If you operate a small company, are self-employed, or are a vendor, you get a lot of supplier invoices. Keeping track of the money is a daunting task. There is zero tolerance for mistakes in accounting management. That begs the issue, however, of the best approach. The correct term is “Invoice Reconciliation.”
What is Invoice Reconciliation?
The accounting procedure known as ” reconciliation of invoices” ensures numerical accuracy and consistency between two data sets. Invoice reconciliation may confirm that the general ledger’s accounts are accurate, precise, and complete. On the other hand, reconciliation is not limited to the professional realm; it has several other potential applications.
Explaining a discrepancy between two sets of financial data, previous balances, or account balances is where account reconciliation shines. Due to the varying timing of deposits and payments, some variation may be tolerated. However, there may be fraud or book cooking if there are disparities that cannot be justified. Daily, monthly, or yearly record-keeping reconciliations are all viable options for businesses and individuals.
What’s the Purpose of Invoice Reconciliation?
When discrepancies arise in an organization’s books, it may be necessary to do an invoice reconciliation. To grasp the steps in billing reconciliation, one must be familiar with the most common circumstances that call for such areas of action.
Invoice reconciliation is performed to detect fraudulent actions and monitor timing concerns.
Invoice reconciliation detects fraud concerns, and software automation may manage figures more effectively. Doing so may restrict access in a particular manner, which helps avoid scams. Invoice reconciliation also helps identify the root cause of a payment date discrepancy.
You must perform invoice reconciliation if any of the following occur:
- When an invoice is not paid in full,
- Due to lost or duplicate bills
- Discount for early payment has been applied.
- A mismatch between the transactions and when they appeared on the matching bank statements.
- Delayed product delivery causes a payment holdup.
- Bank imposed fee for foreign money exchange
Types of Invoice Reconciliation
When it comes to reconciling receipts or reconciling payments, it is broadly divided into 4 categories.
Personal Reconciliation
Many individuals regularly reconcile their bank and credit card accounts by comparing the statements they get from those institutions with their actual copies of cheques, debit card receipts, and credit card receipts. Comparing the two accounts makes it feasible to spot any unauthorized transactions and stop any theft.
Individuals may verify that their financial institutions have made no mistakes by doing a complete reconciliation. It also provides customers with a comprehensive view of their expenditures by matching bank statements.
For an invoice reconciliation to be successful, it is necessary for the transactions shown on the account statement to match those in the account holder’s records.
Account holders must consider future deposits and any checks that have yet to be cashed.
Business Reconciliation
Balance sheet mistakes, Fraud, and unfavorable audit conclusions may all be avoided if businesses only take the time to reconcile their books and incoming and outgoing invoices. Monthly, following the end of the month’s books, companies often do remaining balance sheet reconciliations.
The accountant must reconcile invoices to verify that all transactions have been recorded in the relevant general ledger accounts, as shown in the remaining balance sheets. Incorrect journal entries may need a reversal and re-entry while your staff performs the invoice reconciliation processes.
Income, balance sheet, and cash flow statement transactions involving cash inflows and outflows must all balance.
In this scenario, the cash flow statement would be shown in its raw form. The company must still comply with GAAP by reconciling cash flows to the income statement and the balance sheet in this situation.
If the indirect method of accounting is used, the cash flow from operations will act as a reconciliation of the three financial statements.
Manual Reconciliation
Invoice reconciliation used to be done manually, which was a time-consuming and challenging process. In addition, a lot of time and work is involved in double verifying the invoice number and the details. Since this is a time-consuming procedure, there is a more significant potential for mistakes to occur in understanding invoice reconciliation.
Automated Reconciliation
Moon Invoice and other similar online tools are part of an integrated procurement system to facilitate automatic invoice reconciliation. This both lessens the workload and readily highlights any inconsistencies while you reconcile invoices using automated processes. Manual reconciliation is the process of matching most difficulties with large spreadsheets, but automation makes it easier.
Difference Between Manual and Automated Invoice Reconciliation
The majority of firms nowadays employ a suite of accounting software. However, plenty of company owners still prefer the tried-and-true manual techniques. Neither method is better than the other, yet both have their uses. Your company’s needs should guide your decision on which approach is optimal. Pick the invoice reconciliation process that will help your team save the most time and energy.
Automated Invoice Reconciliation
In the past, companies would manually reconcile their bills by going over each document, line by line. However, it’s likely a waste of time for most companies to manually reconcile each statement with a bank statement.
Because of this, successful contemporary businesses have adopted the use of the automated system as the best solution. As a result of this automated invoice reconciliation process, organizations and consumers can save time and effort while resolving their problems.
Mistakes and errors are identified mechanically by the system. The software, platform, or tool will provide this information if a vendor has been paid in whole, partly paid, or is still owed money. As a result, time spent on ad hoc chores, account matches, and issues will be reduced, which is a boon to accountants. It also encourages instant response in the invoice reconciliation process.
Manual Invoice Reconciliation
Reconciling bills against purchase orders are automated by the procurement system so that any inconsistencies may be found simultaneously with the delivery. The challenge of reconciling statements and allowing revisions in light of it is addressed by the more extensive features and capabilities offered by the online platform.
Besides reconciling your bank statements, profit and loss statement, and supplier invoices, the system can also compare your supplier invoices, vendor invoices, vendor data, payment terms, payment discounts, outstanding invoice balances, and more to your purchase orders.
Account concerns that need the accountant’s or approver’s attention and a manual check for account reconciliation will be flagged in the system. If the software detects any discrepancies in your expenditures, you should examine and reconcile your vendor statement immediately. This is perfect for eliminating human mistakes and rapidly locating overdue bills while reconciling invoices.
