How to Reconcile First Horizon Bank Statements

What you are checking against

First Horizon absorbed IBERIABANK, so longer archives can mix two statement layouts across the merger.

Whatever the layout, the arithmetic underneath a statement is always the same shape: an opening figure, the period's transactions, and a closing figure the transactions must reproduce exactly. Reconciliation is the discipline of insisting on that proof for every month, in order. The converter runs the check at conversion time — totals first, then the running balance row by row — so a bad file is caught before it reaches the books, and the methodology page explains both checks in full.

The First Horizon Bank month-end reconciliation workflow

Let the difference interrogate itself. Before opening anything else, note the size of the gap between the books and the statement. Its size is diagnostic: one transaction, twice one, a round number, or a few cents each point at a different cause.
Convert the month and read its verdict first. The conversion result separates file problems from book problems. A flagged file gets fixed against the PDF; a reconciled file sends the hunt into the books, where it belongs.
Work the flagged rows in order. Fix the first break in the running balance before the second — later breaks are often just echoes of the earliest one.
Reconcile the software with a list, not a force. Close the month in QuickBooks or Xero by listing outstanding items until the remaining difference is exactly those items. Never plug a number to make it agree.
File the evidence trio. Statement, converted file, result — saved together under the month. That is the whole audit trail, and it costs a minute.

These are the general steps most banks follow for statement downloads; exact menu labels vary by bank and change over time.

Reading one First Horizon Bank statement closely

One habit separates fast reconciliations from slow ones: read a First Horizon Bank statement in the order the bank printed it before sorting it any other way. Running balances only make sense in print order, pending items cluster at period boundaries in print order, and the bank's own section subtotals — free checkpoints — exist only in print order. Convert the PDF from Statements in First Horizon online banking and the mobile app, walk it as printed, and let the accounting software do the reordering afterwards.

When a First Horizon Bank statement does not tie out

Two transactions with the same amount were collapsed or one was duplicated — compare the row count in the flagged region against the PDF.
A correction or reversal line nets against an earlier transaction. It looks like a duplicate when scanning quickly, but both lines are real and both belong in the file.
A transfer between two of the customer's own accounts was imported on one side only. Each account reconciles against its own statement; the pair of differences, equal and opposite, is the fingerprint.
A cheque image or money order fee was deducted inside the cheque's own line rather than as a separate row — the transaction count is right and the total is short by exactly that fee.

Keeping a year chained together

The strongest property of a reconciled year is the chain: twelve statements where every closing balance hands over to the next opening balance without a seam. Build the chain and a whole class of errors — missing months, duplicated months, a statement converted twice — becomes impossible to hide. When a chain breaks, the break itself localizes the problem to the seam between two specific months, which is a five-minute investigation instead of a day of searching.

Questions and answers

How often should I reconcile?

Monthly, in step with the statements. Reconciling a year in one sitting is exactly the catch-up scenario the batch converter exists to shorten — and month-by-month chaining is what makes it provable.

What does an outstanding item mean for reconciliation?

A cheque written but not yet cleared, or a deposit recorded but not yet at the bank, makes honest books differ from the statement by exactly those items. They are listed, carried forward, and expected to clear next month — they are not errors.

What should I keep as evidence a month was reconciled?

The statement PDF, the converted file, and the reconciliation result for that month, filed together. That trio lets anyone re-perform the month later without asking you anything.

The bank corrected a First Horizon Bank transaction mid-period. How do I reconcile?

Banks post corrections as their own dated lines — a reversal and a corrected entry, or a single adjustment line. Enter them exactly as printed, in the period they appear, even if the original transaction sits in an earlier month. The statement is the record; reconciling means matching it, and the pair nets to the truth.

Should I reconcile savings and CDs the same way?

Yes, with lower stakes and the same shape: opening balance, interest and any transfers, closing balance. Savings accounts statement monthly at most banks; CDs often statement quarterly or at term events. Prove each document that exists, and let the chain check span the quiet periods.