Each reconciliation uses one accounting method: Cash or Accrual. The method decides which record keeper figures CX compares to the census. Cash compares what the record keeper received during the plan year. Accrual moves late payroll deposits into the plan year they belong to. Firm admins can also set accrual rules, so CX fills in those amounts for you from payroll.

When to use each method

Cash compares the Schedule amount (what the record keeper's report shows for the plan year) to Payroll / Census. Use it when the plan's deposits land in the same plan year as the payrolls they came from.

Accrual adjusts the record keeper's figure before comparing it. Use it when payroll at the end of the plan year is deposited in the next plan year. For example, a December 31 payroll whose deferrals reach the record keeper on January 5.

On accrual, CX uses this math for each money type:

Adjusted = Schedule minus Prior Yr Accrual plus Current Yr Accrual

Prior Yr Accrual is money the record keeper counted this year that belongs to last year. CX subtracts it.
Current Yr Accrual is money earned this year that the record keeper had not received yet. CX adds it.
Adjusted is the result. CX compares Adjusted to Payroll / Census. You can't edit Adjusted directly.

Example: The schedule shows $120,000 of Pre-Tax Deferrals. $4,000 of that was from last year's final payroll. $5,000 from this year's final payroll was deposited next year. Adjusted = $120,000 minus $4,000 plus $5,000 = $121,000.

[Image to add] 📸 SCREENSHOT: Cedar Ridge Excavating 401(k) Plan Plan tab on Accrual, showing Schedule, Prior Yr Accrual, Current Yr Accrual, Adjusted, and Payroll / Census for Pre-Tax Deferrals. Red-circle the Adjusted column.

Switch the accounting method

You need write access to the reconciliation. The reconciliation must not be locked.

Open the plan's reconciliation from Retirement > Reconciliation.
At the top right of the workspace, find the Accrual and Cash buttons. The highlighted one is the current method.
Click the method you want. A Change accounting method? window opens. It says the reconciliation totals will be recalculated.
Click Change to Accrual or Change to Cash. A message confirms the new method. The Plan tab updates.

On cash, the Prior Yr Accrual, Current Yr Accrual, and Adjusted columns are hidden. If some money types have accrual amounts, a note says cash basis excludes them.

The method changes the Plan tab comparison only. The Total Contributions card always shows the record keeper's Schedule figure, and the Accounts tab always compares each person's Schedule figure to the census.

Note: If the reconciliation is locked, you'll see "Unlock to change the accounting method". Unlock it first. See Confirming and Locking a Reconciliation.

📸 SCREENSHOT: Cedar Ridge Excavating 401(k) Plan workspace header with the Accrual / Cash buttons and the Accrual rules link. Red-circle both.

Set up firm accrual rules (firm admins)

Accrual rules tell CX which payrolls to treat as accruals. CX reads the client's payroll in CX and fills Prior Yr Accrual and Current Yr Accrual for you.

A rule works like this: if a payroll run falls in the final months of the plan year, and its total for that money type meets your threshold, CX treats it as money the record keeper will book next plan year. It becomes a current year accrual on this year's reconciliation, and a prior year accrual on next year's.

Which payroll counts. CX looks at the client's payroll in CX for the plan year and the year before.

Uploaded payroll reports count for every plan the client has, the same way the census does.
Synced payroll counts through that payroll connection's mapping for this plan. If the connection has no mapping for this plan, its runs still count, but at $0.
Payroll from a disconnected payroll connection does not count. If you reconnect a payroll provider, only the live connection's payroll is used, so amounts are not counted twice.

Rules apply to your whole firm. Only firm admins can change them. Other users can open the rules to view them.

Open any reconciliation set to Accrual.
Click Accrual rules next to the Accrual and Cash buttons. The Accrual rules window opens.
Click + Add rule. A new row appears. It starts turned on, with a $1,000 threshold and 1 month.
In Money type, choose the money type.
In Run total at least, enter the smallest payroll run total that counts. Enter 0 to count every run.
In Final months of plan year, enter how many months at the end of the plan year to look at. Use a whole number from 1 to 12.
Make sure the On box is checked.
Repeat for each money type you want to cover.
Click Save rules. A message says "Accrual rules saved". Open reconciliations recalculate.

Save rules stays grayed out until your firm's current rules finish loading, and while any rule has an error. Saving replaces the whole list, so this keeps your firm's rules from being wiped by mistake.

[Image to add] 📸 SCREENSHOT: Accrual rules window with two rules filled in (EE Pre-Tax and ER Safe Harbor Match), showing the On, Money type, Run total at least, and Final months of plan year columns and the Save rules button.

