Information - Transaction Reporting

Please note that undeposited receipts (a receipt entered in mattero but not yet deposited to a bank due to the Bank Deposit Listing not yet being run in mattero) will have their transaction reported under "Table 1 - Unpresented Transactions" in the Bank Reconciliation Report.

Further, payments made where a cheque is issued to a client but has not yet been presented to a bank will also be reported under "Table 1 - Undeposited Transactions".

Any receipts that are part of a deposit listing in mattero but have not yet been physically deposited to a bank will also be reported under "Table 1 - Undeposited Transactions".

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