Making the records agree.
WHAT RECONCILIATION COMPARES
Your own transaction records The provider's records Your bank statement
WHY ALL THREE
Agreement between any two does not prove correctness.
WHAT TO MATCH ON
A reference present in all three, where possible.
WHY REFERENCES MATTER SO MUCH
Without a common identifier, matching relies on amounts and dates, which is unreliable.
WHAT TO SET
Your own reference on every transaction, passed to the provider.
WHAT DISCREPANCIES INDICATE
Transactions recorded on one side only Amounts differing, usually fees Timing differences across period boundaries Duplicates Refunds and reversals not recorded
WHAT TO INVESTIGATE FIRST
Transactions the provider has and you do not.
WHY
They represent money received with no corresponding order.
WHAT TO AUTOMATE
Daily matching, with exceptions raised.
WHAT TO NEVER DO
Adjust records to force agreement.
WHY
It conceals the cause, which recurs.
WHAT TO RETAIN
Reconciliation results, showing what was unmatched and how it was resolved.
WHAT TO REVIEW
Recurring discrepancy types, which indicate a systematic problem.
