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Treasurer, plus a board member who does not sign checks

Reconcile a bank statement and lock the month

Match one month of the books against one bank statement, lock it at a difference of exactly $0.00, and record the review by a board member who does not sign checks.

When you are done

One bank statement is matched against the books, the month is locked at a difference of exactly $0.00, and a board member who does not sign checks is recorded as having reviewed that statement.

Who else you need

Yes, and PTO HQ will not let you skip them. The review has to come from a board member who does not sign checks and who did not lock the month. If you can sign checks, PTO HQ refuses you: "You can sign checks, so you cannot be the non-signer who reviews the statement. Ask a board member who is not a signer." If you locked the month yourself, it refuses: "The person who reconciled the account cannot also be its reviewer." Some fidelity bond issuers (source: AIM, fidelity bond conditions) require that non-signer to physically receive the statement, unopened from the bank or downloaded under their own login, and state that financial software does not satisfy that condition. PTO HQ records who reviewed and when; it cannot receive the statement for anybody, and PTO HQ does not on its own satisfy every external bonding condition. So send the statement to your reviewer before you start ticking lines. This isn't legal, tax, or insurance advice. Confirm filing dates, bonding conditions, and your state's requirements with your CPA, your state PTA, and your insurer.

Send the statement to your reviewer before you tick anything

  1. Get the month's bank statement, on paper or as a PDF from the bank.

    You need two numbers off it: the closing date and the closing balance.

  2. Send it to your non-signer reviewer before you start work.

    Their review is then independent of your work rather than a countersignature on it. A notice at the top of Reconcile says the same thing: the reviewer is a person receiving a statement, not a checkbox.

  • Bank feeds do not replace the statement. PTO HQ imports transactions over a live Plaid connection that syncs nightly, and from CSV, OFX, QFX and QBO files. Those fill the register.
  • The statement is what you reconcile the register against, and it is the document the non-signer has to receive.
The feed and the statement are two different thingsYour bank gives you two different things. The nightly feed and any CSV, OFX, QFX or QBO file you import fill the register, and nobody signs those. The statement itself carries the two numbers you need — its closing date and its closing balance — and it is the document your non-signer reviewer has to receive, so send it to them before you tick a single line.Two different things come out of your bank.Your banktransactionsNightly feed or filefillsThe registerHandy, but not the document anybody signs.the statementThe statementClosing date, closing balancesend it firstYour reviewerdoes not sign checks

Open the month

  1. Choose the account.

  2. Enter the closing date from the statement.

  3. Enter the closing balance exactly as the statement shows it, and start.

    PTO HQ works out the opening balance itself, from the closing balance of the last month you locked on that account, or from the account's own opening balance when this is the first reconciliation. You never type an opening balance, so a chain of locked months cannot develop a gap.

  • The form appears when your role can write the books, the board has at least one account, and no month is open on any account.
  • One account carries one open month at a time.
  • A closing date already reconciled on that account is refused: "That statement date has already been reconciled."
The opening balance is not a number you typeYou choose the account and type just two numbers, both off the statement: its closing date and its closing balance. You never type an opening balance — PTO HQ carries it forward from the closing balance of the last month you locked on that account, so a chain of locked months cannot develop a gap, and the open month's card shows both figures. One account carries one open month at a time.One open month per account.August, lockedSeptember, lockedOctober, openThe closing balance of the month you last lockedbecomes the opening balance of this one.The only two numbers you typeStatement closing dateoff the statementClosing balanceexactly as the bank shows it

Tick every line the bank shows

The open month lists each transaction on that account dated on or before the statement closing date, with its date, payee and amount.

  1. Record anything the bank shows that the books do not have, before you go looking for the difference.

    A statement line with no transaction behind it is the usual reason a month will not reach zero.

  2. Tick every line that appears on the statement.

    Ticking marks that transaction cleared in the register; unticking puts it back. Each tick saves on its own, so you can stop halfway and finish on another device.

