Summary 

The Clear Transactions process is used to clear checks or deposits. Use this process each time you receive a bank statement that lists the checks and deposits that have cleared on your bank accounts. The Clear Transactions process can be used to clear AP and Payroll module checks, Clearing House module receipts processed in the Receipt Deposits process (BR> Receipt Deposits), checks created in the Check Maintenance window (BR> Utilities> Enter Checks), and deposits/adjustments entered in the Deposit Maintenance window (BR> Utilities> Enter Deposits).

Step by Step

1     Open the Clear Transactions page.

• The Clear Transactions process is a single batch process, meaning you can process only one batch at a time.
• If there is an open batch in the Clear Transactions process, you will not be able to create a new batch. If you would like to create a new batch, you can either delete the existing batch by clicking the Delete icon on the batch tile, or you can reset the steps in the batch by returning to the first step of the process. All of the information in the batch will be overwritten. For example, if another user has selected the checks to be cleared and has stopped at the Proof List step, that user’s work will be overwritten if you run the Batch Settings step. The checks selected to be cleared by the other user will not be cleared and the batch step will return to the Clear Transactions step.
• If there are no open batches in the process and you would like to create a new batch, click the Create New Batch button  . This will open the New Batch view. The batch number, batch month, and batch year of the batch will not affect the transactions cleared in the process. The batch information is for reference purposes only.

2     Open the Batch Overview page.

• The Batch Overview page provides a general overview of the selected batch.
• The left navigation menu displays all the steps in the Clear Transactions process.
• In the main section you'll see information about batch steps that are currently processing, next available batch steps, and the last completed batch step.
  • Batch steps that are currently processing will display a blue indicator bar to alert you that the step has not yet completed.
  • Once the preceding batch step is complete, the next available batch steps will be enabled and you can select the next step you would like to run.
    • While some batch steps are optional, any batch step that includes the Required tag must be completed before the batch is allowed to proceed through to the Commit step.
• The Batch Outputs section on the right will display any reports or exports that have already been generated in the Clear Transactions process.

3     Select the bank accounts with the cleared checks.

• Select Settings from the Clear Transactions navigation menu. This will open the Clear Transactions Settings page.
• The Batch Settings step is used to select the bank account or bank accounts you would like to clear checks on. For example, if you just received a statement on your Bank of America account, select that bank account on the Clear Transactions Settings page.
• Select the bank accounts in the Bank Accounts field. Only the checks and deposits on the selected bank accounts will display in the Select Transactions window later on when you select the checks and deposits to clear.
  • The Last Cleared date will display next to each bank account. This date is set on the commit step the last time the bank account was included in a Clear Transactions batch.
  • Select multiple bank accounts if you would like to clear checks on multiple bank accounts in a single batch. You can also click the SELECT ALL or DESELCT ALL buttons to select/deselect all the displayed bank accounts.
  • Bank accounts are created and maintained using the Bank Account Maintenance window (SS> Maintenance> Bank Account).
  • If you are importing transactions into the Clear Transactions batch using the Import Transactions process, only bank accounts selected in this field will display in the Bank Account drop-down menu on the Import Transactions window.
• Enter the beginning and ending date of the bank statement in the Statement Beginning Date and Statement Ending Date fields. The statement dates will default to the current date when you are creating a new batch.
  • The statement date fields will be used to filter the checks that can be cleared in the batch. Only checks with a check date within the statement date range can be cleared in the batch.
  • The statement date is not the same as the clear date of the transactions in the batch. The clear date will be set during the Commit step (BR> Clear Transactions> Commit> Clear Date field).
• The Statement Ending Balance field is used to set up the calculations displayed at the top of the Select Transactions step. This statement balance value will be used as a target balance when adding deposits to and subtracting checks from the prior month's ending balance.
• Click the Submit button to finish the Settings step.

