Templates / Balance sheet reconciliation
Balance Sheet Reconciliation Template
One row per balance sheet account, tying the general ledger to its supporting schedule.
What it is
A balance sheet reconciliation template is a summary sheet with one row per account: the balance in the general ledger, the balance from whatever supporting schedule proves it (an AR aging report, a fixed asset register, a payroll accrual worksheet), the difference between the two, and a written explanation for that difference. It's the account-level counterpart to a bank reconciliation, applied to every balance sheet line that has a sub-ledger or a schedule behind it, not just cash.
The reason this matters at month end is that a balance sheet that simply carries forward is a balance sheet that quietly accumulates errors. Accounts receivable that never gets reconciled to the aging report will drift as invoices get written off in one system and not the other. Prepaid expense schedules stop matching the GL when someone forgets to book the monthly release. A reconciliation template catches these before they compound, and it gives whoever reviews the close (an owner, a controller, an auditor) a paper trail showing every account was checked, not just the ones that looked wrong.
Good practice is a fresh reconciliation for every account every month, even when the explanation is "no activity, ties out." A gap in the record is harder to explain later than a small, timely difference.
Columns
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Account | The balance sheet account being reconciled. |
| GL Balance | The account balance per the general ledger. |
| Supporting Balance | The balance per the sub-ledger, schedule, or report. |
| Difference | GL balance minus supporting balance. |
| Explanation | What the difference is and how it will be cleared. |
| Prepared By | Who ran the reconciliation, for the audit trail. |
How to use it
- 1.List every balance sheet account that has a supporting schedule: cash, AR, prepaids, fixed assets, payroll liabilities, and similar.
- 2.Pull the GL balance for each account as of period end.
- 3.Pull the matching balance from the sub-ledger, aging report, or schedule for the same date.
- 4.Calculate the difference and write a plain-language explanation, even when it's zero.
- 5.For non-zero differences, note the entry needed to clear them and the period it will post in.
- 6.Have a second person review the sheet before the books are locked for the period.
Skip the spreadsheet
A spreadsheet works, but it doesn't match lines for you or remember what you did last month.