Answers to the questions people ask most about banking in SeroBooks. For the full walkthroughs, see Write Cheques, Make Deposits and Reconcile.
Cheques and card charges
"Choose the bank account." / "Choose the credit card."
Choose the account the money is paid from at the top of the form before saving.
"Add a line on the Expenses or Items tab." / "Every Expenses line needs an account."
A cheque needs at least one line saying what it paid for: an account on the Expenses tab or an item on the Items tab, and every Expenses line needs its account. "The amount has to be more than zero." means the lines add up to nothing.
"Duplicate check number"
Another cheque from that bank account already has this number. Change the number, or choose Keep this number if you really mean to use it twice.
"There is no bank account in the books to write a cheque on."
Add a bank account to the chart of accounts first. For credit card charges, add an account with the detail type Credit Card. See Add, edit, merge or make an account inactive.
How do I print a cheque later?
Tick the form's print-later option before saving. SeroBooks says "Cheque saved to print later — amount. Print it from File › Print Forms › Cheques." Then use File ▸ Print Cheques… or File ▸ Print Forms…. See Print Cheques.
How do I cancel a cheque?
Open it and Void it: "It stays in the bank register with its number" at zero. Delete removes it from the books and the register — and "If it was cleared in a reconciliation, that reconciliation will no longer balance." Prefer Void.
Deposits and Undeposited Funds
I received a payment but it is not in the bank account
It is in Undeposited Funds. SeroBooks can hold customer payments there until you bank them together, as the bank shows them on one deposit slip. Choose Banking ▸ Make Deposits, tick the payments that went to the bank together, and record the deposit. See Undeposited Funds and the Deposit To account.
Make Deposits messages
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Choose the bank account this is deposited into. | Pick the bank account at the top. |
| Choose payments to deposit, or add another deposit line. | Nothing is on the slip yet. |
| Every other deposit line needs its From Account. / Every other deposit line needs an amount. | Complete or remove the extra lines. |
| Choose where the cash back goes. | You kept some cash back from the deposit; choose the account it goes to. |
| The deposit total has to be more than zero. | Check the amounts. |
Should a customer payment go to Undeposited Funds or straight to the bank?
If you bank several payments together (a day's cheques, card settlements), use Undeposited Funds so each deposit in SeroBooks matches the line on your bank statement. If each payment arrives in the bank on its own (e-transfers), deposit it straight to the bank. The company's default is set in Accounting Setup.
Transfers
"Money cannot move to the account it came from."
In Banking ▸ Transfer Funds, the From and To accounts must be different. "Choose the account the money leaves and the one it goes to." and "Enter the amount transferred." mean a field is empty. A transfer moves money between your own accounts and is neither income nor expense. See Transfer Funds.
Reconciling
Begin Reconciliation messages
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Choose the account to reconcile. | Pick the bank or credit card account. |
| Type the ending balance exactly as the statement prints it. | Enter the statement's closing balance. |
| The service charge needs an expense account. | Choose where bank charges go. |
| The interest earned needs an income account. | Choose where interest goes. |
| There is no bank account to reconcile yet. | Add a bank account first. |
"Difference must be 0.00 before you can reconcile."
The cleared balance does not yet match the statement. Look for:
- Items on the statement you have not ticked. Tick each cheque, payment and deposit that appears on the statement.
- Items you ticked that are not on the statement. Untick them; they will clear next month.
- A deposit made up of several payments. The statement shows one amount; SeroBooks shows the deposit. If the payments were never put through Make Deposits, do that first.
- Bank charges or interest not yet entered. Enter them with Modify, which returns to the statement's figures without losing your ticks.
- A wrong amount on a transaction. Open it from the list and correct it.
- A wrong ending balance or statement date. Click Modify and check.
What happens when I click Reconcile now?
SeroBooks asks Reconcile account? — "The ticked transactions are locked to this reconciliation and drop out of the next one. Undoing it later releases them again — nothing is deleted." After it is done you can show a Summary or Detail report to print or save.
I cannot edit or void a transaction: "has been cleared in a bank reconciliation"
A transaction that is part of a finished reconciliation is locked so the reconciliation keeps agreeing with the statement. To change it, undo the reconciliation, make the change, and reconcile again.
How do I undo a reconciliation?
Reports ▸ Banking ▸ Previous Reconciliation, choose the account, and click Undo beside the reconciliation. SeroBooks asks why ("It stays on the record.") and explains: "Every transaction it cleared goes back to uncleared, and the account is open for that period again. Nothing is deleted — the reconciliation stays on this list marked undone, with your reason". See Previous Reconciliation and undoing a reconciliation.
The opening balance of this reconciliation does not match last month's ending balance
A transaction that was cleared in an earlier reconciliation has been changed or deleted since. Reports ▸ Banking ▸ Reconciliation Discrepancy shows which. See Reconciliation Discrepancy.
Registers and bank feeds
Where do I see an account's running balance?
Banking ▸ Use Register (Ctrl+R) and choose the account. See Use Register.
How do I bring in my bank's transactions?
Connect a live feed or import a statement in Banking ▸ Bank Feeds, then match or add each line. See Bank Feeds.