4     Select the checks to clear.

• Click on the Select Transactions step on the Clear Transactions navigation menu. This will open the Select Transactions page.
• The Select Transactions step is used to select the checks to clear. Only checks and deposits on bank accounts selected during the Batch Settings step will display in the data grid at the bottom of the Select Transactions window.
  •  Use the ENTER CHECK and ENTER DEPOSIT links at the top of the page to add additional checks and deposits to the selected transactions. For example, many organizations will use the Enter Check link to account for bank fees when clearing transactions.
  • If a Payroll module paycheck is in an open Void Checks batch (PR> Void Checks), the check will not display in the window. If you would like to clear a check that is selected in a Void Checks batch, remove the check from the batch, regenerate the Clear Transactions batch (BR> Clear Transactions),  and then the check will display in the Select Transactions window.
• Every check or deposit with the Selected toggle   checked will be included in the Clear Transactions batch. You can manually check the toggle of each transaction you would like to include in the batch, or you can check or uncheck the header toggle in order to select/deselect all transactions.
  • The Beginning Balance field displays the sum of all cleared checks, deposits, and adjustments prior to the Statement Beginning Date entered on the Settings step.
  • The Cleared Items field displays the value of any cleared items that fall between the Statement Begin Date and Statement End Date specified on the Settings step, including cleared adjustments, checks, and deposits.
  • The Selected Deposits field displays the sum of all deposits selected in the data grid.
  • The Selected Checks field displays the sum of all checks selected in the data grid.
  • The Ending Balance field displays a value reached by the following calculation: Beginning Balance + Cleared Items + Selected Deposits - Selected Checks
    • As checks and deposits are selected, the Selected Deposits, Selected Checks, and Ending Balance values will automatically update. This information can help users reconcile Ending Balance with the Bank Statement Balance specified in the Settings step.
  • The Bank Statement Balance field displays the target amount entered in the Statement Ending Balance field on the Settings step.
  • The Difference field displays the difference between the Ending Balance and the Bank Statement Balance.
• You can use filter fields above the data grid in order to select the transactions that should be included in the batch.
  • When you first access the Select Transactions step, the transactions filters will be hidden. Click SHOW SELECTION FILTERS to display the filter options. Click HIDE SELECTION FILTERS to close the filter section and provide more room on the page to display the search results.
  • You can add checks or deposits via the Check Number From and Check Number To fields. For example, enter 1000 and 1200 in the From and To fields to display all transactions with a check number of 1000 to 1200.
  • If you would like to clear all checks with a check date between 06/01/23 and 06/15/23, enter those dates in the Check Date From and Check Date To fields. This will also display all deposits with a deposit date of 06/01/23 and 06/15/23.
  • The Employee Number and Vendor Number fields are used to clear transactions by Payroll module employee or Account Payable module vendor. Click the Search icon   next to the Employee or Vendor field to select a vendor or employee from a list.
  • You can also use the ENTER CHECK and ENTER DEPOSIT links at the top of the page to add additional checks and deposits to the selected transactions.
  • After specifying your search criteria, click the Select button   to select the transactions that meet your filter criteria.
    • Click the Reset button to clear all your selections in the search criteria and begin a new search.
    • Click the De-select button clear the selections but keep the current search criteria.
  • Click a data grid column header to sort the transactions by that column. Click the same column header again to reverse the sort order.
  • Click the Selected toggle next to each transaction you would like to clear. Check the toggle in the data grid header to select or deselect all of the transactions in the data grid.
  • The Difference field at the right of the page will display   when the selected transactions reconcile the Ending Balance with the Bank Statement Balance.
• Click the Submit button when complete to save the selected transactions.
  • If you do not click the Submit button before exiting the Select Transactions page, a warning message will display confirming that you don't want to save your selections.

5     Import transactions into the batch from a file. This is an optional step.

• Skip this step if you are not going to import a list of cleared checks from a file.
• The IMPORT button is used to import a list of cleared checks from a file. The checks in the import file must already be entered into the Bank Reconciliation module (for example, AP module Computer Checks that have been committed), and the import file must contain the check number of the cleared check. The imported checks will be selected on the Select Transactions step.
  • The Import Transactions process is not used to create a check by importing the check information. If you would like to create a check in the Bank Reconciliation from an import file, use the Import Checks process (BR> Utilities> Import Checks).
  • You can run the import process more than once in a single batch. For example, if you have two files with check numbers you would like to import, run the import process twice to import the check numbers from both files. When you open the Select Transactions window, the checks in both files will be selected.
• Select an import file Configuration for the import.
  • A BR Clear Transactions-specific import configuration can be created before importing a file into the process. Import configurations are created and maintained on the Import Configuration Maintenance window (SS> Maintenance> Import Configuration).
  • The standard Springbrook configuration can be selected by choosing (Standard) from the drop-down menu.
  • Once the desired configuration is selected, click the VIEW FILE LAYOUT link to open the Import Configuration window to display the expected format of the imported file. If the check number of the cleared checks is not in the correct position on the import file, no checks will be imported into the batch.
• Select a bank account in the Bank Account drop-down menu.
  • Only bank accounts selected during the Settings step (BR> Clear Transactions> Settings> Bank Accounts section) will display in the drop-down menu. If you would like to select a bank that is not in the drop-down menu, return to the Settings step and select that bank, and then return to the Import step.
• The Account Number field will display the bank account number of the bank selected in the Bank Account field.
  • Use the Bank Maintenance window (SS> Maintenance> Bank Account> Account # field) if you would like to modify the bank account number.
• Click the SELECT FILE button to navigate to the file location or drag the file into the drop files here box.
• Click the IMPORT button to import the list of cleared checks.
• This will open the Import Transactions window. All the transactions included in the import file will be displayed in the data grid.
  • Check the check box next to each of the transactions in the file that you would like to import into the Clear Transactions process.
    • Transactions that do not include all the required transaction details cannot be selected. Click the ADD link next to an incomplete transactions to add the additional transaction details. This will open up the edit pane on the right of the window. Once the required details have been added, click the ADD button to return to the data grid with the edited transaction selected for import.
  • You can also click the + ADD NEW link at the top of the page to add an individual transaction to the import.
• Click the   button to import the selected transactions into the batch.
• Once the import is complete, the imported checks will be selected in the Select Transactions step. If there was an error in the file (for example, the file is in the wrong format or the one of the check numbers in the import file is not in the Bank Reconciliation module), an error notification will be displayed.
• Click the Select Transactions button when the import process is complete to save the selected transactions.

