Top 5 Reasons To Reconcile Bank Statements In Your Dental Practice

Published: 10/24/2022
Author: Michelle Lajoie
Account Receivable

Creating a successful dental practice has a lot of moving parts, but you have to make sure you know where your money is going for the operation to work. First things first, for those new to reconciliation, to reconcile a bank account means to identify and explain the differences between the entries in your accounting system and the corresponding transactions listed on your bank or credit card statement.

Now, why should you do banking reconciliation, let alone monthly? Reconciling statements may seem like a mundane task to perform as time permits. But it’s much more than that. It’s probably the single easiest way to catch errors, prevent fraud and verify cash flow. Here are five compelling reasons why your reconciliations should be performed monthly.

Catch Errors

Misread receipts, transposed numbers and forgotten entries in the check register are common accounting errors and are easily rectified. However, mistakes undetected month after month can snowball until you are left with a register balance that is hundreds or even tens of thousands off from your bank balance. This is a serious problem that could lead to embarrassing (and discrediting) cash shortfalls and even overdrafts.

Avoid Surprises

When the bank statements are reconciled each month, any checks that haven’t cleared stand out and prompt an investigation as to the cause. If a payment was lost in the mail, it’s far better to realize it while there is still time to reissue the check and before late fees have accrued. Additionally, a vendor may hold a check for weeks or longer before presenting it to the bank. If you are unaware the payment hasn’t cleared, it could hit at an inopportune time, perhaps long after you’ve forgotten it was written.

Save Money

Reconciling your statements every month helps you identify subscriptions you meant to cancel and bank and credit card fees you may not realize you are being charged. Often, you can call the financial institution and have them removed. But they may only agree to a credit of a single month, not several. Recurring monthly services often offer a free trial, then automatically charge your card every month after the trial period has expired. If the statements are not reconciled regularly, it could be months before those charges are discovered; that means months of payments that are unlikely to be refunded.

Verify Cash Flow

Small business owners typically have lower amounts of capital to work with, so it is especially important they remain vigilantly aware of their company’s exact cash flow position. This is impossible to do when their finance team doesn't prioritize the monthly bank reconciliations. Lenders and investors also inspect bank reconciliation reports to assess the financial stability of an organization - all the more reason they should be up to date. 

Prevent Fraud

The first indication that a company credit card number has been compromised is usually a fraudulent charge on the credit card statement. The sooner the errant charge is caught and reported, and the card canceled, the better. If one card was compromised, chances are good that others were as well, so reconciling regularly can greatly minimize damage from fraud.

Maximize Profit

At Progressive Dental, we aren’t just a marketing company but a dental practice growth company. We can help you maximize your profits by analyzing your costs. We will do an analysis on your workflows and help you increase efficiency and connect you with the correct vendors in order to lower your costs while you increase production. Make sure to contact us if you’re ready to scale your practice!

You can’t expect to get the most out of your marketing unless you know where your money is and how it’s being used. If you need a partner to work with you & the marketing of your business, look no further than Progressive Dental Marketing and The Closing Institute.

Are You Looking For A Partner To Take Your Sales Team To The Next Level?

Interested in learning more about closing high-dollar cases? Attend The Closing Institute to learn how to predictably scale implant production, by implementing advanced marketing and sales strategies from the leading experts in the industry! With courses in Clearwater, FL and Las Vegas, NV, this isn’t just theory. This is a tried and true method to grow your full arch production and develop your team to strategically and consistently close high-revenue, dental implant procedures.

Start dominating your market by getting Progressive Dental Marketing's award-winning services and continuing education seminars to exceed your dental practice goals now! Progressive Dental Marketing can be reached by calling (727) 286-6211 or by visiting progressivedentalmarketing.com. Feel free to explore our website and the several case studies we have!

If you are interested in hearing more from Bart Knellinger, come to one of our upcoming dental continuing education courses. Visit theclosinginstitute.com today to reserve a spot for you and your team!

Progressive Dental is more than just a marketing company, we are a company dedicated to dental practice growth in Clearwater, FL. Our team was founded on creativity, collaboration and hard work. We are constantly evolving and are passionate about providing the best suite of dental marketing services for our clients. They are the reason we love what we do!