Clio Accounting: Banking

Banking and bank feed matching (reviewing and matching transactions) is an important workflow in Clio Accounting. This is where you will match transactions that appear on your bank account statement to the data in your accounting solution (i.e. reviewing what is on your books). Maintaining an accurate bank feed helps you stay on top of your books and is also an integral part of reconciling your operating and trust accounts. 

Connect bank accounts

If you went through the setup wizard when you first launched Clio Accounting, your bank accounts (along with your ledger accounts in your chart of accounts) should already be set up. If you did not proceed through the setup wizard or if you need to add an additional account at a later time, connecting an additional bank account is simple. Once connected and fully set up, transactions will sync almost instantly from your bank to Clio Accounting. We recommend connecting all your operating, trust, and credit card accounts in your chart of accounts to your bank accounts. 

1. Go to Banking and click Sync transactions via Plaid, or click Add account Sync > transactions via Plaid.
2. Follow Plaid's prompts and enter your online banking credentials to connect your bank account.
3. Click Continue on the last Plaid screen. Once your bank account is connected, you need to link at least one ledger account within your chart of accounts to the connected bank account. 
   • If you skip this step, you will not be able to use the automatic bank feed feature. You can finish setting up and linking to a general ledger account at a later time by going to the connected account in the Banking tab and then clicking Link to a general ledger account.
4. Connect the bank account to a general ledger account and then click Confirm.
   • Bank account name: Enter a distinguishable name for this bank account. You can view the name in the Banking tab.
   • General ledger account: Select a ledger account from your chart of accounts to connect to this bank account. 
     Important: Selecting a general ledger account is a key part of bank feed matching. Clio Accounting will automatically show you transactions in the ledger account that match transactions from your bank, allowing you to easily match them. Learn more about matching below.
   • Download bank transactions from: Enter the date from which you want the bank feed to start.

Upload transactions via a bank file

If your banking institution or account type does not integrate with Plaid, you can still manually upload bank files with transactions into Clio Accounting. First, you will need to download a file of your financial transactions from your banking institution in CSV format to your computer. For the bank file to be read correctly, it must be formatted in one of the two following ways:

Date, Description, Amount
01/24/2025, Funds paid out to vendor X, -100.00
01/26/2025, Funds received from client Y, 200.00

Date, Description, Credit, Debit
01/24/2025, Funds paid out to vendor X, 100.00, 
01/26/2025, Funds received from client Y, , 200.00

Once the file has been uploaded, you can review and match the transactions. Do this on a regular basis to maintain to remain up to date with your accounting activities.

Edit bank accounts

After connecting a bank account, you can only make edits to the bank account's name. If you did not add at least one general ledger account when connecting a bank account, you have the option to also add a general ledger account. When viewing the edit modal, you can also view the general ledger accounts connected to the bank account. 

1. Go to Banking.
2. For the bank account that you want to edit, click the More Actions dropdown and select Edit bank information.
3. Under Bank account name, enter a new name. 
4. Click Confirm.

Disconnect bank accounts

If you disconnect your bank account from your bank, Clio will stop downloading bank transactions, but the bank account will still be connected to its general ledger accounts and stay in the Banking tab. You can reconnect the bank account to your bank at any time to continue downloading transactions.

1. Go to Banking.
2. For the bank account that you want to disconnect, click the three dots and select Disconnect from bank.
3. Click Disconnect from bank to confirm.

Remove bank accounts

If you remove your bank account from Clio Accounting, it will be removed from the Banking tab, all unreviewed bank transactions will disappear, and it will be disconnected from any connected general ledger accounts. Your existing accounting records will not change. If you want to use the bank account again, you will need to connect it as a new bank account. 

1. Go to Banking.
2. For the bank account that you want to remove, click the three dots and select Remove Account.
3. Click Remove bank account to confirm.

View account history (bank register)

Each bank account that is connected in Clio Accounting should have an account history. The account history is a list of accounting records that were recorded in the general ledger accounts within your chart of accounts and is often referred to as a "bank register" by accountants. 

1.  Go to Banking.
2. For the bank account that you want to view, the three dots and select View Account History.
   
   • You can now view transactions that you recorded in the general ledger accounts connected to this bank account. 

Review (categorize and match) transactions in bank accounts

Reviewing transactions involves matching transactions from your bank account to those in your Clio Accounting ledgers. To make this process simple, Clio Accounting automatically suggests likely matches between bank transactions and your Clio ledger transactions which you can then review and accept or correct. If one match is found, and the match is correct, simply confirm it. If multiple matches are found, select the correct record. If Clio Accounting does not "recognize” a bank transaction, meaning it cannot suggest a reasonable matching Clio ledger transaction, you will have to manually review the bank record to categorize it, which means creating an appropriate ledger entry to account for the bank transaction.

