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Accounting

Outstanding items

Also known as: Partidas pendientes, Reconciling items

Definition

Outstanding items are transactions that appear on the bank statement but not in the accounting entries (or the other way around) at the time of reconciliation.

LATAM context

Typical outstanding items are: checks issued but not cashed, deposits in transit, unrecorded bank fees, and received transfers not yet applied. Finding them is the core of the reconciliation process.

Concrete example

You issued a $25,000 MXN check on April 30 that the payee didn't cash until May 5. In the April reconciliation it shows up as an outstanding item, a check in circulation.

How it shows up on your bank statement

Outstanding items are, by definition, whatever is on one side and not the other: they show up in your books and not on the statement, or the other way around. The most frequent ones on the statement side are fees, interest and withheld taxes, which the bank charges without warning and no one recorded.

How does finO$ handle this?

finO$ delivers categorized transactions (transfers, checks, fees, etc.), making it easier to tell which outstanding items originate on the bank side versus the books.

Related terms

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Frequently asked questions about Outstanding items

Is an outstanding item an error?

Not necessarily. A check that's been issued but the payee hasn't cashed yet is a perfectly normal outstanding item. It becomes a problem when it drags on for months, because that usually hides a recording error or a payment that never actually happened.

What do I do with an item I've been carrying for months?

Investigate the source before adjusting anything. A check uncashed for a long time may need to be voided and reissued; a deposit that never showed up may be a data-entry error. Adjusting without understanding it just pushes the problem into the next period.