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What are Bank Accounts?

Bank accounts in Agatabo represent the physical bank accounts where your organization keeps its money. Each bank account tracks its cash balance through the general ledger system, with all transactions (deposits, withdrawals, loan disbursements, expenses) automatically updating the balance.

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Why Track Bank Accounts?

Key benefits:
  • Know exactly how much cash you have in each account
  • Track which transactions came from which account
  • Reconcile Agatabo records with bank statements
  • Separate operational funds from reserve funds
  • Monitor cash flow across multiple accounts
  • Maintain accurate financial statements
  • Prevent overdrafts and negative balances

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How Bank Accounts Work

1

Add bank accounts

Create records for each physical bank account (first account is automatically default)
2

Link to ledger

System automatically creates CASH ledger account for each bank account
3

Record transactions

When recording deposits, loans, or expenses, specify which bank account is involved
4

Automatic balance updates

Database triggers update balances instantly when transactions are posted
5

Reconcile monthly

Compare Agatabo balances with bank statements to catch discrepancies

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Bank Account Types

Agatabo supports two types of bank accounts:
TypePurposeTypical UseConstraints
SAVINGSSavings accountLong-term reserves, dividend funds, emergency fundsOptional
CURRENTCurrent/checking accountDaily operations, loan disbursements, expense paymentsAt least one required and active
Important: Your organization must have at least one active CURRENT account. You cannot deactivate all CURRENT accounts.

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Bank Account Information

Each bank account has:

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Core Fields

Name:
  • Descriptive name (e.g., “BK Operations Account”, “Equity Reserve Account”)
  • Must be unique within your organization
  • Used to identify the account in dropdowns and reports
Type:
  • SAVINGS or CURRENT
  • Determines the account’s purpose
  • Cannot be changed after creation
Balance:
  • Current cash balance (automatically calculated from ledger)
  • Updated in real-time via database triggers
  • Always reflects posted transactions
Status (isActive):
  • Active: Account can be used for new transactions
  • Inactive: Account is hidden from dropdowns (cannot be used)
  • Historical transactions remain visible
Default (isDefault):
  • Marks this as the primary bank account
  • Used automatically when no specific account is selected
  • Only one default account per organization
  • First account created is automatically set as default

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Calculated Fields

Available Balance:
  • Formula: Balance - Total Reserved Amounts
  • Shows cash available after accounting for reserves
  • Use this for operational decisions
Total Reserved:
  • Sum of all reserve allocation balances
  • Cannot be spent on regular operations
  • Restricted funds

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Ledger Integration

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How Bank Accounts Work in the Ledger

Each bank account is backed by a CASH ledger account: Ledger Account Properties:
  • Role: CASH (asset account, normal debit balance)
  • Scope Key: cash:{bankAccountId} (links ledger account to specific bank)
  • Balance: Maintained by database triggers
When transactions occur:
  1. Journal entry is created (e.g., loan disbursement)
  2. Entry includes CASH ledger line with bankAccountId scope
  3. Database trigger updates ledger balance automatically
  4. Bank account balance reflects change instantly
Example: 
Loan disbursement of 500,000 RWF from "BK Operations":

Journal Entry:
Dr LOAN_RECEIVABLE    500,000  (asset increases)
   Cr CASH            500,000  (asset decreases, scope: cash:{bankAccountId})

Bank Account Balance:
Before: 2,000,000 RWF
After:  1,500,000 RWF

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Default Account Selection

The system uses this priority when selecting which bank account to use: Priority:
  1. Explicitly specified account (if provided in transaction)
  2. Default account (marked with isDefault = true)
  3. First active CURRENT account (if no default set)
When creating transactions:
  • Loan disbursements: Uses selected or default account
  • Expense payments: Uses selected or default account
  • Deposits: Uses selected or default account

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Account Constraints and Validations

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Creation Rules

First Account:
  • Automatically set as default
  • Cannot delete until another account is created
Name Uniqueness:
  • Each account name must be unique within organization
  • Case-sensitive validation

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Deletion Rules

You cannot delete a bank account if: ❌ It is the default account (set another as default first) ❌ It is the only account (must maintain at least one) ❌ It has transaction history (journal entries reference it) ❌ Balance is not exactly zero (must be 0.00) To delete an account:
  1. Ensure balance is exactly zero
  2. If it’s default, set another account as default
  3. Ensure no transactions reference this account
  4. Click delete

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Modification Rules

Cannot deactivate if:
  • It’s the only active CURRENT account
  • Would leave organization with no active CURRENT accounts
Can change:
  • Name (must remain unique)
  • Active/inactive status (subject to constraints)
  • Default status (sets isDefault on target, unsets on current default)

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Balance Adjustments

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Opening Balance Adjustments

When you first set up Agatabo, you may need to adjust opening balances to match your actual bank balances. Endpoint: PATCH /bank-accounts/:id/adjust-balance How it works:
  • Creates or adjusts CASH_OPENING journal entry
  • Balances against OPENING_EQUITY ledger account
  • One-time operation per account
Validations:
  • Cannot adjust if account is inactive
  • Cannot adjust after accounting period is closed
  • Cannot create negative opening equity (total adjustments cannot exceed existing equity)
Example: 
Your BK account actually has 5,000,000 RWF, but Agatabo shows 0.

