I’ve read previous posts concerning reconcilliation for non-linked accounts. What about linked accounts?
Before using Tiller, my workflow would include matching my register with my bank statements. I’ve modified that a bit to match the register transactions shown as cleared with bank web sites.
Is that workflow unnecessary with Tiller? If it shows up in Tiller then I can consider it reconciled? Tiller doesn’t miss a thing?
Here’s something I find disconcerting related to not being able to reconcile my linked accounts, the balances are not calculated from a starting balance + or - each transaction. They are simply reported by the bank. Apparently, the assumption is the bank cannot make mistakes and transactions cannot be lost or overlooked or recorded incorrectly (by the bank maybe?).
Maybe I’m stuck in the 1990s but I thought reconcilliation was a thing. It is an important part of the workflow in the budget software I’m moving from.
Hi,
If Tiller sync downloads a transaction to your spreadsheet, yes, you can consider it cleared by your bank (Tiller does not import any pending transactions). But - having used bank syncing for many years, (Tiller and others), the occasional transaction does get missed. Also, with one of my credit card banks there can be a discrepancy between the stated current balance and the total of cleared transactions. Tiller will pick up the balance the bank provides, and it could be incorrect until the bank processing catches up. In my Tiller sheet, I can’t use the sync process because Tiller will not support (but does allow access to) Canadian banks. So I determine my correct balances by adding up the transaction amounts, which gives you a very accurate picture. Another Tiller contributor has created a very nice formula that will keep a running balance of your transactions by bank account. I have found this very useful. You might need to add a starting balance for each account for accuracy. You can filter the tranaction sheet by Account to see the running balance in a more readable way.
You probably want to still match transactions with your on-line bank just to be sure. If Tiller would sync the Pending transactions as well, (like Quicken Simplifi does) it would be easier to build in a reconciliation process for your Tiller sheet.
You’re correct, it’s possible for linked accounts to have incorrect data, typically due to the data aggregator (e.g. Yodlee) and/or financial institution.
All I’m looking for is a quick indication that what is recorded in Tiller shows up at the bank either online or in the monthly statement. Not needing any other automation at this point I just added a column of checkboxes (google sheets). I also added a conditional format so that when I check the box the whole line fills with a light green background. Just helps visualize cleared and uncleared.
Hopefully it is OK to insert the column. I haven’t seen any problems yet.
That’ a good way to do that. I do something similiar. I have a Status column in my transactions sheet with Pending (turns the cell red) or Cleared (turns the cell green) in it and manually update them. Since we can now go online to get up to date balances, it’s a lot easier to reconcile than it was before online banking. I can’t imagine waiting a month to see what your account looks like!
Glad you figured out a way that works for you!
Not certain what the data filter is. Is it this? I have noticed that, as in this case, there are 263 items to select from but only 200 are displayed. My concern is that I’m changing the original template and wonder if there would be any issues with future updates.
The Displaying 200 just means that list only displays 200 (but by default everything is selected). You can increase what is displayed by scrolling to the bottom of the list and selecting Load more ...
If you go to the bottom of the sheet, you should see a green box outline, which shows the range of your data filter.
The column of check boxes could prevent that from automatically expanding and so if you’re doing some data filtering, you may not get all data included (stuff at the bottom). I don’t think the check boxes would affect anything else in the spreadsheet.
If you really want to be sure everything balances, I highly recommend the Bank Statement Reconciliation Sheet. While using a checkbox in a column can work, if you ever accidentally change or delete a transaction - or if transactions are duplicated due to a feed issue, what once was in balance is no longer in balance and you can see it right on the rec sheet.
I added an extra column (M) with this formula: =EXACT(K3,L3) (K is for the New Deposits column and L is for the New Withdrawals column - though your exact columns might differ). Just make sure you copy it to all rows. It will read False if columns K and L are not both “Matched”.
I also added a formula in M2 - the column I created: =COUNTIF(M3:M,FALSE) I can then just quickly glance at this cell and see if any old statements are out of balance. I have now balanced over 400 statements and I hide the rows of old ones. So, if one goes out of balance because of a changed or added transaction, if this number is not zero, I know I have an issue - without having to do a bunch of scrolling.
This might seem like overkill but I use Tiller to run my business so I need to do true recs.
I am gaining confidence in Tiller and this helped a lot. I’m thinking of migrating from YNAB, which has been really good at updating transactions. YNAB updates even pending transactions while Tiller only updates posted transactions I think. So it will take me some time to make sure this is a good fit.
If you are looking for something a bit more like YNAB, you might try Quicken Simplifi. It syncs bank accounts reliably and handles pending transactions nicely. It also works well with Canadian banks (if you have accounts in Canada). You can set it up for zero based budgeting as well. It’s not as versatile as Tiller is, but it could be a good fit if Tiller is not.
Appreciate the advice! I actually check out the main budgeting and tracking tools, like Simplifi, pretty regularly. For envelope budgeting, YNAB is still the top dog in my opinion. I’m a subscriber and use it daily—it’s great for keeping things under control. That said, I do get frustrated with its limitations and how long-standing feature requests go unanswered. For example, you can search for something but can’t exclude terms in the search—people have been asking for that for at least 8 years! Still, I’ve learned to work around stuff like that.
What draws me to Tiller is my love for playing with spreadsheets and visualizing data in ways that apps like YNAB just don’t allow. Plus, it’s a completely different approach to budgeting. YNAB’s zero-based budgeting is great for staying on top of everything, but it has some quirks, like how it hides overspending instead of highlighting it. It doesn’t even give you a straightforward report on budget vs. actual spending. Tiller, on the other hand, is upfront about where you overspent and lets you review everything at the end of the month/quarter/year to make better decisions.
For me, YNAB was the perfect tool for getting things under control. Now, I’m thinking Tiller might be my next step.
I used YNAB for a year. It was pretty good, but very rigid. I love Tiller, but since my banks are all in Canada, they won’t troubleshoot any of my bank syncing connections, so if I use Tiller, I can’t have automatic syncing. I have to input transactions manually.
Simplifi on the other hand is syncing my banks perfectly and I can easily do “YNAB-like” budgeting with it. I’m glad you are happy with Tiller. I’ve learned a lot from the community here!
, 
