We currently image all our checks but have continued to pull the official checks and balance them by having the actual outstanding check copy. Our data processing manager says that with a change in their processing they will do longer be able to sort the official checks and that balancing will need to be done with images. How are some of you that do imaging balancing your official checks and is it okay with your regulators that you no longer have the actual documents filed in numerical order to see that none are missing, etc.?

I think most banks now use some sort of automated reconciliation process. I have not seen a manual process in years - you might want to explore this avenue.

I want to get back to this question. What types of automation are banks using to balance official checks? Are there software programs or are you using a spreadsheet? Most banks in my area, or ones I have called, are still balancing official checks manually so I have not been able to get any advise from my local peers. Any help would be appreciated.

We are an ITI bank and use the CRS Module to do this.

You could start with your service provider or accounting or DDA software provider if you process inhouse. It's automatic account reconciliation features are a pretty standard offering these days.

As noted above, account reconcilement is a standard module in most systems, but you can always outsource your official checks and reconcilement is free. It's a good deal if you have volume.