Adjust opening balance to 5,000,000:
Dr CASH (BK Operations)    5,000,000
   Cr OPENING_EQUITY       5,000,000

Result: BK Operations now shows 5,000,000 RWF balance

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Bank Account Operations

Adding Bank Accounts

Register your organization’s bank accounts

Recording Transactions

Record deposits, withdrawals, and expenses

Reconciliation

Match Agatabo records with bank statements

Bank Transfers

Move money between accounts via manual entries

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Transaction Types That Affect Bank Accounts

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Cash Inflows (Increase Balance)

Savings Deposits:
  • Member contributes to savings
  • Credits CASH, debits SAVINGS (liability)
Loan Repayments:
  • Member pays loan installment
  • Credits CASH, debits LOAN_RECEIVABLE
Entry Fees:
  • New member pays entry fee
  • Credits CASH, debits ENTRY_FEE_INCOME
Reserve Releases:
  • Organization releases reserve funds
  • Credits CASH, debits RESERVE_ALLOCATION

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Cash Outflows (Decrease Balance)

Loan Disbursements:
  • Organization lends to member
  • Debits LOAN_RECEIVABLE, credits CASH
Expense Payments:
  • Organization pays expense
  • Debits EXPENSE, credits CASH
Bank Charges:
  • Bank deducts fees
  • Debits BANK_CHARGE_EXPENSE, credits CASH
Dividend Distributions:
  • Organization pays dividends
  • Debits RETAINED_EARNINGS, credits CASH
Reserve Top-ups:
  • Organization sets aside reserves
  • Debits RESERVE_ALLOCATION, credits CASH
Savings Withdrawals:
  • Member withdraws savings
  • Debits SAVINGS, credits CASH

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Reconciliation

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What is Reconciliation?

Reconciliation ensures Agatabo’s recorded balance matches your actual bank statement balance. Why reconcile:
  • Catch data entry errors
  • Identify missing transactions
  • Detect unauthorized transactions
  • Ensure financial statement accuracy
When to reconcile:
  • Monthly (recommended)
  • After closing accounting period
  • Before generating financial reports
  • When balance seems incorrect
Learn more about reconciliation →

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Common Scenarios

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Scenario 1: Starting with Existing Balances

Your organization has:
- BK Current Account: 10,000,000 RWF
- Equity Savings Account: 5,000,000 RWF

Steps:
1. Add "BK Current Account" (CURRENT type) - auto-default
2. Adjust opening balance: 10,000,000 RWF
3. Add "Equity Savings Account" (SAVINGS type)
4. Adjust opening balance: 5,000,000 RWF

Result: Total cash = 15,000,000 RWF

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Scenario 2: Multiple Accounts for Different Purposes

Organization structure:
- "Operations Account" (CURRENT, default) - daily transactions
- "Loan Disbursement Account" (CURRENT) - dedicated for loans
- "Reserve Fund Account" (SAVINGS) - emergency reserves
- "Dividend Account" (SAVINGS) - dividend payouts

Usage:
- Deposits → Operations Account (default)
- Loan disbursements → Loan Disbursement Account (select manually)
- Reserve allocations → Reserve Fund Account
- Dividend distributions → Dividend Account

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Scenario 3: Inactivating an Old Account

Organization has:
- "Old BK Account" (CURRENT, default) - closing this
- "New Equity Account" (CURRENT) - switching to this

Steps:
1. Transfer all funds out of Old BK Account (via manual journal or expenses)
2. Verify balance is exactly 0.00 RWF
3. Set "New Equity Account" as default
4. Mark "Old BK Account" as inactive
5. Historical transactions still visible in reports

Cannot delete Old BK Account because it has transaction history

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Best Practices

Bank account management tips:
  • Create separate accounts for different purposes (operations, reserves, loans)
  • Set meaningful, descriptive names
  • Always specify bank account when recording transactions (don’t rely on default)
  • Reconcile monthly with bank statements
  • Keep at least two CURRENT accounts (redundancy)
  • Use SAVINGS accounts for restricted funds (reserves, dividends)
  • Adjust opening balances BEFORE recording transactions
  • Never manually edit ledger balances (use opening balance adjustment)
  • Review available balance before large disbursements
  • Document purpose when transferring between accounts

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Permissions Required

ActionPermissionScope
View bank accountsaccounts:readANY
Create bank accountaccounts:writeANY
Update bank accountaccounts:writeANY
Delete bank accountaccounts:writeANY
Set default accountaccounts:writeANY
Adjust opening balanceaccounts:writeANY
View transactionsledger:readANY
Reconcile accountsledger:readANY

General Ledger Overview

Understand accounting behind bank accounts

Understanding Double-Entry

Learn how transactions affect balances

Recording Transactions

How to record bank transactions