Common Supplier Statement Reconciliation Issues in AP

The constant comparison of financial statements is tiresome and long-winded. Because of this, supplier statement reconciliation is something that is often completed only for 5-10 top suppliers, leaving unclaimed credits and overpayments that could be cash in your bank.

So what are the common issues with statement rec?

• Time and resource constraints. Manual statement rec takes a long time, and with already time-squeezed staff, it's difficult to fit it in.
• It’s a low priority. Because of these constraints, often very few suppliers are able to be completed regularly.
• Nobody wants to do supplier statement reconciliation. Did we mention that statement reconciliation is tedious? There aren't often many takers for this job.
• It’s a waste of time. Maybe a little bit harsh, but the time versus reward on this task is low. Finding an error is a needle in a haystack when completing manual statement rec.
• It can be really complicated. Statements thousands of lines long and parent companies of parent companies can make things difficult.
• There’s a high risk of human error. With so many lines to check, it's easy to miss a digit or misread a number.

Your statement reconciliation process can improve with a few simple steps.

Create responsibility for the completion of statement reconciliation.

Your team may have a person who loves to find errors and rectify them. They are the perfect person to take on responsibility for statement reconciliation. This also then makes it a higher priority for one of your team.

Improve your invoice process first.

Many issues stem from having far too many ways for a supplier to send you an invoice. Manual, email, supplier portals, e-invoices. Pick one or two options and keep vigilant with suppliers who don’t submit their invoices correctly.

Statement reconciliation automation.

Automate the element causing so many headaches; manual statement matching.

That’s where we can help, with FISCAL’s automated supplier statement reconciliation software.

Read the full blog, and find out more about the benefits on automated statement reconciliation software here.