  3. Leave unticked anything the bank has not seen.

  • Lines already ticked into an earlier locked month on that account are left off, so you tick each one once in its own month.
What the open month lists, and what a tick doesThe open month lists every transaction on that account dated on or before the statement closing date, and leaves off anything already ticked into an earlier locked month, so you tick each line once. Tick what the statement shows — that marks the transaction cleared in the register and saves on its own, so you can stop halfway and finish on another device — and leave unticked anything the bank has not seen.The open monthSep 14, 2025Book fair depositSep 22, 2025School suppliesSep 28, 2025Check nobody has cashedStatement closing date: Sep 30, 2025Anything dated later is not listed.TickedIt is on the statement.The tick saves on its own.Left aloneThe bank has not seen it.It stays uncleared.Lines already ticked into a locked month are left off, so you tick each one once.

Read the difference figure correctly

The difference at the foot of the open month is the statement's closing balance minus two figures PTO HQ already holds: the closing balance of the last locked month on that account, and the total of everything you have ticked.

  • An outstanding check does not move it, and this is the point most often misread. Say the books show $4,182.55 and the statement shows $4,522.55 because check #1043 for $340.00 was written and never cashed. You leave #1043 unticked, the bank never saw it, and the difference still reads $0.00.
  • So the books and the statement are allowed to disagree, by exactly the items that have not cleared. The difference figure is not that gap.
  • Anything other than $0.00 means something is missing from the register, or a line is ticked that the bank did not clear.
Why the books and the statement disagreeYour book balance plus anything written but not yet cashed equals the statement balance. Here $4,182.55 plus an uncashed $340.00 check comes to $4,522.55, and the difference reads zero. When it does not, the gap is the size of whatever has not been accounted for.What PTO HQ says you have$4,182.55+Check #1043, written but not cashed$340.00=What the bank statement says$4,522.55Difference$0.00

Lock the month at exactly $0.00

  1. Work the difference down to $0.00.

    The control that locks the month stays disabled until it reads $0.00. A lock submitted while the month is still out of balance is refused, and the message names the exact amount you are out.

  2. Lock it.

    PTO HQ records who locked it and when, and every transaction you ticked becomes reconciled rather than merely cleared.

  3. To change one of the four frozen fields afterwards, record a correcting transaction in a month that is still open, dated the day you found the error.

    Note it in your minutes so the two months read together.

  • Nothing in the editable column appears on a bank statement and none of it changes the amount, so correcting one touches nothing your reviewer checked. Finding in March that an invoice went to the wrong budget line is the correction boards most often need.
  • A transaction dated inside that month that you never ticked is not part of the locked set, so it stays editable and deletable.
FrozenStill editable
The dateThe category
The amountThe fund
Who it was paid toThe memo
Which account it came out ofThe check number, and how the payment is split
What a lock freezes on each line you ticked. The frozen four are what you checked against the statement and what your reviewer signed, so changing one is refused and the message names which one stopped it.
What locking the month freezesThe control that locks the month is dead until the difference reads $0.00, because a reconciliation locks at zero and only at zero. Locking then splits the month in two: a transaction dated inside the month that you never ticked stays fully editable, while a line you ticked keeps four fields frozen — the date, the amount, who it was paid to, and the account, which are what the statement was checked against. Its category, fund, memo, check number and split still edit, and the refusal names which field stopped it. If the month itself was reconciled against the wrong figure, a treasurer or president can reopen it.Difference$0.00Lock this monthAt anything but zero the button is dead, and the line under it reads:Locks at zero only. Something is missing, or wrongly ticked.After it locks, the month splits in twoThe lines you tickedFour fields frozen. The rest still edits.A line you never tickedStill editable, still deletableThat transaction is part of thereconciliation locked for30 September 2025.Four fields are frozen.Date, amount, payee, account.Category and memo still edit.

