We export our bank statements from internet banking to our accounting software Xero every few days.

However, after experiencing some issues with double ups in transaction information I looked into the problem further to try and figure out what was going on.

It quickly became obvious what the problem was:

-If you view or export statements for a period that includes a weekend, say Friday – Sunday, you will see all transactions that occurred during that time.

-But as any transactions that happen during a weekend are not processed until a weekday, when you view or export statements for the start of the week – say Monday to Wednesday – it will show all the transactions that actually occurred during the previous Saturday and Sunday.

The results of this is that if you export for say Friday – Sunday, then export your bank statements for the following Monday – Wednesday, all the transactions that happened on Saturday – Sunday will appear twice.

Thus stuffing up your accounting.

This sort of error highlights the problems with poor web based software testing.

Export in one lot for Friday – Wednesday and you don’t experience the problem.

For a bank, this sort of basic error is avoidable and unacceptable. Next time you’re using internet banking, be sure to check that your transactions are being processed correctly!

Just because internet banking is secure, doesn’t mean the person writing the software that makes it work has covered all bases.