Associations & volunteer treasurers
A year of bank activity, one reviewable cash draft
A short fictional-data walkthrough for membership receipts, conference fees, a few payments and one reviewer handoff.
Start with the supplied fictional year, not your organisation's statements. This walkthrough prepares a single EUR bank account's calendar-year cash summary. It does not replace accounts preparation, reporting advice or independent sign-off.
Checklist
Keep the practice separate
Sign in to your approved test workspace. In Reconciliation, add a separate EUR bank account named Fictional Association 2026 using Bank of Ireland or other CSV (guided mapping). Never import the example into real books.
Preview before importing
Open Annual bank review to download the fictional 2026 association CSV and category rules. Return to Reconciliation, select the fictional account and choose the CSV. Map Date, Description, signed Amount and Reference. Expect 269 accepted rows, no rejected rows, earliest 1 January and latest 28 December 2026. Cancel if anything differs; only then import once.
Check all twelve months
In Annual bank review, choose the fictional account and 2026. Enter opening EUR 20,000 and closing EUR 28,550. For a real review, each month must be checked against original statements; a matching balance alone does not prove completeness. Confirm only the supplied fictional coverage during practice.
Review suggestions, not guesses
Load the fictional category rules. Check the suggested membership fees, conference fees, operating expenses, bank fees and own-account transfers before approving. Suggestions are not approvals. Leave unclear activity as Needs explanation rather than forcing a category.
Ask once about the exceptions
Filter to unanswered transactions and download the question list. Consolidate missing evidence, refunds, platform fees, restricted money and other accounts into one request through the agreed secure channel. Avoid putting financial records into help or feedback messages.
Check the expected fictional report
The example has EUR 11,000 in, EUR 2,450 out and EUR 8,550 net bank movement. Membership net is EUR 7,170, conference net EUR 3,300, operating expenses minus EUR 1,800 and bank fees minus EUR 120. Own-account transfers net to zero but still affect gross bank movement. These are cash totals, not accrual profit.
Save before leaving
Download the transaction CSV, unanswered list and working file; use Print / save draft report as PDF for the report. Keep downloads private. Review decisions live only in the current page until you save the working file. Restore it only for the exact unchanged account and year; changed source activity invalidates approvals.
Hand over with the limitations
Give the authorised reviewer the dated draft, source statements, transaction CSV, unanswered questions and scope note. Separately identify amounts owed, unpaid bills, payment-platform gross receipts and fees, restricted funds and other accounts. Record who reviewed it. Draft prepared still means independent review required.
Real records must wait for explicit organisational authority, agreed privacy and access arrangements, a secure transfer method and the applicable release approvals. Do not email bank statements, member lists, passwords or bank-login credentials. The app never needs your online-banking password.
Related lesson: Reconcile the bank — Know what matched and what still needs attention.