Reopen a month locked against the wrong figure

Sometimes the line is not what is wrong — the month is. A statement's closing balance typed as 19,634.59 when the bank says 19,634.95 gives a month that locked at a difference of exactly $0.00 against a number that was never on the paper, and a correcting entry in a later month cannot fix that.

  1. Tell your reviewer before you reopen, not after.

    It costs them a second evening, and the audit log names them so the board can see what the correction cost.

  2. Discard any later month that is still open, from its own card.

    Only the most recent month on that account can be reopened. Every month opens from the one before it's closing balance, so reopening one in the middle would move what every later month was measured against. Work backwards.

  3. Reopen from the locked month's card, and type why in your own words.

    The control is offered to the treasurer and the president only. What you type goes in the audit log beside your name, and it is what your board reads when it asks why a closed month changed.

  4. Correct the figure and lock the month again at exactly $0.00.

    Everything you ticked stays ticked. Each line goes back from reconciled to cleared, so the work of comparing against the paper statement is not thrown away.

  5. Have the non-signer receive the statement and sign again.

    Their earlier review is voided: they signed that statement against these books and the books can now change. The voided review stays on file with the date it was voided; it simply stops counting.

Reopening a month that was lockedA treasurer or president can reopen the most recent locked month on an account. It is refused if a later month was reconciled after it, because every month's opening balance is the one before it's closing balance, so they have to be reopened newest first. It asks for a typed reason, which goes in the audit log beside the name of whoever reopened it. Everything ticked stays ticked, going back from reconciled to cleared, and the month has to reach a difference of exactly $0.00 again before it locks. If a non-signer had reviewed that statement, their review is voided and they have to receive it and sign it again.Three things happen, in this order1The newest month on that account, or nothingEvery month opens from the one before it's closing balance, soreopening one in the middle would move what every later monthwas measured against.31 October 2025 was reconciled after this one, and it starts from thismonth's closing balance. Reopen 31 October 2025 first and work backwards.2A reason, typed, in your own wordsThe closing balance was typed as 19,634.59 and the statement says 19,634.95.It goes in the audit log beside your name. Nothing is written until it is there.3The non-signer’s review is voidedThey signed that statement against these books, and the books can nowchange. The month goes back to awaiting review and they sign again.What does not happenNothing is unticked. Every line you ticked stays ticked, back at cleared rather than reconciled,and the month has to reach $0.00 again before it will lock.

Record the non-signer review in both places

PTO HQ keeps two separate records of a review, and no single action writes both. Do both, or one of the two keeps showing the month as awaiting review.

  1. On the statement review panel, open the printable sheet for the outstanding period and print it.

    The reviewer signs it against the statement they received from the bank themselves. The sheet says so, because reading the transactions printed on it does not satisfy the insurer's condition.

  2. Record the signed sheet on the panel: the account and period, the reviewer, and the date it was signed.

    The closing balance as the bank states it, and anything the reviewer could not trace, are optional.

  3. Have the reviewer tick the attestation themselves before the form will save.

    Without it: "The reviewer has to attest that they do not sign checks. Without that, this is not the review the bond condition asks for." The treasurer may type the sheet in afterwards; the audit row names who typed it and on whose behalf.

  4. Have the reviewer sign in and record the review on the locked month's card as well.

    That control records whoever is signed in, so nobody can press it on the reviewer's behalf. It appears only when the subscription is not read-only and the signed-in person may record reviews, does not sign checks, did not lock that month, and has not already reviewed it.