Options explained

Setting	What it does
On	Turns the rule on or off without deleting it.
Money type	The census money type the rule covers: EE Pre-Tax, EE Roth, ER Match, ER Non-Elective, ER Safe Harbor Match, ER Safe Harbor Non-Elective, or ER QACA Match. Each money type can have one rule.
Run total at least	A payroll run counts only if its total for this money type is at least this amount. A run is all of the client's payrolls with the same check date.
Final months of plan year	How many months at the end of the plan year to look at. For a 12/31 plan year, 1 means December only.
Remove	Deletes the rule.

How rules work with amounts you type

A rule only fills empty cells. An accrual you type on the Plan tab, or a hand-entered override, always wins over a rule.
Rule amounts are a starting point. You can type over them.
When you lock an accrual reconciliation, its rule amounts are frozen with it. Changing the rules or the payroll later does not change a locked year, or the figures it sends to the Form 5500. To pick up new rule amounts, unlock the year, check the figures, and lock it again.

Enter or change accruals by hand

You can type prior and current year accruals on the Plan tab. Use this when you don't use rules, when payroll isn't in CX, or when a rule amount is wrong.

On the Plan tab, make sure the method is Accrual.
Click Edit at the top of the table. The Prior Yr Accrual and Current Yr Accrual cells become boxes you can type in.
Click a cell and type the amount, like 1234.56.
Press Enter or click away to save. The Adjusted and Reconciliation columns update. A small yellow dot marks the amount you entered.
Click Done when you're finished.

To undo a typed amount, clear the box and press Enter. To cancel while typing, press Esc.

Tip: Amounts that came from your firm's rules look different from typed amounts. Hover over one to see "From your firm's accrual rules".

If you type something that isn't an amount, you'll see "Enter an amount like 1234.56".

Why a cell may be blank

On accrual, CX explains any blank Prior Yr Accrual or Current Yr Accrual cells with a note above the Plan table. Here is what each note means and what to do.

Note	What to do
"No accrual rules are set up for your firm, so prior and current accruals are not filled automatically. Use "Accrual rules" to add them."	Ask a firm admin to add rules, or type the accruals by hand.
"No payroll records for this plan year, so accruals cannot be attributed from payroll. Enter them by hand if needed."	CX has no payroll for this client and plan year. Add payroll to CX, or type the accruals by hand.
"No payroll records for plan year {year}, so prior-year accruals cannot be attributed from payroll. Enter them by hand if needed."	Last year's payroll isn't in CX. Type the prior year accruals by hand.
"No payroll records for plan year {year}, so current-year accruals cannot be attributed from payroll. Enter them by hand if needed."	This year's payroll isn't in CX. Type the current year accruals by hand.
"No accrual rule is on for {money types}, so their prior and current accruals are not filled automatically. Use "Accrual rules" to turn them on."	Ask a firm admin to add or turn on a rule for those money types, or type the amounts by hand.
"Accrual rule figures could not be loaded. Prior and current accruals are not filled automatically."	Refresh the page. If it keeps happening, contact support.

Troubleshooting

I don't see the Accrual rules link. The link only shows when the reconciliation is set to Accrual.

The rule fields are grayed out. Only firm admins can change rules. You'll see "Only firm admins can change accrual rules." Ask a firm admin.

Save rules shows an error. Check the message under the table. A threshold must be zero or more. Months must be a whole number from 1 to 12.

The rules window says they could not be loaded. You'll see "The firm's accrual rules could not be loaded, so they can't be changed right now. Close this and try again." Save rules stays grayed out until the rules load, so your firm's rules are never wiped by mistake.

I can't lock an accrual reconciliation. If CX can't read your firm's rule amounts, it won't let you lock, whatever your firm's lock policy is. The lock window lists "The firm's accrual rule figures could not be read, so the accruals to lock are unknown." This is a temporary problem. Wait a moment and try again. See Confirming and Locking a Reconciliation.

Rule amounts look too high after we reconnected payroll. CX only counts payroll from live payroll connections. If amounts still look doubled, check the client's payroll connections and plan mappings in CX.

I changed the method and the numbers moved. That's expected. Cash and accrual compare different record keeper figures. Pick the method that matches how the plan is administered.

Reading the Plan and Accounts Tabs
Overrides and Census Corrections
Confirming and Locking a Reconciliation
Admin Settings for Reconciliation
Asset Reconciliation Troubleshooting and FAQ

Cash vs Accrual and Accrual Rules