Many banks now offer download of OFX (Open Financial Exchange) files.
If your bank offers this feature on their website, you can download OFX files
and have the data within them matched up against the information already
in CheckBook Tracker. CBT attempts to intelligently match up transactions
using a complex set of rules.
Balancing from OFX files takes much of the headache out of balancing your
checkbook. You can even balance your checkbook weekly or even daily,
rather than waiting for the monthly statement from your bank. I commonly
use a debit card and use the OFX balancing to automatically enter those transactions
into CBT.
To use balancing from OFX, download the latest OFX file from your bank. Some
banks will even keep up with what transactions you have already downloaded
and give you the option to only download new transactions. This will
reduce the possibility of mismatched transactions.
Once the OFX file has been downloaded from your bank, open CBT and select
"Balance from OFX" in the "Tools" menu. Select the OFX file.
Any transactions that it thinks may have been keyed into CBT incorrectly,
or that may have some other error will pop up a confirmation box before a
match is made. Once the file has been imported, a summary appears showing
how many transactions were found and how many new transactions were entered
into the register. The checkbook register is then placed into balancing
mode, allowing you to double-check the information before completing the
balancing process.
If you find that a transaction has not matched correctly, you can make adjustments
before clicking "Done."
Here's a quick list of basic rules that CBT uses when matching transactions:
All transactions in the OFX file older than one day before the last
balance date are ignored
Any transactions stored in CBT flagged as matched already are ignored
(as tracked by the FITID)
Any transaction in the OFX that has an FITID matching a transaction
stored in CBT is ignored
Check numbers are attempted to be matched exactly
If both check number and amount matches within a 15 day period, a match
is assumed
If debit amount matches on a non-check transaction within a 5 day period,
a match is assumed
If deposit amount matches within a 5 day period, a match is assumed
Anything else may result in a confirmation request