This training guide for financial aid staff explains the process of direct loan reconciliation and suggests appropriate cash management accounting practices. Chapter 1 explains the importance of cash management, the role of data matching, and reviews basic reconciliation concepts and terms and direct loan reporting requirements. Chapter 2 reviews the loan process, including loan origination, promissory notes, and disbursements. Chapter 3 explains the Department of Education expectations regarding proper administration and management of direct loan funds, and provides examples of good financial management practices. Chapter 4 explains the data matching process for loan detail, cash detail, and cash summary records and also provides guidance on managing the process. Chapter 5 provides examples of typical problems encountered during the reconciliation process and suggests how they may be resolved. Chapter 6 provides tips on reading and manipulating data in the on-line EDExpress system to determine a school's data matching and cash resolution needs. There are eight appendixes. They include: ten Direct Loan Bulletin issues; status flags and reject codes; examples of various types of reports; several types of data entries; examples of acknowledgments; a reconciliation checklist; a batch ID list; and a transmission log. (JLS)