What a Banking Report is
A Banking Report is a reconciliation report that helps you compare card-terminal totals with the funds deposited into your business bank account. The terminal records card activity, while the bank account shows the deposits that arrived. Comparing the two helps you confirm that processing activity made it through to funding.
The report is useful for restaurants, retailers and other businesses that accept cards at a terminal. It focuses on the match between terminal totals and bank deposits, unlike an End-of-Day Report, which summarizes terminal activity for a business day. The two reports answer related but different questions.
A terminal total and a bank deposit are not always the same number, so reconcile the same batch and account for deductions.
How to reconcile terminal totals with deposits
Start with the batch or transaction date, then compare the terminal's card total with the deposit recorded by your bank. Match dates and deposit references before comparing amounts. A batch closed late in the day can fund on a later banking day, so a date difference alone does not prove that money is missing.
Also distinguish gross card sales from net funding. If a report compares $800 in sales with a $780 deposit, the $20 difference is illustrative, not automatically an error. Processing fees, refunds or other adjustments can make the bank deposit lower than the terminal's gross total. Confirm which amounts the report is comparing.
What a mismatch can tell you
An unmatched batch or deposit gives you a specific item to investigate. Check whether the batch was submitted, whether its funding date falls in a later banking period, and whether refunds or adjustments explain the difference. Comparing the same batch across terminal, processor and bank records narrows down where the gap occurred.
The report does not set your processing rate or remove a fee. Its value is operational: finding an unaccounted-for deposit can help you correct your books and follow up on a cash-flow problem before it rolls into later reconciliations. Keep the report with the corresponding bank activity and processing records.
What you can actually change
You cannot use a Banking Report to change card-network fees or processor pricing. You can make reconciliation more reliable by matching the same batch and date across records, and by separating gross sales from net deposits.
- Compare each terminal batch with the corresponding bank deposit and funding date.
- Record processing fees, refunds and adjustments separately from gross card sales.
- Investigate unmatched amounts using the batch total, deposit reference and transaction records.
- Save the report with the bank reconciliation for the period it covers.
- Match the dates. Use the batch date and the bank's posting date to identify deposits that landed in a later banking period.
- Separate gross from net. Record sales, refunds, adjustments and processing fees in distinct categories so the deposit difference is explainable.
- Track unresolved gaps. Keep a dated record of unmatched batches and deposits until your books reflect the corrected amount.
Frequently asked questions
What does a Banking Report show?
It helps compare card-terminal totals with deposits credited to your business bank account. Use the batch or transaction date and deposit reference to check whether the activity was funded, and account for fees, refunds or adjustments that affect the amount deposited.
Is a Banking Report the same as an End-of-Day Report?
No. An End-of-Day Report summarizes terminal activity for a business day. A Banking Report focuses on reconciling terminal totals with bank deposits, so it helps confirm that processed activity reached your account.
Why is my bank deposit lower than my terminal total?
The terminal total can reflect gross card sales, while the bank deposit reflects net funding. Processing fees, refunds or adjustments can reduce the deposited amount. Compare the same batch and funding period before treating the difference as missing money.