How to Reconcile in Xero

May 13, 2025

Bank reconciliation is a key part of keeping your books clean. If you're using Xero to manage your accounting, you already know reconciling helps catch errors and keeps your financial records accurate. But doing it manually takes time, and that’s where SaasAnt Transactions comes in. It simplifies your workflow, cuts down on manual entry, and helps you get through reconciliation faster.

In this guide, we'll walk you through how to reconcile in Xero using SaasAnt Transactions. Whether you're a bookkeeper, accountant, or business owner, this guide will help you streamline the process.

Contents

Why Bank Reconciliation in Xero Matters

Common Struggles with Manual Reconciliation

Step 1: Get Your Bank Transactions Ready

Step 2: Log in to SaasAnt Transactions

Step 3: Import Transactions into Xero

Step 4: Reconcile in Xero

Step 5: Review and Confirm Matches

Step 6: Catch and Fix Discrepancies

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Why Bank Reconciliation in Xero Matters

Reconciliation means comparing your Xero transactions to your bank statements and ensuring everything matches. If it doesn't, you dig in and fix it. Doing this regularly ensures:

  • You spot errors or duplicates early.

  • You catch missing transactions.

  • Your financial reports stay accurate.

  • You stay compliant at tax time.

Common Struggles with Manual Reconciliation

Before we dive into the process, let’s look at some common headaches people face:

  • Importing large volumes of transactions one by one

  • Matching data manually between the bank and Xero

  • Overlooking duplicates or missed entries

  • Wasting hours cleaning up messy records

SaasAnt Transactions solves these problems with simple, powerful import and data matching features.

Step 1: Get Your Bank Transactions Ready

Start by downloading your bank or credit card transactions in a spreadsheet format. Most banks offer CSV, XLS, or XLSX files. Make sure your file includes:

  • Date

  • Description

  • Amount (positive for deposits, negative for withdrawals)

  • Reference or memo (if available)

Pro tip: Clean your data before you import. Remove extra columns and double-check for errors.

Step 2: Log in to SaasAnt Transactions

If you haven’t signed up, create a SaasAnt account and connect it to your Xero organization.

  1. Go to the SaasAnt Transactions dashboard.

  2. Choose Xero as your connected app.

  3. Select the company file you want to work with.

Step 3: Import Transactions into Xero

With SaasAnt, importing your transactions is easy:

  1. Click Import from the dashboard.

  2. Upload your bank transaction file (CSV/XLS/XLSX).

  3. Choose Bank Transactions as the transaction type.

  4. Map your file columns to Xero fields. (SaasAnt helps you auto-map if your headers are clear.)

  5. Review the data preview and click Import to Xero.

SaasAnt will now push all the transactions directly into your Xero account, without you having to key them in manually.

Step 4: Reconcile in Xero

Now that your transactions are in Xero:

  1. Log in to your Xero dashboard.

  2. Go to the Bank Accounts section.

  3. Click Reconcile next to the relevant bank account.

  4. Xero will now show side-by-side comparisons:

    • Imported bank transactions (from SaasAnt)

    • Xero-recorded transactions (like invoices, payments, and bills)

Xero will auto-match wherever possible. For the rest, you can:

  • Match manually by selecting a related transaction

  • Create a new transaction right from the reconcile screen.

  • Split a transaction if it covers multiple items.

Step 5: Review and Confirm Matches

Before confirming the matches:

  • Check that amounts match exactly

  • Look at the transaction dates—some banks post transactions a day or two after

  • Review notes or references to avoid miscategorizing.

When you're confident, click OK to reconcile the transactions.

Step 6: Catch and Fix Discrepancies

If you spot something that doesn’t match:

  • Look back at the original bank statement

  • Check for duplicate entries.

  • Verify if the transaction was recorded under the correct account or contact.

Do you need to correct a transaction? After fixing the issue in your spreadsheet, you can either edit it directly in Xero or re-import it through SaasAnt.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is bank reconciliation in Xero?

Bank reconciliation in Xero means comparing the transactions in your Xero account with your actual bank statement to ensure everything matches. It helps you catch errors, missing entries, or duplicates.

2. How does SaasAnt Transactions help with reconciliation in Xero?

SaasAnt Transactions allows you to import large volumes of bank transactions into Xero quickly and accurately. Once your data is imported, you can use Xero’s reconciliation feature to match entries without manually entering them.

3. Can I import historical bank data into Xero with SaasAnt?

Yes. You can import historical data (from past months or even years) using SaasAnt Transactions as long as you have your bank statements in CSV, XLS, or XLSX format.

4. What types of transactions can I import using SaasAnt Transactions?

SaasAnt lets you import various transaction types into Xero, including:

  • Bank transactions (deposits and withdrawals)

  • Invoices

  • Bills

  • Credit notes

  • Payments

  • Journals 

This flexibility makes reconciliation much easier.

5. Will SaasAnt duplicate transactions in Xero?

No. SaasAnt has built-in duplicate detection. It flags duplicate entries during the import preview so you can review and avoid importing the same transaction twice.

6. Can I undo or delete imported transactions from Xero?

Yes. If you import something by mistake, SaasAnt allows you to roll back the import. This will delete the transactions from Xero instantly.

7. Is SaasAnt Transactions safe to use with Xero?

Absolutely. SaasAnt is an Xero-certified app that syncs your data with secure API connections. Your information is encrypted and stored securely.

8. Do I need technical skills to use SaasAnt Transactions?

Not at all. SaasAnt is built for accountants, bookkeepers, and business owners. The interface is simple and user-friendly, even for non-tech-savvy users.

9. How much time can I save using SaasAnt for reconciliation?

Many users report saving hours monthly, especially when managing multiple bank accounts or handling high transaction volumes. What used to take a few hours can now be done in just a few clicks.

10. Is there a free trial for SaasAnt Transactions?

Yes. You can start a free trial to explore all features before committing. It’s a great way to see how much easier reconciliation in Xero becomes with SaasAnt.

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