To reconcile a supplier statement, compare the vendor’s account activity with your accounts payable records for the same entity, currency and cutoff date. Start with an agreed opening balance, then match invoices, credit memos and payments by reference. Give each difference an explanation and an owner. Equal balances alone do not prove that every document was reviewed or that payment is approved.
1. Start with the same cutoff
A building materials vendor may supply several jobsites and send one account statement. Before looking for an error, confirm that both reports cover the same company and your correct customer account with that vendor. Similar company names or multiple accounts with one supplier can lead you to compare different sets of documents.
Choose a cutoff date and keep a copy of each report as of that date. Check the currency and amount basis. Establish whether each report lists all activity for the period or only open items. A month-end statement and a report containing next month’s transactions do not describe the same position.
Record the opening balance, invoices, credit memos, payments and closing balance. If opening balances differ, return to the last agreed reconciliation. Do not add an older invoice again when it is already included in the opening balance and you are totaling the current period’s activity.
2. Match transactions, not just the closing total
This review complements purchase order, delivery ticket and invoice matching. Three-way matching checks the basis for an individual charge; statement reconciliation checks whether both parties recorded the same activity on the supplier account. An invoice may be supported by a delivery and still be missing from one party’s records.
Build a matching row using document type, reference, date, amount and currency. For construction purchasing, add the project and purchase order where available. Keep the original document reference even if you remove spaces for searching. The same amount or a nearby date is not enough to identify a match. If one payment covers several invoices, retain its allocation details.
Sage Intacct’s supplier reconciliation documentation describes how payments and credits relate to invoices, including partially matched items. The principle also helps in a worksheet: distinguish fully matched activity, partial matches and unexplained entries.
Further reading: Sage Intacct — Supplier Reconciliation report
3. Worked example: a $2,000 difference across two documents
This fictional example concerns a materials vendor supplying two jobsites for one company under one supplier account. The opening balance and payments for the period have been matched. All figures are final recorded document amounts in the same currency; the example does not calculate tax or add tax to these amounts.
In the table, a positive amount increases the balance owed to the vendor and a negative amount reduces it. The supplier statement includes a $3,000 invoice for the second jobsite that is not yet in your records. It also includes a $1,000 credit for returned materials, supported by an approved credit memo that has not yet been recorded on your side.
The supplier’s balance is $12,000 + $18,000 − $1,000 − $12,000 = $17,000. Your balance is $12,000 + $15,000 − $0 − $12,000 = $15,000. After both documents are verified, recording the invoice and credit in the appropriate system explains the difference: $15,000 + $3,000 − $1,000 = $17,000.
Do not enter a $2,000 balancing adjustment simply to close the worksheet. Check the $3,000 invoice against the project, purchase order and receiving records, and the credit against the return record and vendor’s credit memo. A net difference hides two separate checks. Project allocation still matters when the overall balance agrees.
| Balance component | Supplier statement | Your AP records |
|---|---|---|
| Opening balance | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| Period invoices | +18,000 | +15,000 |
| Period credits | −1,000 | 0 |
| Period payments | −12,000 | −12,000 |
| Closing balance | 17,000 | 15,000 |
4. Give each difference the right follow-up
An invoice appearing only on the supplier statement needs a copy and an allocation check, rather than payment based solely on the statement line. A payment recorded by you but absent from the supplier statement needs a payment reference, execution date and receipt-date check. Timing may explain the difference, but record the evidence and a date to check again.
Returning material from a jobsite is different from recording a financial credit. Keep the return record and check whether a credit memo was issued, its amount and the invoice it relates to. Microsoft documents applying payments and credit memos to specific vendor entries, including partial amounts. That helps explain why a general “paid” note may not resolve an invoice’s remaining balance.
- Missing invoice: obtain a copy and verify vendor, project, order and receipt before recording it under your process.
- Missing credit: connect the return, credit memo and invoice; a promised credit stays unresolved until supported.
- Unallocated payment: check the payment reference and invoice allocation before concluding another payment is needed.
- Possible duplicate: inspect original, replacement and voided documents; similar references do not prove duplicate billing.
Further reading: Microsoft Learn — Applying vendor payments and credit memos
5. Leave a record another person can follow
For each open item, keep a short record: vendor and account | cutoff date | document type and reference | project and order | amount on each side | reason for difference | evidence link | owner | follow-up date | status. Separate “awaiting document,” “explained, recording required” and “matched after review.”
Accounts payable verifies entries and payments; purchasing clarifies terms and documents with the vendor; the receiving team verifies deliveries and returns. Adapt this suggested ownership to your organization. When a correction arrives, retain the original evidence and the decision so another reviewer can understand what changed.
At the end, recalculate both balances, review remaining open items and record who checked them and when. Completing a reconciliation does not replace invoice approval or a decision about payment timing under your terms and procedures.
6. Connect the investigation to project documents
When a difference concerns delivered or returned material, the statement alone does not explain what happened on site. Return to the purchase order, delivery ticket, return record and relevant invoice. The related guides below connect balance reconciliation with checking the delivery or charge itself.
Novapro organizes orders and documents in their project context and supports reviewing the match between them. Maintain accounting entries, payment allocations and financial corrections in your organization’s approved system and process. This worksheet does not promise supplier statement import or automatic statement reconciliation in Novapro. A demo can show how project documents support your specific review.
Practical checklist
- Confirm the same vendor, entity, account, currency and cutoff in both reports.
- Explain the opening balance and avoid counting older documents twice.
- Match each invoice, credit and payment by reference and amount, including partial matches.
- Give each difference an explanation or missing-document request, owner and follow-up date.
- Review and approve corrections in the relevant system; record the payment decision separately.
Frequently asked questions
Do equal balances mean the statement is reconciled?
Not necessarily. Differences in opposite directions can offset each other. Review the documents and the allocation of payments and credits, as well as the closing balance.
Should you pay from the supplier statement if the invoice is missing?
The statement helps identify the missing item but does not complete the document review. Request the invoice, verify its allocation and relevant delivery, and route it for approval under your company process.
What if material was returned but no credit memo has arrived?
Keep the return evidence, confirm the treatment with the vendor and track the expected credit as unresolved. Do not assume a credit amount or change an entry merely to make balances agree.
Keep reading
Three-Way Matching: Purchase Orders, Delivery Tickets and Invoices →
How to Track Partial Deliveries and Delivery Tickets →
Invoice vs. Purchase Order Discrepancies: How to Review and Resolve Them →