Unrecognized transactions can happen for a few reasons:

• Undeposited funds: Your firm logged or received a payment, but the payment has not cleared yet or is not yet available in your bank account and on your bank account statement (e.g., you received a check from a client but have not had the chance to deposit it yet).
• Banking fees: If your bank charges bank fees at the end of the month after all fees have been calculated, the bank will have information that Clio Accounting does not. In this case, you will need to record the fees in Clio Accounting.
• Incorrect values for transactions: When your firm created a record, a value was incorrectly entered, so the record does not match with what is in your bank (e.g., you may have entered an extra zero to a payment amount).
• Various errors: Deposit keying errors, overpayments, underpayments, forgotten payments (e.g., a client gave you a check for payment, you deposited the check in the bank, but you but forgot to record the payment in Clio Manage), etc. can cause discrepancies between your bank account balance and Clio Accounting. 
• Fraudulent activity: Unauthorized transactions can cause discrepancies between your bank account balance and Clio Accounting. Doing regular bank reconciliations can help you catch fraud and errors early on and within enough time for recourse. 

Review a transaction

1. Go to Banking.
2. If a bank account has transactions requiring review, click Review transactions.
3. Optional: Use the All pending for review, Suggested match, or Unrecognized tabs to filter your list of transactions by these categories.
4. Click Review next to a transaction.
   
   This action expands a panel below the bank transaction, displaying different options based on how Clio Accounting attempted to automatically match recorded expense entries with the bank transactions. Your next steps will depend on how Clio Accounting matched or attempted to match the bank transactions with the Clio Accounting ledger transactions as indicated by the Status tag displayed for the transaction.
   1 match found

   Confirm the suggested match if it is correct. If the suggested match is incorrect, click Other actions and continue below to manually match or categorize the transaction.

    

    

   Two or more matches found

   Find the correct transaction from the list and use the radio button to select it. Click Confirm match. If none of the options are correct, click Other actions and continue below to manually match or categorize the transaction.

   Unrecognized

   If the status tag is Unrecognized, continue below to manually match or categorize the transaction.

5. For transactions Clio Accounting cannot automatically match (Unrecognized) or where none of the suggested matches are correct, you will need to manually add (categorize) or select the correct entry using any of the matching options. The available options for manually handling the entry differ depending on whether it is a Funds in or Funds out transaction and whether you are reviewing transactions in an operating or trust account. Regardless of the differences, your options fall into two main actions: categorize and match. Below is an explanation of when to use each of these options.

   Match Categorize

   You can use matching for transactions already recorded in Clio Manage. While this usually means that Clio Accounting will suggest at least one match, some of the reasons why transactions recorded in Clio Manage cannot be matched to a bank transaction include:

   • The bank transaction is a combination of several transactions recorded in Clio Manage. For example, you received more than one check from clients and deposited them on the same day. The bank transaction is for the sum of the individual checks rather than one transaction for each check amount.
   • You paid a vendor with a single check even though work pertains to more than one matter/contact.
   • A bank fee (such as a processing fee or bank charge) was applied to a deposit, causing the Clio Manage transaction to differ from the bank transaction amount.

   Your matching options are:

   Match to hard cost from Clio Manage

   When you choose this option for funds paid out of an operating account, a list of the hard costs recorded in Clio Manage will appear.

   • Select the payee/vendor and select relevant transactions using the checkboxes.
   • Optional: Add a descriptive Memo and/or an Attachment.
   • When the difference between the sum of the selected transactions and the bank transaction is zero, click Confirm and match.

   Match to transaction in Clio Accounting

   When you choose this option for funds received into an operating account, a list of the payments received and recorded in Clio Manage and Clio Accounting that haven’t been matched will appear.

   • Select the relevant entries from the list using the checkboxes.
   • Optional: If necessary, use the Add or adjust funds section to add new transactions or make adjustments (e.g., when the amounts do not match due to processing or other bank fees associated with the deposit).
   • Optional: Add a descriptive Memo and/or an Attachment.
   • When the difference between the sum of the selected transactions and the bank transaction is zero, click Confirm and match.

   Match to trust account transactions from Clio Manage

   This option is available to match bank transactions with trust account transactions recorded in Clio Manage. This includes:

   • Funds transferred into an operating account from a trust account.
   • Funds transferred into a trust account, such as client retainer deposits.
   • Funds transferred out of a trust account, such as transfers to an operating account.

    

   When you select this option, you can choose between two methods:

   1. For Match to trust account transactions from Clio Manage a list of trust-account-related transactions will appear from Clio Manage.

      Note: For funds that were transferred between an operating and trust accounts you first have to select the relevant accounts for the list of transactions to appear. In other words this is applicable when reviewing a Funds in transaction for an operating account, or a Funds out transaction for a trust account.

      • Select the relevant entry/entries from the list using the checkboxes.
      • Optional: Add a descriptive Memo and/or an Attachment.
      • Optional: Use the Adjustment section to create an entry to account for possible discrepancies.

