Field Notes
The First Sunday Reconciliation Ritual
A step-by-step walkthrough of the quarterly wallet check using Portal Heathercore's printed checklist — from address verification to summary initials.
The reconciliation volume in our Custody Journal Bundle is built around a quarterly rhythm. Many holders choose the first Sunday of January, April, July, and October — a date easy to remember and far enough apart to catch drift without becoming a weekly chore.
Before you sit down
Gather your hardware wallets, your hot-wallet device (phone or laptop), and the reconciliation volume. Brew tea. This takes forty-five minutes to an hour for a typical four-wallet setup. Rushing leads to skipped addresses.
Step 1: Verify addresses (fifteen minutes)
Open Volume 2 (Cold Storage Inventory). For each device, compare the listed addresses against what your wallet software displays. Put a checkmark in the “last verified” column with today’s date. If an address no longer appears in your software — perhaps you migrated to a new derivation path — note the change on the discrepancy page at the back of the quarterly section.
Step 2: Record balances (fifteen minutes)
In the reconciliation volume’s balance snapshot table, write the current balance for each wallet label. Use the same units your wallet displays (BTC, ETH, etc.). Do not convert to fiat unless you maintain a separate column for it — mixing units on one row creates confusion during year-end review.
Step 3: Note discrepancies (ten minutes)
Compare this quarter’s balances to last quarter’s. Significant unexplained changes get a line on the discrepancy page: date noticed, wallet label, expected balance, actual balance, and your hypothesis (staking reward, transfer you forgot to log, exchange deposit). If you cannot explain a discrepancy within two weeks, that is a signal to investigate before the next quarter.
Step 4: Initial the summary (five minutes)
The quarterly summary page has a single row: quarter name, total wallet count verified, discrepancy count, and your initials. One initial, one date. Done.
What if you miss a quarter?
Nothing catastrophic. Pick up on the next cycle and note the gap on the summary page (“Q2 skipped — travel”). Consistency over years matters more than perfect quarterly attendance. The journal is a discipline tool, not a compliance deadline.