6     Print the Proof List.

• Select Proof List from the Clear Transactions navigation menu to print a list of transactions that were selected in the Select Transactions step.
• Check the Page break by bank code toggle if you would like the each bank included on the report to display on a separate page. This applies if you have cleared transactions on bank accounts that are attached to multiple banks.
• Check the Page break by bank account toggle if you would like each bank account included on the report to display on a separate page. This applies if you have cleared transactions on multiple bank accounts.
• Once the required report settings have been specified, click the Print button   to print your report.
• Click the options arrow on the right side of the Print button to see other print options.
  • Select Send PDF to Job Viewer to print the report in the default Springbrook format.
  • Select Send Excel to Job Viewer to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet as unformatted data.
  • Select Send Excel (Formatted) to Job Viewer to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet that includes much of the Springbrook formatting found on the printed version of the report.
• Click the Schedule icon   next to the Print button in order to schedule the report to generate at a later date and time.
  • Enter a Date and Time to generate the report and click SUBMIT.

7     Print the Bank Activity report.

• Select the Bank Activity Report from the Clear Transactions navigation menu to display the balance and activity of a selected bank during a date range. Each bank account attached to the banks included on the report will be totaled separately. The report will display a beginning and ending balance, the transactions on the bank account, and the clear date of each transaction. The report will display both checks and deposits.
• Select a bank account from the Bank drop-down menu or select All to include all banks accounts in the report.
  • The Bank drop-down menu will display all banks that have been created in the Bank Maintenance window (SS> Maintenance> Bank).
• The Account field is used in conjunction with the Bank drop-down menu. Select a bank account from the drop-down menu to filter the report by a specific bank account attached to the bank selected in the Bank drop-down menu. Select All if you would like to include all of the bank accounts attached to the bank selected in the Bank field.
  • Bank accounts are created using the Bank Account Maintenance window (SS> Maintenance> Bank Account). Banks are attached to a bank account in the Bank Code field on the Bank Account Maintenance window.
• The Date From and Date To fields are used to select the activity that will display on the report. If the check date or clear date of a transaction falls within the date range entered in these fields, the transaction will be included on the report.
  • For example, if the report is filtered by 12/01/22 and 12/31/22, a check with a check date of 11/15/22 but a clear date of 12/28/22 will be included on the report because the clear date occurs during the date range.
  • The check date of a deposit is the deposit date set when the deposit was created (BR> Receipt Deposits> Deposit Date field, or BR> Utilities> Enter Deposits> Deposit Date field).
  • The clear date of a transaction is set during the Commit step of the Clear Transactions process (BR> Clear Transactions> Commit> Clear Date field).
• Check the Page break by bank code toggle if you would like to each bank included on the report to display on a separate page.
• Check the Page break by account toggle if you would like each bank account to display on a separate page.
• Check the Show Uncleared Items toggle to include un-cleared checks on the report. The un-cleared checks and deposits will display “Un-cleared” in the Date Cleared column of the report, and will be grouped together at the bottom of the report.
  • If the Show Uncleared Items toggle is checked, the Use historical data for specified date range toggle will be enabled. Check this toggle to include any check that was uncleared by the Date To as long as it does not have a void date before or equal to the Date To date.
• Once the required report settings have been specified, click the Print button   to print your report.
• Click the options arrow on the right side of the Print button to see other print options.
  • Select Send PDF to Job Viewer to print the report in the default Springbrook format.
  • Select Send Excel to Job Viewer to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet as unformatted data.
  • Select Send Excel (Formatted) to Job Viewer to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet that includes much of the Springbrook formatting found on the printed version of the report.
• Click the Schedule icon next to the Print button in order to schedule the report to generate at a later date and time.
  • Enter a Date and Time to generate the report and click SUBMIT.

8     Commit the selected transactions.

• The Commit step is used to commit the transactions that were selected in the Select Transactions step.
• Select Commit from the Clear Transactions navigation menu. This will open the Commit page.
  • The Commit step will only be enabled after the Proof List has been printed.
• Enter the clear date of the transactions in the Clear Date field.
• Click the Commit button when complete to commit the batch.