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A TallyPrime bank reconciliation shows a difference from the first month of a new year because cheques issued or deposits made before the start date were never carried in.
TallyPrime only reconciles from the Reconciliation Beginning Date. Items dated earlier and still uncleared must be entered as Opening BRS so the expected bank balance includes them.
Bank ledger with bank configuration enabled, the Reconciliation Beginning Date confirmed, and every uncleared item from the last BRS of the old period entered in Opening BRS with its instrument number and date.
The first reconciliation of the new period starts from the true position and the old items clear as the bank processes them.
TallyPrime reconciles a bank ledger only from its Reconciliation Beginning Date, which by default is the first day of your financial year. Any cheque or deposit dated before that date that the bank had not yet processed must be entered as Opening BRS. If you skip this, the reconciliation shows a difference that you cannot clear, however carefully you work through the current month.
Where is the Reconciliation Beginning Date set, and when would you change it?
According to Tally’s help, you can set it in two places:
- Bank ledger alteration: open the bank ledger, set Set/Alter Bank configuration to Yes and enter the Reconciliation Beginning date.
- Banking Activities: open Opening BRS (Alt+H), select the bank ledger and use Set Recon Beginning Date (Alt+R).
Most businesses leave the default. You might change it when you start using Tally’s reconciliation partway through a year, or when you move a bank account into a new company file. Changing it is not harmless. Moving it later hides older items from the reconciliation; moving it earlier brings old items back. Note who changed it, when and why.
How do you carry an old unreconciled cheque into Opening BRS?
Opening BRS is entered in the bank ledger alteration screen (set Set/Alter Opening BRS to Yes; the option appears only when altering the ledger). Press Alt+L to update it and enter, for each item: date (before the beginning date), particulars, whether it is a deposit or withdrawal, transaction type, instrument number, instrument date and amount. Save with Ctrl+A.
Worked example. Your financial year starts on 1 April and the Reconciliation Beginning Date is 1 April. On 20 March you issued cheque number 004512 for ₹36,250 to a supplier. The bank paid it on 6 April.
| Situation | What April reconciliation shows |
|---|---|
| Opening BRS not entered | The ₹36,250 debit appears on the statement on 6 April but Tally has no matching book entry inside the period, so it sits as an unmatched bank line and the reconciliation does not close |
| Opening BRS entered (withdrawal, 20 March, cheque 004512, ₹36,250) | You reconcile the item with bank date 6 April. The April difference is nil |
The source for your Opening BRS list is simple: the last bank reconciliation statement of the old period. Every item on its “add” and “deduct” lists that had not cleared by the beginning date belongs in Opening BRS.
Do very old unreconciled items still count?
Tally’s setup help notes that after moving to Release 6.0 or later, unreconciled transactions older than six months are not considered in reconciliation, and this can cause a balance difference. The fix it gives is to add those items as Opening BRS. Release behaviour changes, so confirm this against the help page for the release you are on.
A very old item is also a warning sign in itself. A cheque you issued over three months ago and never presented is stale, and should usually be reversed rather than carried forward for ever. See stale cheque treatment in books.
A short checklist before your first reconciliation of the year
- Confirm the Reconciliation Beginning Date on each bank ledger.
- Take the closing BRS of the previous year.
- Enter every uncleared item in Opening BRS with instrument number and date.
- Reconcile April and check that the Difference line is nil.
How long is a cheque valid in India?
Under the RBI circular of 4 November 2011, cheques, drafts, pay orders and banker’s cheques are valid for three months from the date on the instrument, down from six months. The rule applies to instruments dated on or after 1 April 2012. Cheque 004512 dated 20 March can be presented until 20 June. After that the bank will not pay it, so an unpresented cheque past that date is stale and should be reversed in the books, not carried forward. In Opening BRS, check every carried-forward cheque against this limit before your first reconciliation of the year. If a cheque you deposited is returned unpaid, the bank’s return memo is your evidence; a dishonoured cheque can also give rise to a claim under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, which is a matter for your lawyer, not the reconciliation.
What to read next
- Next step: Why won’t TallyPrime import my bank statement?
- Opening balance reconciliation
- Automating reconciliation in TallyPrime
- Tally bank reconciliation
For Tally users with many accounts, TransactIG matches bank statement lines to the books and routes leftovers, including carried-forward items, to an exception queue with audit-ready exports.