Auto-Matching
How statement lines are matched to your book — and what to do when a match is missing or wrong.
Auto-matching links the lines on a bank statement to the entries already in your book, so that only what the book never had needs your attention. It runs in a reconciliation period when you click Auto-match. A matched line creates nothing — it confirms what was already posted. An unmatched line is either matched by hand or sent to Classification.
Matching is done by the backend on the period's worklist. Descriptions are never used to decide a match — only amount, date and direction — so a bank's wording can never produce a false link.
The Two Rungs
| Rung | Criteria | Reason recorded on the match |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Exact | Same amount, same date, same direction (money in / money out) | "exact amount and date" |
| 2 — Tolerance | Same amount and direction, dated within 3 days; the nearest date wins | "same amount within 3 days" |
Every match is one-to-one: a book line is used at most once, and a statement line links to at most one book line. Lines left over after both rungs stay in the two side-by-side tables for you.
Matching by Hand
| Action | When to Use | How |
|---|---|---|
| Match selected | You know which book line a statement line is, but the dates are more than three days apart | Click one line in Bank statement, one in Book / ledger, then Match selected. The amounts must agree to the cent and the directions must correspond. |
| Unmatch | A match is wrong | Click Unmatch on the pair in the Matched list. Both lines return to their tables. |
| Send N to Classification | The book never recorded these statement lines | Posts each line to the bank account against Uncategorized Income or Expenses. Assign the real accounts on the Classification tab. |
| Undo / Undo all | A line was sent to Classification by mistake | Reverses that posting and returns the line to Bank statement. A line already turned into a receipt or payment says why it cannot be undone. |
Why a Match Is Missed
| Cause | Result | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Posted more than three days from the bank date | Falls outside the tolerance rung | Match selected by hand |
| Amount differs by any amount | Never matched — auto or manual | Correct the document, then match; or match the correct one and void the wrong one |
| One statement line settles several book lines | No single book line agrees | Send it to Classification and Convert it to a receipt or payment for the party; the document settles the open items by date |
| Two identical book lines | Only one can be linked | Match one; investigate whether the other is a duplicate |
| Book line dated before the period | Not shown | Older unmatched book entries are still carried into the Book / ledger column, marked Brought forward |
Suggestions Elsewhere
Two other places offer suggestions — neither is the reconciliation match, and neither posts on its own:
| Where | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Statement import preview | A preview of what the file contains, before anything is stored. It was built to compare each row against the book, but that comparison currently receives no book lines — so every row reads New, and Matched and To void read 0. It is a preview only, and it never posts or voids. The real matching is the reconciliation period below. |
| Classification tab | An uncategorised line that resembles a document shows "Looks like BILL-0042 · Northwind Foods · high / medium / low" so you can convert it with confidence. Rules (Rules tab) pre-fill the category on lines whose description matches; a rule is suggested after three similar categorisations. |
Review a tolerance match before locking the period when the amount is a round number — two different 1,000.00 movements three days apart can be linked. Unmatch and match the right pair; a wrong link makes the reconciliation misleading even though it balances.
Related
- Bank Reconciliation — proving book against bank, one period at a time
- Importing bank statements — getting statement lines in
- Classifying uncategorised money — clearing the holding accounts
- Converting bank lines to documents — when a line is really a receipt or payment
- Bank rules — pre-filling the lines you see every month