  • The reviewer list offers only officers who neither sign checks nor are recorded as related to a signer. PTO HQ can only see relationships your board has recorded, so check for the ones it cannot see before anybody signs.
The review is recorded in two placesA review has to be recorded in two places and no single action writes both. On the panel headed Statement review by a non-signer you record the signed sheet — the statement period, a reviewer drawn only from officers who neither sign checks nor are recorded as related to a signer, and the date the review was signed — and that is what clears the account's list of periods awaiting review. On the locked month's card the reviewer signs in and records it under their own name, and that changes only that card.Two records. Neither one writes the other.Statement review by a non-signerStatement periodthe month you lockedReviewernon-signers onlyDate the review was signedfrom the signed sheetThis clears the awaiting-review list.The locked month's cardAwaiting non-signer reviewI reviewed the paper statementIt records whoever is signed in.Never the person who locked it.This changes only this card.Do both, or one of the two keeps showing the month as awaiting review.

File the signed sheet and the statement

  1. Store the signed sheet and the statement itself in the Records vault.

    The vault keeps bank statements as one of its document kinds.

  • The schedule PTO HQ starts you with keeps bank statements, deposit records, check registers, itemized receipts and check requests for seven years.
  • Minutes, the IRS determination letter and the annual reconciliation and audit reports are kept permanently.
  • Your state PTA, your insurer and your own adopted policy may ask for longer. This isn't legal, tax, or insurance advice. Confirm filing dates, bonding conditions, and your state's requirements with your CPA, your state PTA, and your insurer.
How long the vault keeps each kind of recordThe signed sheet and the statement itself belong in the Records vault, which keeps bank statements as one of its document kinds. The schedule PTO HQ starts you with holds bank statements — including the one you have just reconciled — along with deposit records, check registers, itemized receipts and check requests for seven years, and keeps minutes, the IRS determination letter and the annual reconciliation and audit reports permanently. Your state PTA, your insurer and your own adopted policy may ask for longer.File the signed sheet and the statement in the Records vault.It keeps bank statements as one of its document kinds.Seven yearsBank statementsincluding the one you just reconciledDeposit recordsCheck registersItemized receiptsCheck requestsKept permanentlyMinutesThe IRS determination letterAnnual reconciliation andaudit reportsYour state PTA, your insurer and your own policy may ask for longer.

How to check it worked

  • The difference on the open month reads $0.00 and the control that locks the month is no longer disabled.
  • After locking, the month appears as its own card carrying the account name, the statement date, its closing balance and who locked it, marked as awaiting a non-signer review.
  • After the reviewer records the review on the locked month's card, that card names them and the date instead of showing it as awaiting review. This alone does not change the statement review panel.
  • After the signed sheet is recorded on the panel, that period leaves the account's list of periods awaiting review, and the account shows who last reviewed which period and when. This alone does not change the locked month's card. The account may still carry a months-outstanding count: it counts whole calendar months since the end of the last reviewed period, so it clears only once less than a month has passed. The awaiting-review list is what tells you nothing is left to record.
  • The audit log carries a row for the lock and a row for each review recorded, naming the reviewer.
  • A line inside the locked month still opens for editing. The refusal comes when you try to save or delete it, not when you open it.
  • After reopening, the month leaves the list of locked months and appears as the account's open month again, carrying everything that was ticked. The audit log has a row naming who reopened it and the reason they typed.
  • If that month had been reviewed, its card no longer names a reviewer and the account shows the period as awaiting review again.

