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Best Payment Reconciliation Software

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The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedJul 20222 min read

Account reconciliation is a mandatory element of small business accounting. It’s important to make sure that your invoices and statements all match. Yet undertaking this process manually can take up a great deal of time and effort, which is why payment reconciliation software can be so valuable. In this guide, we’ll help outline the best reconciliation software to save your business time and money.

What is payment reconciliation?

Payment reconciliation, or account reconciliation, describes the process of comparing internal and external financial statements. Businesses are required to record transactions in the general ledger, which should match external bank statements for accuracy. While the reconciliation process used to involve a team of accountants who would pore over the ledgers and statements at the end of each accounting period, today the process is largely automated with the help of software and apps.

What is reconciliation software?

Account reconciliation software pulls data from your business’s invoices and general ledger, comparing it to bank statements, receipts, and any other associated accounts. The software automatically flags any discrepancies for manual review so you can fix inaccuracies or typos. The reviewer is able to sign off on the review electronically and move it through the accounting workflow. The result is a secure digital paper trail, useful for auditing and tax preparation.

Features of account reconciliation software

Not all account reconciliation software is created alike, but most tools share similar features like the following.

Financial reporting: Payment reconciliation software helps you compare reports and create new ones as needed. Look for software with a central dashboard that tracks KPIs and accounts in a clear, visual way.
Transaction matching: This should be the main purpose of any payment reconciliation tool, pulling data from internal and external sources for matching and verification.
Issue resolution: Software will identify unusual issues and forward these problems to the appropriate party for review.
Cloud storage: Cloud-based SaaS offers better access to customer support and lets you work on reconciliation from anywhere.
User-friendly interface: Is the software accessible by multiple members of your accounting team? Are the matching rules up to date, with a user-friendly interface for editing as needed?

The best payment reconciliation software

Here is a quick overview of some of the best accounting reconciliation software available for small businesses today.

Xero: This all-purpose accounting software gives business owners a clear, real-time overview of cash flow with online accounting, invoicing, and inventory tracking. In terms of bank reconciliation, it pulls data automatically from your accounts and generates full reports.
ReconArt: Available both in the cloud and onsite, ReconArt bank reconciliation software matches data from bank accounts, credit card payments, journal entries, and the balance sheet. Its basic starter plan gives access to five users and can tackle 25 million transactions per year with automated reconciliation.
Autorek: Another top option for growing businesses, AutoRek streamlines the data collection and reconciliation process with automated reporting. It can handle intercompany transactions as well as higher volumes of bank transfers, making it suitable for corporations and finance companies as well as smaller businesses.
Blackline: This cloud-based software lets your business customize its processes to best suit your internal controls. It’s a good choice for small businesses with an international presence, because it works across a variety of currencies and regions.
Bank Rec: Finally, Bank Rec is a straightforward reconciliation tool with automated transaction management and custom matching rules. Free up your accounting team to focus on more complex tasks, allowing Bank Rec to pull and track data to match and classify all your accounts. You can also export all reports to Excel automatically.

Finding the right payment reconciliation software for your business

Some of the tools mentioned above are better for start-ups, while others are for growing businesses with a view toward international expansion. Overall, you should compare prices, transaction volumes, and degrees of automation to find the best fit. It’s also a good idea to find accounting and reconciliation software that integrates easily with payment collection. GoCardless integrates with numerous popularaccounting and reconciliation tools, including Xero, Salesforce, Chargebee and others. This allows you to collect payments on time at lower cost, while ensuring that all accounts match using an efficient workflow.

We can help

GoCardless is a global payments solution that helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of financial admin your team needs to deal with. Find out how GoCardless can help you with one-off or recurring payments.