Discover how to set up and manage your bank balances on Scribe Accounts, including addressing opening balances and handling unpresented cheques.
As part of the setup on Scribe for new users, the opening bank balances as of the 1st April will need to be entered so that Scribe has a starting position for your bank reconciliations.
Please note if you have Scribe Lite this will be completed for you
Remember, the opening bank balances you're entering against your bank accounts don't necessarily correspond to the statement balance as of 1st April. Instead, they should reflect the cashbook figures - the adjusted figures accounting for any un-presented cheques at year end.
For instance, suppose your bank statement displays a closing balance of £600, and you had dispatched a cheque payment of £100 before the year end. In that case, the balance to enter on Scribe should be £500.
The sum of the opening balances for your bank accounts (and petty cash if applicable) should align with Box 8 on your Annual Return. You should enter this under 'Setup/Restate Last Year/Cash at Bank.' Note that Scribe requires the inclusion of pence, so this might require adjusting the rounded figures on the AGAR.
In the first year of using Scribe, you might initially experience a discrepancy in your bank reconciliation due to un-presented cheques from the previous year end. This occurs because the opening bank balance has been entered, assuming all the un-presented cheques have been cashed.
Should the un-presented cheques not be entirely cashed by the end of April (or when you complete your first bank reconciliation), anticipate a discrepancy equal to the value of the previous year's uncashed cheques.
When an un-presented cheque from the previous year emerges on the bank statement, it's unnecessary to enter or reconcile it on Scribe. This cheque was dealt with in the previous financial year and included in the adjusted balance entered onto Scribe. Merely tick it off on the statement and maintain a record confirming it's been cashed. This process allows an accurate value of the cheques still awaiting cashing from the previous year.
Once all un-presented cheques from the previous year have been cashed and appeared on the bank statement, no bank reconciliation discrepancy should exist.
💡 This is only applicable to new users who haven't yet completed a year end in Scribe. If you used Scribe in the previous financial year, any entered transactions that hadn't been presented that year will appear in the new year on the bank reconciliation screen to tick off when they are presented. Since they are entered onto Scribe, no bank reconciliation discrepancy should exist.