How to Fix an Out‑of‑Balance AppFolio Bank Reconciliation (Step‑by‑Step Guide)

Most out‑of‑balance AppFolio reconciliations come down to a handful of repeatable issues: wrong beginning balance, mismatched dates, missing or duplicate transactions, or an adjusted cash balance that doesn’t agree with property ledgers. Here’s a practical, PM‑friendly walkthrough you can use (or hand to your bookkeeper) to get back to “Balanced” without guessing.

Who this guide is for

This post is written for property managers and operations leads using AppFolio who see “Out of Balance” on the reconciliation screen and aren’t sure where to start. If you manage trust accounts, security deposits, or operating accounts in AppFolio, these steps will help you clear variances and keep three‑way reconciliation audit‑ready.

Before you start: Three‑way check

In a clean month, three things all agree on the same date:

• Bank statement ending balance
• AppFolio bank reconciliation “Adjusted Cash Balance”
• Total cash in your property/portfolio ledgers (trust balance)

If any one doesn’t match, the reconciliation will either be out of balance or your adjusted cash balance will be off, even if the calculator says “Balanced.”

Step 1: Confirm statement dates and beginning balance

Start with the easiest wins: dates and beginning numbers.

• Make sure the statement start and end dates in AppFolio match the paper/PDF bank statement exactly (no extra days, no missing days).
• Confirm the beginning balance in the reconciliation screen equals last month’s bank statement ending balance and last month’s saved AppFolio reconciliation report.

If the beginning balance is wrong, fix the prior reconciliation first—otherwise everything in the current month will be off by that amount.

Step 2: Enter all bank‑only activity

If your statement shows activity that isn’t yet in AppFolio, you’ll never tie out.

• Scan the bank statement for bank fees, interest, merchant fees, wire fees/credits, and NSF items.
• Record each item in AppFolio to the correct bank account and GL, dated exactly as it appears on the statement.

Once posted, these items should appear in your reconciliation screen as uncleared transactions you can check off against the statement.

Step 3: Clear what actually cleared

Next, match cleared items one‑for‑one.

• From the reconciliation screen, check off deposits, checks, and electronic payments that appear on the bank statement for the period.
• Use the search bar by amount or reference if you have many similar transactions; clear only the exact matches.

If something is on the bank statement but you can’t find it in AppFolio, you either need to add it (Step 2) or correct how it was recorded.

Step 4: Investigate uncleared items and undeposited receipts

Now focus on what’s left uncleared on the AppFolio side.

• Review uncleared checks: older checks may be stale, voided, or re‑cut; confirm they truly should still be outstanding.
• Review uncleared deposits and “Undeposited Receipts”: if tenants show “receipt” dates that fall in the period but the actual bank deposit is in the next period, AppFolio will flag them in Transaction Warnings.

For mis‑timed receipts, align the receipt date with the actual deposit date so the item falls in the correct reconciliation period.

Step 5: Validate the adjusted cash balance (triple tie‑out)

Once cleared/uncleared are correct, zoom out to the adjusted cash balance.

• Run AppFolio’s bank reconciliation report and triple tie‑out or “three‑way reconciliation” reports for the same date.
• Confirm: bank statement ending balance +/‑ outstanding items = AppFolio “Adjusted Cash Balance,” and that this number equals your total property/trust cash balance.

If the adjusted cash balance doesn’t agree with property balances, you likely have transactions posted to the bank account but not tied to properties, or vice versa.

Step 6: Fix common out‑of‑balance causes

If the reconciliation still shows “Out of Balance,” work these patterns one by one.

• Wrong beginning balance: compare the most recent saved reconciliation report to the current reconciliation screen and adjust prior‑period errors.
• Duplicate transactions: look for the same amount and date cleared twice or both as a manual entry and a bank‑feed import; delete or reverse the duplicate.
• Wrong bank account: receipts or payments posted to the wrong bank account will throw off one account and leave another short.
• Mis‑dated transactions: items dated outside the statement period may sit in warnings or be missing from the reconciliation entirely.

Tackle one issue at a time, refreshing the reconciliation until the out‑of‑balance amount drops to zero.

Step 7: Finalize and save your reports

When the calculator shows “Balanced” and your triple tie‑out agrees, you’re ready to close.

• Finalize the reconciliation in AppFolio for that bank account and statement date.
• Save or export the bank reconciliation report, cleared/uncleared transaction detail, and three‑way reconciliation support for your compliance and audit files.

Keeping a complete package each month makes future troubleshooting faster and supports state trust‑accounting requirements.

How to prevent future issues

Most out‑of‑balance headaches are preventable with a few habits.

• Reconcile monthly at minimum (weekly for high‑volume trust accounts), and don’t skip months.
• Use tools like AppFolio Bank Feed where appropriate so most transactions auto‑match, leaving you to review exceptions.

Documenting a simple internal checklist for your team ensures reconciliations are done the same way every cycle, even when staff changes.

If your team is stuck on a stubborn AppFolio reconciliation or your adjusted cash balance never seems to match your trust ledgers, Trinity Rivers Financial can step in to diagnose and clean up the file so you can focus on managing properties instead of chasing variances.