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Find payout reconciliation exceptions

Settlements, fees, and refunds take hours to match across exports.

For teams comparing payment settlements with transaction exports before accounting review.

What good looks like.

Matched transactions and unexplained differences are visible in a review queue that reconciles to source totals.

Starts when
A new settlement report and its transaction detail are available.
Accountable owner
Finance operations lead

Where AI could help.

AI could summarize exception descriptions and suggest likely categories. Checked calculations match amounts and IDs; a finance reviewer decides the resolution and any accounting entry.

How the work could move.

A suggested process to adapt to your team. Each handoff needs a clear owner and a visible check.

  1. Capture the source totals

    Finance analyst

    Save settlement and transaction exports with account, currency, period, and file timestamp in a batch register.

    Ready when: The batch has intact original totals and a documented cutoff.

  2. Match the components

    Finance analyst

    Build a reconciliation sheet linking payments, refunds, fees, adjustments, and settlement IDs.

    Ready when: Matched and unmatched amounts sum to the source totals without mixing currencies.

  3. Investigate differences

    Finance operations lead

    Create an exception row with amount, source links, suspected cause, and review owner.

    Ready when: Timing differences, missing records, and unknowns are distinguishable.

  4. Approve the resolution

    Finance reviewer

    Record accepted explanations and any separately approved correction references.

    Ready when: Unresolved amounts remain open and the reviewer signs off the reconciled batch.

Explore the setup, checks, and exceptions

Start with your tools.

Start with processor exports and a controlled spreadsheet. Preserve original files, currencies, and settlement IDs; use the existing accounting system for approved entries.

When things go wrong.

  • Partial refunds stay linked to the original transaction without replacing its amount.
  • A duplicate export must not add the same settlement twice.
  • If a payout spans periods, preserve the settlement date and transaction dates separately.

A useful first step.

Reconcile one settlement manually and make the unresolved amount equal the exception-queue total.

What to measure

Measure unresolved value and age, match rate, and time to reviewed settlement reconciliation.

Want this working with your team and tools?

Build it yourself, adapt what you already have, or work with us. We can help you choose where to start and handle the technical build.

Talk about your idea

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