If it did not work

What you seeWhat it meansWhat to do
Reopening is refused because a later month was reconciled after this one.Months are reopened newest first. Every month opens from the one before it's closing balance, so reopening this one would move what the later month was measured against.Reopen the month the message names first, then this one. Where the later month is open rather than locked, discard it from its own card and reopen this one.
Reopening is refused and asks you to say why.The reason is required and a few characters is not one. Nothing is written until it is there.Write the sentence you would say to your board: what the month was reconciled against, and what it should have been.
There is no control to reopen a locked month on your screen.Either you are not the treasurer or the president, or that month is not the most recent one on its account.Ask your treasurer or president. If you are one of them, check whether a later month on that account has been reconciled — only the newest can be reopened.
The control that locks the month is disabled, and the line beside it says the month locks at zero only.The register and the statement do not agree yet. Either a transaction on the statement was never recorded in the books, or a line is ticked that the bank has not cleared.Compare the statement line by line against the list on screen. Record any transaction the bank shows that the books do not have, untick anything not on the statement, and watch the difference fall to $0.00.
The lock is refused and the message names the amount you are out.The lock was submitted while the month was still out of balance. PTO HQ does not round and does not accept close enough.Use the amount named. A difference equal to one check is usually a check ticked as cleared that the bank has not paid; a difference equal to twice a deposit is usually that deposit recorded twice.
PTO HQ refuses to start a month because that account already has one open.Two open months on one account would mean two people ticking different copies of the same statement.Finish the open month, lock it, then start the next statement. Where the open month was started with the wrong closing date or the wrong closing balance, discard it from its own card instead: that unticks whatever was ticked, removes the month, and frees the account to start it again.
PTO HQ answers "That statement date has already been reconciled."A reconciliation for that exact closing date already exists on that account.Check the closing date on the statement in your hand. Where you entered the wrong month, start again with the right date; where the month really is done, no further work is needed.
An edit is refused with "That transaction is part of the reconciliation locked for", a date, and the name of a field.You changed one of the four things the statement was checked against: the date, the amount, who it was paid to, or the account. Changing one would move a figure underneath a statement somebody signed.Change it back and save, if what you actually wanted was a different category, fund, memo, check number or split — those are all still editable on a locked line. If the date, amount, payee or account really is wrong, record a correcting transaction in a month that is still open, dated the day you found the error, and note it in your minutes.
PTO HQ answers "Lock the reconciliation before it is reviewed."The review was recorded against a month that is still open.Finish ticking, lock the month at $0.00, then have the reviewer record it on the locked month's card.
PTO HQ answers "You can sign checks, so you cannot be the non-signer who reviews the statement. Ask a board member who is not a signer."You are on the bank signature card, so your review would not be independent.Send the statement to a board member with no signing authority. They record the review under their own sign-in, and you record their signed sheet on the statement review panel.
PTO HQ answers "The person who reconciled the account cannot also be its reviewer."You locked this month, so the review has to come from somebody else.Ask another board member who does not sign checks to receive the statement and record the review.
PTO HQ answers "The reviewer has to attest that they do not sign checks. Without that, this is not the review the bond condition asks for."The attestation at the foot of the review form was left unticked.Have the reviewer read it and tick it themselves, then save. Do not tick it on their behalf.
PTO HQ names the chosen reviewer and refuses them, either because they sign checks or because a recorded relationship puts them too close to a signer.That person is not independent of the people who can move money.Choose another name from the reviewer list, which holds only officers who pass both tests. Where the recorded relationship is wrong, correct it in settings first, then record the review.
PTO HQ answers "Your role is view only, so you cannot sign off a statement review. Ask the treasurer or president to change your role."You hold the viewer role, which may read the books but may not record a statement review.Ask the treasurer or president to change your role in settings, or have an officer record the review from the signed sheet.
PTO HQ answers "An auditor reviews the books and does not change them. Ask the treasurer or another officer to record this."You hold the auditor role and tried to do bookkeeping: opening a month, ticking a line, or locking.Ask the treasurer or another officer to do the reconciling. You can still record the statement review, which is the one write your role keeps.
The panel offers no way to record a review and says nothing can be recorded until somebody is eligible.No active officer passes both tests, so the list of eligible reviewers is empty and PTO HQ offers no shorter list that includes a signer. The reason it names varies: every active officer signs checks, or the non-signers are all related to signers, or both, or no officers are recorded yet.Read the reason, then take a name off the bank signature card, add this year's officers to the roster, or have the board appoint a member with no signing authority as the reviewer and add them.

This isn't legal, tax, or insurance advice. Confirm filing dates, bonding conditions, and your state's requirements with your CPA, your state PTA, and your insurer.