Most lines on a bank statement are easy. A €218.40 direct debit matches a €218.40 GreenGrid bill, and the line is ticked in seconds. Reconciliation takes days because of the other lines.
The line that stops you
Here is a typical one: 28 Sep · TRF 88213 · −€1,742.80. There is no invoice number in the reference and no supplier name you recognise. The open invoices list has nothing for €1,742.80.
The answer is three invoices from the same courier: €612.40 + €830.00 + €300.40. The client paid them in one transfer. To find that by hand, someone filters the open invoices, tries combinations until the total matches, and then checks the dates to be sure.
Why references don't help
A SEPA credit transfer carries up to 140 characters of remittance information, and it is usually free text. A structured creditor reference exists for automatic matching, but many payers don't use it (European Payments Council). So the statement says "TRF 88213" or "September" or nothing at all, and the bookkeeper has to work out the rest.
The usual suspects
- One payment, many invoices. One transfer settles several bills.
- Part payments. €500 paid against an €830 invoice, with €330 still open.
- Bank charges. Fees that appear on no invoice at all.
- Timing. A payment made on the 30th that clears on the 2nd.
- Similar amounts. Two open invoices for €436.60 from the same supplier, one already paid.
None of these is difficult on its own. Together, across hundreds of lines and dozens of client companies, they are why reconciliation sits at the end of the close and holds it up.
What AI matching changes
Invoreg reads the statement line by line (date, amount, reference and counterparty) and matches each payment against the invoices it already holds for that company. A transfer of €1,742.80 is matched to the three invoices it covers, and all three are marked paid.
When it isn't sure, it doesn't guess. The two €436.60 invoices above would be flagged, with both candidates shown, and a person picks the right one. Nothing is reconciled until it is approved.
What stays with you
You still review the exceptions and approve the result. What goes is the searching and adding up: the lines that match are matched, and your time goes to the few that don't.
See how it works on the bank reconciliation page, or bring last month's statement to a demo.