Books demo tour · Part 4 of 6
The pile of uncategorized transactions, handled.
The bot reads each feed transaction against the chart, the vendor history, and the rules your firm has taught it - then proposes the categorization with a confidence score. High-confidence batches approve in one click; anything uncertain waits for you. Then reconciliation - one Recons tab, the six-sheet bank reconciliation workpaper you already know, and a difference that decomposes into named, sourced items instead of sitting there as a number you have to argue with.
Illustrative client book: Hudson & Vale CPAs, LLP keeping the books of Harborlight Community Health Center, Inc. - a fictional nonprofit community health center. Fictional firm, client, and data.
Categorization
Proposed, scored, and waiting for you
| Date | Description | Amount | Proposed category | Confidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/12 | GUSTO PAYROLL 0612 | $(38,412.60) | Payroll clearing | 98% | ☑ |
| 06/14 | STAPLES #2201 | $(214.67) | Office & program supplies | 96% | ☑ |
| 06/17 | NYS OMH CONTRACT PMT | $45,180.00 | OMH program revenue - restricted? | 71% · review | — |
| 06/20 | TRANSFER TO SAVINGS | $(25,000.00) | Transfer (not income/expense) | 99% | ☑ |
books_bank_suggest_categorization → propose_categorization · your approval posts the batch; the 71% row waits in review.
The bot does the heavy lifting
- Scores every suggestion and separates the sure things from the judgment calls.
- Learns firm rules (books_bank_propose_rule) so next month's Staples run needs no one.
- Flags restricted-fund candidates instead of guessing net asset class.
- Fixes yesterday's categorization too: recategorizes a transaction - even its payee - on your instruction, one or in bulk (books_bank_update_transaction).
You stay in control
- One click approves a high-confidence batch - and anything posted is one click to undo.
- You settle the judgment rows - and your decision becomes a rule if you want.
- Rules are visible, editable, and yours - not a black box.
- Recategorizing is not a special-edition feature: anyone your firm authorizes can fix a category, and every fix is logged.
Recons
One tab, and the workpaper every CPA already knows
Reconciliation is not buried under each bank account any more. There is one Recons tab - between Petty Cash and Setup - and it opens the bank reconciliation workpaper you have prepared a hundred times: a header carrying the company, the account, the statement date, and the two signatures, then six sheets. Reconciliation is the face of it, the classic two columns, balance per bank against balance per books.
Company
Harborlight Community Health Center
Account / GL
1010 - Operating Cash
Statement date
30 Jun 2026
| Balance per bank | Balance per books | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Statement ending balance · 30 Jun | $214,382.40 | Unadjusted GL balance · 1010 | $210,978.20 |
| Add: deposits in transit (2) | $6,240.00 | Less: bank service charge (1) | $(48.00) |
| Less: outstanding checks (5) | $(10,507.30) | Less: NSF returned item (1) | $(1,240.00) |
| Less: unmatched book entry - flagged (1) | $(412.90) | Add: interest earned (1) | $12.00 |
| Adjusted bank balance | $209,702.20 | Adjusted book balance | $209,702.20 |
The difference is never a bare number. Open the Reconciling Items sheet and every dollar of it is a named row with a type, a side, and the source it came from - and the side alone decides whether it needs a journal entry. A bank-side item is already in your books and simply has not reached the statement, so nothing needs posting. A book-side item is on the statement and missing from your books, so it always does.
| Item | Type | Side | Source | Needs a journal entry? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Check #2214 · Harbor Property LLC · 06/28 | Outstanding Check | Bank | Book Register | No - timing |
| Deposit 06/30 · patient fees | Deposit in Transit | Bank | Book Register | No - timing |
| 06/30 · Account analysis fee | Bank Service Charge | Books | Bank Feed | Yes - draft ready |
| 06/22 · Returned item - Redwood Clinic | NSF / Returned Item | Books | Bank Feed | Yes - draft ready |
| 06/30 · Interest credited | Interest Earned | Books | Bank Feed | Yes - draft ready |
| 06/17 · Manual entry hitting 1010 · $412.90 | Unmatched book entry - review | Bank | Book Register | No - but flagged, not folded away |
6 of 11 items shown. Nobody typed any of them - every row is worked out from the bank feed and the ledger, and traces back to the register row or feed row behind it. Anything the matcher cannot confidently place - including every manual journal entry that touches cash - gets its own row rather than being quietly absorbed into Outstanding Checks. Exclude an item and it stays on the sheet with your reason; it only drops out of the arithmetic.
The bot does the heavy lifting
- Rebuilds the whole workpaper from the ledger and the bank feed every time you open it - a cached reconciling item is one that has already started drifting from the ledger it claims to describe.
- Works out outstanding checks, deposits in transit, service charges, interest, NSF returns, and bank debits and credits not yet on the books - each with its type, side, and source.
- Calculates the statement ending balance from your feed or from a statement you upload, and labels which one it used.
- Surfaces what it cannot confidently match as its own reviewable item instead of hiding it.
You stay in control
- The statement ending balance is always editable - a figure you type wins over every derived one, and the app never argues with it.
- You decide what an unmatched item actually is; the sheet holds the question open until you do.
- Exclude an item with a reason and it stays visible - a skipped item is on the record, not lost.
- The Book Register and Bank Activity sheets show both sides in full, so a reviewer can check the workpaper without taking the summary on trust.
Entries & sign-off
Drafts you post, and a signature only a person can give
| Raised from | Entry | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Service Charge · 06/30 | Dr Bank charges · Cr 1010 Operating Cash | $48.00 | Draft - awaiting your post |
| NSF / Returned Item · 06/22 | Dr A/R - Redwood Clinic · Cr 1010 Operating Cash | $1,240.00 | Draft - awaiting your post |
| Interest Earned · 06/30 | Dr 1010 Operating Cash · Cr Interest income | $12.00 | Draft - awaiting your post |
Every draft links back to the reconciling item that raised it, and nothing here posts itself - you pick the ones you agree with. If any entry in the batch falls in a closed period the whole batch is refused and you are asked to open the period; the app will not slide the entry forward into a month it did not happen in.
The reviewer has to be a different person from the preparer, and a workpaper cannot be finalized until a preparer has signed it.
▶ Watch: batch categorization and a $0.00 reconciliation
Screens are illustrative: Hudson & Vale CPAs and Harborlight Community Health Center, Inc. are fictional.