Bank Accounts, in AccountsPrep, have three core elements to them:
Bank Statement data entered via 'bank statement batches'
Cheque listings entered via 'cheque batches'
when posted are considered outstanding cheques until they are matched with a payment in the bank statement date
Deposit/lodgement listings entered via 'deposit batches'
when posted are considered outstanding deposits until they are matched with a receipt in the bank statement date
It's definitely fair to say, the order of importance (in terms of regular use) is how they appear 1 to 3 above.
At minimum, every bank account requires 'Bank Statement batches' to be posted to get receipts & payments data into the account.
How you interact with bank accounts thereafter is entirely up to your own practices and the client at hand:
- Some users may use 'Cheque batches' and 'Deposit batches' just for posting outstanding cheques / deposits at year end only
- Other users upload all cheques for the year using 'Cheque batches', then let the system's matching help reconcile for outstanding cheques
- Others (although less common) do this for deposit listings too
Important things you NEED to know about 'Bank Accounts':
- It is really important you get the opening balances correct to begin with - see here
- If you have two or more accounts set up as 'bank accounts' and transfers happen between them you'll need to understand how we do bank transfers - see here
- You cannot make journal entries to Bank Accounts