Smarter Week

How to automate it

How to automate “reconcile bank and credit card accounts”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today.

60 min
typically, once a week
70%
of the time can be automated
Easy
to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Software featureBest fix

Set up bank rules so repeat transactions code themselves

Rules in QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite recognize repeat payees and amounts and post them to the right account automatically.

Typically saves about 50% of the time45 min to set up
  1. 1Export last quarter's bank lines and sort by payee to find the top 30 repeats.
  2. 2Create a bank rule for each one (QuickBooks bank rules, Xero bank rules, NetSuite matching rules).
  3. 3Set rules to suggest, not auto-post, for the first month.
  4. 4Review and switch the reliable ones to auto-add.

Tools: QuickBooks Online bank rules · Xero bank rules · NetSuite bank matching rules · Sage Intacct

Fix 2 of 2

Software feature

Use reconciliation software instead of spreadsheet recs

FloQast, Numeric, BlackLine and similar tools pull balances directly, auto-match transactions, and keep sign-off and support in one place for the auditors.

Typically saves about 45% of the time8 h to set up
  1. 1List your reconciliations and how long each takes.
  2. 2Start with the high-volume ones (bank, credit card, intercompany, clearing accounts).
  3. 3Trial FloQast, Numeric, BlackLine or Trintech Cadency, or the reconciliation module in your ERP.
  4. 4If budget is tight, build one Excel template with Power Query that pulls both sides and flags differences.

Tools: FloQast · Numeric · BlackLine · Trintech Cadency · Excel Power Query

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Have you set up bank rules so repeat transactions code themselves?
QuickBooks, Xero and NetSuite can recognize the same payee every month and post it to the right account automatically. You set the rule once.

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

AP / AR specialistStaff accountant

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Other common tasks for AP / AR specialists