When money moves between two bank accounts belonging to the same business, each side can appear separately in the bookkeeping records. If the outgoing and incoming entries are processed without recognising their relationship, the same movement can be mistaken for unrelated activity or left as two unexplained transactions.
An inter-account transfer review connects both sides using the available banking evidence. It keeps timing differences and charges visible rather than forcing transactions to match when the records do not support that conclusion.
Identify the accounts involved
Confirm the source and destination accounts from the approved bank records available to the team. Do not infer common ownership solely from a familiar account description.
If account identity is uncertain, resolve that before treating the entries as an internal transfer.
Compare both sides of the movement
Review dates, amounts, references and other useful transaction information. A transfer may appear on different dates across the two accounts, so an exact same-day match should not be treated as the only possible evidence.
Equally, similar amounts alone are not enough where several candidate transactions exist.
Keep unmatched sides visible
If only one side is currently available, record the likely relationship as unconfirmed and identify what evidence is still needed. Avoid creating a balancing entry merely to make the records appear complete.
The open item should remain traceable to the original bank transaction.
Separate transfer differences from the principal amount
Where the records show a difference between the outgoing and incoming amounts, investigate rather than assuming the discrepancy is part of the transfer. Any fee or other separate item should be supported and handled through the firm's normal bookkeeping process.
This preserves the distinction between the movement itself and related activity.
Check for duplicate processing
Transfers can enter the books through feeds, imports or manual work on more than one account. Before adding or correcting records, check whether either side has already been represented elsewhere.
If a suspected duplicate exists, use a controlled duplicate review rather than deleting an entry on appearance alone.
Record the supported connection
Once the evidence establishes the relationship, process the transfer using the firm's established bookkeeping workflow. Keep both source transactions traceable and preserve any useful reference connecting them.
Do not replace the underlying bank evidence with a simplified note that obscures the original entries.
Review outstanding transfers at period close
Bring one-sided or unresolved transfers into the open-items review. A timing difference may be legitimate, but it should remain visible until the corresponding evidence is available or another explanation is established.
A structured transfer review helps bookkeeping teams recognise one economic movement across two bank records without guessing. It protects against duplicate processing and keeps genuine differences visible for separate investigation.