Step 8 · Checking your own work

In one sentence

Entering isn't finishing. Five minutes of checks before you log off beats discovering a mistake at month end and re-reading three months of receipts.

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1. Three checks before you log off

1. Did today's entries go to the right company

Fig. 02-journals

Books → General Ledger → Journals

Filter to today and scan — did anything land on another company's books?

This is the most common and most expensive mistake (see Step 1). The sooner you catch it the better — same day it's one reversal; a month later it can ripple through several reports.

2. Does the bank balance agree

Books → General Ledger → General Ledger Detail → pick 1010 Bank - Operating

Compare against the actual balance in internet banking.

A difference is normal — being unable to explain it is not

Differences usually come from:

• Cheques issued but not yet presented
• A receipt dated a day apart from the bank's value date
• A bank charge not yet recorded

An explainable difference is fine; an unexplainable one is the problem. If you can't explain it, write it down and ask John.

3. Anything still sitting in draft

• Bills: Books → Purchases (AP) → Bills — any draft?
• Invoices: Books → Sales (AR) → Invoices — any draft?

A draft is the same as not entered. It doesn't appear in any report. This is the single most common beginner omission — you think you're done, but approval is a separate step.

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2. Three more at month end

Do this	Where	Look for
Payables ageing	Purchases (AP) → Aging	Who to pay, what's overdue
Receivables ageing	Sales (AR) → Aging	Who hasn't paid tuition
Trial balance	General Ledger → Ledger	Debits equal credits

Fig. 01-ledger

What if debits don't equal credits

They can't. Every entry is booked on both sides; the system cannot produce a one-sided journal.

If it looks unbalanced, you're almost certainly looking at a partial view — a truncated date range, or a missing account.

If it genuinely doesn't balance, stop and get John — don't adjust figures yourself.

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3. Self-test: can you answer these

After your first month you should be able to answer without looking things up:

1. How much did the Academy spend this month?
2. How much tuition was billed, and how much is still outstanding?
3. How much does the company owe the boss in advances? (2600)
4. What was the staff cost this month? (salaries + employer CPF)
5. How much has been spent on renovation in total? (1440)

If you can't, something is unrecorded or in the wrong account.

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4. When to escalate

Situation	Who
Unsure whether something is an asset or an expense	John
A full year of tuition paid up front	John (deferred income policy)
Your CPF figure doesn't match the system's	Check Step 7 §1 first, then John
Debits don't equal credits	John, immediately
Can't sign in / permission denied	John
Posted to the wrong company	Reverse and re-enter yourself, but tell John

Asking is not embarrassing. Guessing is

Accounting errors are invisible at the time and explode three months later — and cost ten times more to fix than to get right.

When unsure, stop and ask. There is no "close enough" in this job.