        Note: An adjustment should only be used to rectify discrepancies caused by user and bank errors that have resulted in incorrect amounts on the bank statement.

      • When the difference between the sum of the selected transactions and the bank transaction is zero, click Confirm and match.
   2. For Find match in existing Clio Accounting records a list of trust account transactions already recorded in Clio Accounting is displayed.
      • Select the relevant entry/entries from the list using the checkboxes.
      • Optional: Use the Adjustment section to create an entry to account for possible discrepancies.

        Note: An adjustment should only be used to rectify discrepancies caused by user and bank errors that have resulted in incorrect amounts on the bank statement.

      • When the difference between the sum of the selected transactsion and the bank transaction is zero, click Confirm and match.

   You can use categorization for transactions that were not recorded in Clio Manage. While Clio recommends recording all client- and matter-related incoming and outcoming funds in Clio Manage, you can categorize and enter transactions such as firm operating expenses and owner’s draws directly in Clio Accounting during the review process.

   To categorize a transaction, fill out the following fields. The fields will differ based on whether it is a Funds in or Funds out transaction and whether you are reviewing transactions in an operating or trust account.

   • To whom/From whom: Choose Vendor or Client, then select the relevant contact from the dropdown menu.
   • Category: Select the appropriate ledger or bank account for the bank transaction. To create a new ledger account, click Create new account.
   • Payment method: (Available for funds out transactions) choose the payment method.
   • Client: For funds out transactions in an operating account, select the relevant client (if applicable) associated with the transaction.
   • Amount: Enter the transaction amount. Ensure this value matches the bank transaction amount.
   • Split: Click Split to divide a transaction into multiple categories (ledger accounts) for more precise expense tracking. For example, you can split a single payment for office supplies and equipment to allocate costs accurately into their separate ledgers.
   • Memo: Enter a memo to help you recognize why the transaction is a match to the bank transaction.
   • Attachments: Add a relevant receipt or document.

   When all details are filled, click Confirm.

When categorizing or matching, you can also click Exclude to remove a transaction from the review process. Detailed instructions are provided here. Excluded transactions will not be considered in financial reports or reconciliations. This feature is useful for mistakenly entered, duplicated, or irrelevant transactions.

Exclude transactions in bank accounts

During bank feed matching, you have the option to exclude transactions. You would want to exclude duplicate transactions caused by a glitch where your bank feed gets downloaded more than once. You can exclude transactions on at a time or in bulk. Excluding transactions is rare and should not be used often.

Add operating deposits

Adding operating deposits is part of the bank feed matching workflow. You can add deposits when reviewing unrecognized transactions or add deposits separately from the global Add transaction menu. Recording operating deposits can help you differentiate between what has actually been deposited and what has not (e.g. if a firm member forgot to deposit a check, it is easier to spot that the money has not been deposited even if there is a record of the bill payment in Clio Manage). You may need to add an operating deposit for any of of the following reasons:

• When client payments are directly deposited into operating accounts.
• When multiple invoices are paid in one payment transaction.
• When multiple checks are deposited together at the bank.
• When one bill payment includes multiple line items, each with interest. 

For example, if your firm received multiple checks and entered them as payments in Clio Manage, and later deposited the checks, you may see a lump sum deposit in your bank feed. You can then create a deposit that matches the lump sum and select the checks as the payments the deposit comprises. 

1. In the Clio Accounting header, click the global Add transaction menu and then select Operating deposit.
2. Select the bank account for the deposit and the deposit date.
3. From the list of transactions, select those associated with the operating deposit.
4. Optional: If applicable, add or adjust funds to account for fees and/or expenses associated with this operating deposit. Click Add transaction to add multiple fees and/or expenses. 
5. Optional: Enter a description under Memo or any associated attachments.
   • Adding attachments such as documents and receipts is highly recommended for any transactions that you record. This can help you determine if your records are accurate during a review.
6. Click Add operating deposit.

Add trust deposits and trust withdrawals

Adding trust deposits and withdrawals is part of the bank feed matching workflow. You can add trust deposits and withdrawals when reviewing unrecognized transactions or add them separately from the global Add transaction menu.

• Trust deposits: These are trust fund payments that clients made to their trust accounts (i.e. payments for trust requests in Clio Manage).
• Trust withdrawals: These are transactions of earned money moving in the bank from trust to operating to pay an invoice.

For example, a trust withdrawal allows you to group trust fund payments into one transaction that moves the money from trust to operating. In Clio Manage, when you apply a client's trust funds to an invoice, payment is recorded and invoice is paid, but the money does not get moved anywhere. At the end of any given billing cycle, your firm will likely review the total amount of payments using trust funds. You can move those funds from trust accounts to your operating account as one transaction using a trust withdrawal.