Why won’t my bank reconciliation balance in Sage 200?

When your bank reconciliation doesn’t balance in Sage 200, it means the transactions in Sage don’t fully match your bank statement. Ideally, when everything lines up correctly, the difference should be zero.

If it isn’t, this guide walks through the most common causes and how to fix them.

What should happen during a bank reconciliation?

When you reconcile your bank account, you’re confirming that:

• All transactions in Sage 200 match your bank statement
• The starting balance, transactions, and ending balance all agree

If they do, the reconciliation difference will be £0.00.

If not, something is out of sync.

Common reasons your bank reconciliation won’t balance

1. The statement end date is incorrect

The statement end date in Sage 200 must match the closing date on your bank statement.

Sage will only show transactions dated on or before the statement end date. If this date is wrong, transactions may be missing.

How to fix it:

• Update the statement end date to match your bank statement
• Recheck the reconciliation screen for missing transactions
• Adjust transaction dates if required so they fall within the correct period

💡 Bank statements often label this date as Closing Date, Statement Date, Period Ending, or To Date.

2. The statement end balance is incorrect

The statement end balance entered in Sage must exactly match the closing balance on your bank statement.

If it doesn’t:

• The reconciled balance will also be wrong
• The reconciliation difference won’t clear

What to do:

• Enter the correct closing balance from your bank statement
• Apply the change
• Reconcile all transactions again

If the difference still isn’t zero, check for missing or duplicate transactions using a Detailed Nominal Activity report for the bank account nominal code.

3. The starting balance doesn’t match the bank statement

Your starting balance is the total of all previously reconciled transactions.

This can be wrong if:

• A reconciled transaction was deleted
• Transactions were reconciled in the wrong period
• Previous reconciliations didn’t follow on from each other correctly

How to check:

• Review earlier reconciliations and confirm dates are consecutive
• Look for gaps between reconciliation periods
• Check for missing or duplicated entries using the nominal activity report

If you find an error, delete the incorrect transaction and re-enter it so it can be reconciled again correctly.

4. A previous reconciliation was saved with a difference

Saving a reconciliation with a difference doesn’t stop future reconciliations, but it can cause confusion.

Important things to note:

• Differences don’t automatically carry forward
• The next reconciliation must still match the statement end balance

If a transaction was missed:

• Include it in the next reconciliation, or
• Create another reconciliation for the same period

5. Transactions have the wrong date

If a transaction date doesn’t match the bank statement:

• It may appear in the wrong reconciliation
• It can throw off both the starting and ending balances

What to do:

• Check all reconciled transactions have the correct dates
• Delete and re-enter any incorrectly dated transactions
• Reconcile them again straight away to keep balances accurate

6. You need to correct a reconciled transaction

You can only edit limited fields on reconciled transactions, such as:

• Reference
• Description
• Ledger account

If you need to change:

• The amount
• The bank account
• Or the date outside the reconciliation period

You’ll need to delete and re-enter the transaction.

When a reconciled transaction is deleted, Sage automatically removes its value from the starting balance, ready for re-reconciliation.

Final checks before finishing

Before completing your reconciliation, always confirm:

• The statement end date is correct
• The statement end balance matches the bank statement
• The reconciled balance matches the statement balance
• The difference is zero

If everything matches, you’re safe to finish the reconciliation.

Not a customer of The HBP Group?

If you'd like to find about more about how The HBP Group can provide support for your business please visit our Sage 200 Support page, or if you're considering Sage 200 for your business, visit our Sage 200 page.