Balance per bank is the ending balance printed on a company's bank statement, in other words the bank balance as the bank's own records show it on the statement date. The term is used mainly in a bank reconciliation, where it is the starting figure for the bank side of the schedule.
Its role in a bank reconciliation
A bank reconciliation compares two figures that should describe the same money: the balance per bank and the balance per books, which is the balance in the company's general ledger Cash account. They rarely agree on the statement date because each side records some items before the other does.
The balance per bank is adjusted for items the company has recorded but the bank has not yet processed. Deposits in transit are added, because the company has already counted money the bank will credit shortly. Outstanding checks are subtracted, because the company has already deducted payments the bank has not yet paid. Any error made by the bank is also corrected on this side.
For example, a statement balance of $18,400, plus a $2,100 deposit in transit, less $3,250 of outstanding checks, gives an adjusted balance per bank of $17,250. That figure must equal the adjusted balance per books. No journal entries are made for the bank-side adjustments, since they will clear on their own when the bank catches up.