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Guide

Bank mirror: accounts, balances and lines at a glance

Anyone financing through several banks knows the problem: the group’s real cash position is in no single online banking. The bank mirror brings all accounts, balances and credit lines together — making it the basis of any reliable liquidity view.

What is a bank mirror?

A bank mirror is the consolidated overview of all bank relationships: per account, the current balance, the granted line and the free availability. The sum gives the group’s available liquidity — the number every 13-week plan starts from.

What belongs in it?

Per account, at minimum: bank, account type, current balance, credit line and the resulting free availability. Current accounts and loan accounts are kept separate, because only the current account breathes in the short term.

AccountBalance (€)Line (€)Free (€)
Main bank CA-320,000800,000480,000
Savings bank CA210,000300,000510,000
Development loan-1,100,000
Available (CA)-110,0001,100,000990,000

The decisive column is Free: what matters for your room to act is not the balance but the free availability across all current-account lines combined.

Why the bank mirror is the foundation

Without a consolidated opening balance, any liquidity outlook is just a guess. The bank mirror provides the opening balance for week 1 — and reveals whether reserves are sitting in unused lines or whether a line is nearly exhausted. Both directly shape the conversation with the bank. Where that opening balance goes next is covered in the guide to cash flow forecasting.

Bank mirror automatic instead of copy-pasted

LiquidityLens consolidates accounts, balances and lines per entity — and feeds the 13-week outlook directly from them.

See the Liquidity Control Sprint

Frequently asked questions

How often do I update the bank mirror?
For weekly liquidity planning at least once a week, ideally on the same reference date as the plan. Balances change daily; lines rarely.
Current account or loan — what counts for liquidity?
In the short term, only the current account, because its free line is available immediately. Loans are committed and belong in the mid-term view, not the 13-week plan.
How do I handle multiple entities?
One bank mirror per entity, plus a consolidated group view. The key is to net out intercompany accounts cleanly so the group is not counted twice.