Benefits of Invoice Reconciliation
Your company relies on the accuracy of invoice reconciliation vital process for several reasons.
1. Rectifying Cost Increases and Billing Mistakes
Despite all the advances in electronic invoicing, human errors are still possible. As a freelancer, you must carefully review each line item of any bills you get for your services. Incorrect quantities, pricing, or goods/services provided by vendors might be uncovered via a thorough reconciliation.
This procedure safeguards against overpayment for services not delivered. This is true not just for recurring monthly total charges(like internet or phone) but also for those set up for automatic payment. The reason for this is that special offers and discounts may eventually end. So keep a watch on your bills if your supplier raises individual prices; if they do, you’ll have to either renegotiate or look for a new service.
2. Recognizing Fraud
Reconciling your financial accounts at the end of each month can help you keep track of your cash flow and catch any mistakes or fraudulent activity sooner. In addition, you’ll be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary and ready to take swift action if necessary.
3. Accurately Allocating Monetary Resources
If you are routinely comparing your receipts and overdue payments, you may lessen the likelihood of running out of money. It’s possible that your revenue flow is being negatively affected by unpaid invoices from consumers.
If you reconcile your accounts regularly, you’ll never overextend them since you’ll always know exactly what’s owed to whom.
The Benefits of Automated Invoice Reconciliation
Financial departments aren’t the only ones that can profit from automating invoice payments and reconciliation. Review the many advantages that follow.
1. Eliminating Paper and Providing Endless Space for Accounting Records
Expenses and payments are stored in digital files in the cloud book entry using billing and invoicing automation software like Moon Invoice. The finance department in accounts payable may now benefit from safe and convenient digital payment systems and reconciliation administrative processes.
2. Eliminate Needless Expenses and Save Time While Processing Bills
Payment automation may save the time and resources needed to process a single invoice by as much as 90 percent, lowering the transaction costs associated with making a payment on an invoice.
In addition, preplanning payments can help you avoid fines and penalties associated with paying late or missing a payment.
3. Safe, Instantaneous Transactions
Businesses can safely pay their vendors and suppliers using online invoicing software without the hard work of switching between numerous platforms and banking applications. There is only one place to go to take care of all of one’s financial obligations, and it updates its status in real time.
Key Tips for Effective Invoice Reconciliation
Running a small business by a, small business owner certainly isn’t easy, one of the most important things you can do for your company is to send out accurate invoices so you can be paid for the items and services you’ve supplied. With a clear and complete ability to find important information about the goods, price, and conditions of sale, the likelihood of a dispute being raised is decreased, which may increase the likelihood of prompt payment without hard work according to the payment terms.
For smooth invoicing and reconciliation, follow these guidelines.
Integrating your invoicing and accounting process with accounting software enables accurate bookkeeping. You’ll be able to keep your firm afloat and prevent any hiccups in your cash flow and financial reports if you do this.
Check Other Key Data Frequently: You can improve your revenue flow analysis and monitor the reference numbers and value of invoices by keeping careful records of your cash flow.
Check for Payment Duplications: Regular basis checking for duplication helps prevent cash flow breaches and maintains an orderly accounting system.
Track Invoices and Resolve Disputes: Maintaining steady cash flow, efficient operations, neat accounting records, and positive vendor relationships all depend on keeping a close eye on any discrepancies that may arise in your invoices.
Rank Invoices Per Payment Due Dates: Prioritize your bills not just by the due date but also by what they are for the best results.
Monitor Uncashed Cheques: Maintaining a steady cash flow is essential to the success of any company as the company grows. Therefore it’s important to establish regular follow-up processes to ensure the proper action is taken and prevent late fines.
Avoid Having a Single Individual Oversee the Entire AP Operation: Reduce your company’s vulnerability to Fraud or being overcharged by instituting separation of duties.
Perform Daily Account Reconciliation: Managing the company’s bank account is an ongoing responsibility. Strategic company choices may be made with the benefit of this timely and precise financial knowledge.
Essential Suggestions for Invoice Reconciliation
In terms of money and accounting, every company has its unique system. Quick methods of processing financial data that aid in spotting errors to be avoided are sought for to reduce the burden of labor.
There are a plethora of details that need to be remembered when doing invoice reconciliation. First, after receiving money, promptly record it as an entry and then file the invoices in a deposit dates format. Arrange the files chronologically in the reporting period to help you keep track of the important information. The time-consuming procedures involved in reconciling invoices may thus be avoided.
It’s common for company owners to forget to record payments received for products and services, leading to unpleasant surprises during the audit and reporting period. It is crucial to record transactions as soon as money or other forms of payment are received in exchange for the products or services provided to customers. Be sure you aren’t overpaying the supplier or that you’ve run out of goods sold by checking the invoices as soon as the shipments are sent and received. With these minor recommendations, you and your customers will always have the most recent transaction information available, allowing you to compare and contrast figures easily.
Conclusion
To run efficiently, a small business owner needs a solid invoicing system. Maintaining a steady cash flow requires periodic invoicing reconciliation to avoid overlooking potential problems. Therefore, spend some time developing a system that serves your needs and can scale with your company.
FAQs
Jayanti Katariya is the founder & CEO of Moon Invoice, with over a decade of experience in developing SaaS products and the fintech industry. He holds a degree in engineering. Since 2011, Jayanti's expertise has helped thousands of businesses, from small startups to large enterprises, streamline invoicing, estimation, and accounting operations. His vision is to deliver top-tier financial solutions globally, ensuring efficient financial management for all business owners.
