For a bookkeeper: check supplier statements and payment runs before the money moves

Start with the closing balance and the references

Xero users have asked for supplier statement reconciliation for years, and a 2021 Xero reply quoted in one request said there was no such function. Until one exists the check is by hand, or bought in: does the closing balance equal the sum of the lines, and does each line carry a reference you can find in the ledger? A line you cannot find is the first difference to chase.

• Closing balance against the sum of the lines.
• Each line has a reference, or is marked lower certainty.
• Credit notes on the statement are applied in the ledger.

Put a second person on every payment run

Business email compromise cost US complainants USD 2.77 billion in 2024, and duplicate or erroneous payments run at about 0.8% to 2% of disbursements in APQC data. The control that helps is separation of duties: the person who builds the batch is not the only one who checks it.

• Look for same supplier with a near-same number, amount or date.
• Compare bank details with the supplier record, not with the email asking for a change.
• Treat a first-time payee as a call-back before payment.

Decisions that are yours

What counts as the same item, what tolerance is acceptable and whether to pay are decisions for you and your approver. A list of differences is a prompt to look, not a clearance.

Which paid job fits

For a backlog of statements, the statement check lists differences with page references for one month and up to 15 suppliers, and a monthly version repeats it. For payment runs, the pre-payment check lists probable duplicates and changed bank-detail codes with evidence, and the new-supplier pack covers first payments. To find a supplier whose regular bill has not arrived, there is a separate missing-bills list; none of these jobs touches your bank or gives accounting advice.