AR / AP Reconciliation
Does the sum of your customers equal the receivables control account? Does the sum of your vendors equal payables?
Two figures must agree: the balance on the receivables (or payables) control account on the Trial Balance, and the sum of every customer's (or vendor's) balance in the directory. This page puts them side by side, states the difference, and lists the causes when they are out.
Navigate to: /reporting/sales/ar-reconciliation or /reporting/purchase/ap-reconciliation. Anyone who can open at least one report can open this page.
The Page
The header reads Receivables reconciliation or Payables reconciliation — Does the sum of your parties equal the control account on the Trial Balance? — with two controls:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Receivables | Payables | Switches between the customer and vendor tie-out. |
| As at date | The position date. Leave it empty for the latest position. |
A verdict banner follows: Receivables reconcile (or Payables) in green, or …are out by the difference in amber, with a sentence saying how much of the difference is explained by the causes below and how much is not.
Three tiles then show the figures:
| Tile | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sum of customers / vendors | The party balances added up — the same figures the Customers or Vendors directory shows. The caption states how many parties. |
| Control account (as at …) | The control account's cumulative closing balance as at the date. The caption names the account. |
| Difference | Sum of parties minus control account. Reconciled means the difference is under half a cent. |
When It Does Not Tie
Two tables list the usual causes. Each is capped at the first 200 rows and says so.
| Table | Columns | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| On the control account, attached to no party | Date, Type, Number, Description, Debit, Credit — closing with Net effect | Journal lines posted to the control account without a customer or vendor — typically a manual journal. Each row links to its document. |
| Has a balance but is not in the active directory | Party, Lines, Movement | Usually archived or deleted parties whose journal lines remain. |
When the two figures tie, an empty state reads Nothing to investigate.
A control-account journal with no party should be voided and re-posted against the party; an archived party with a balance should be restored or its balance settled. The reconciliation re-reads the ledger every time, so the verdict changes as soon as the books do.
Related
The aging reports carry their own tie sentence to the same control account — see Aging reports. For the sub-ledger rule that keeps control accounts out of manual journals, see Finance → Journal Entries.