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Bank and Credit Card Reconciliations

Reconcile a bank statement export against your chart of accounts with Claude Cowork

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What the source describes

Claude Academy walks through giving Cowork a folder with a checking account statement export and the chart of accounts, then asking it to match transactions to accounts, flag anything that does not line up, and draft journal entries for discrepancies. Claude may ask clarifying questions and build a plan for review, then returns the reconciliation logic, specific discrepancies and journal entries ready for review. Suggested follow-ups include exporting entries as CSV and creating a reconciliation summary for the records.

Result or outcome

According to the source, the illustrative output summarizes the statement, splits transactions into matched, needing new categorization and having discrepancies (such as an unrecorded bank fee, missing interest income and a duplicate payment), and provides balanced correcting journal entries for the user to review before export.

How to run it

  1. Download Claude Desktop, start a Cowork session, and choose Work in a folder to give it the folder holding your financial files.
  2. Put the checking statement export, chart of accounts and cash account ledger detail in that folder, and point Cowork to where outputs should be saved.
  3. Paste the prompt on this page into Cowork, answer its clarifying questions, and review the plan it builds in the sidebar.
  4. Read the matched items, new categorizations, discrepancies and proposed journal entries, using the Context panel to see which source files it referenced.
  5. Ask Claude to export approved entries as a CSV for import and to create a reconciliation summary document for your records.

Try it yourself

Copyable prompt

I am reconciling [business name]'s [bank name] checking account for [month and year]. In this folder you will find the bank statement export [file name] and our chart of accounts [file name], plus the general ledger detail for the cash account [file name]. Match each bank line to a ledger entry, then list: unmatched bank lines, unmatched ledger entries, amount or date differences, and likely duplicates. For each exception, propose a correcting journal entry using account names from our chart of accounts and explain your reasoning. Show a final tie-out of the adjusted book balance to the statement ending balance of [amount]. Ask me before assuming anything.

Replace the [bracketed] placeholders. Remove client names, account numbers, and personal data before pasting into any AI tool.

What to review

Check that every proposed journal entry balances, uses accounts that exist in your chart of accounts, and is supported by a specific bank line or ledger entry. Confirm items like unrecorded bank fees, missing interest and duplicate payments against the actual statement. Before importing the CSV, verify the adjusted book balance ties to the statement ending balance.

Related free download: Bank Reconciliation Cheat Sheet (Printable cheat sheet (PDF))

Source: Claude Academy (Anthropic tutorial)

Not professional advice. This is general information, not accounting, tax, legal or financial advice. Check AI output yourself and consult a licensed professional for your situation. See our Terms of Use.

This entry summarizes a public source. Features, plans, and availability change, so confirm details with the vendor. Tool names are trademarks of their respective owners.

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