Why is there a negative check in my Bank Reconciliation?

Cheryl Waswick

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We get several support cases where a negative check shows up in the Bank Reconciliation window and users don't know why it's there or where it came from. They didn't key it, so often ask how to get rid of it.

If you see a 'negative' check in your Select Bank Transactions (ie. "Reconciliation") window, the system is telling you that there is a problem that needs to be reviewed and fixed.

We all know that you can cash a check, or void it, but you should not do both. So if you happen to void a check that has already been reconciled, the system will respond by creating a 'negative' check in the Bank Rec table to let you know that there is a problem that needs attention. The user should research it and determine which is correct and fix it accordingly.

• Typically, if the check was cashed and that was correct, then the void was done in error. In that case, you would rekey the check in again (typically in Payables) which would then offset the negative check in the next Bank Reconciliation performed.

• If the check should have been voided, then there is a debit on your bank statement that is now un-accounted for. The user should research what the debit on the bank statement is for, and can key a Decrease Adjustment in Bank Rec to update GL for whatever accounts need to be updated for the debit, if there is no action needed on the vendor's account in Payables Management.

At the time a user voids a check in Payables Management, there are two indicators to let the user know that the check has already been reconciled or cleared with the bank. In the Void Open Payables Transactions window or Void Historical Payables Transactions, there is visible column for 'Reconciled' with a YES/NO indicator. In addition, when the user marks the VOID checkbox, a prompt appears (as shown below) that says "This payment has been reconciled. Do you want to continue?" So if the user overrides this message, the system will respond by creating the negative check with the same check number and negative amount in the Bank Rec table to let the user know there is an issue that needs attention.