RunMags journal
Payment Reconciliation for Magazine Publishers
Reconciliation connects invoices and customer payments to processor activity and bank deposits. It should explain differences instead of marking invoices paid because a similar amount appeared in the bank.
Match using stable references
Record customer, invoice, transaction, payout and bank references. Support partial payments, combined remittances, credits and refunds. Separate unpaid, partly paid, disputed and fully settled balances. An amount and date can help identify a match but should not be the only evidence.
Explain gross and net amounts
Illustrative example: a customer pays a 1,000 invoice, a processor deducts a 20 fee and the bank receives 980. Record the 1,000 receipt and the 20 fee separately rather than leaving the invoice short by 20. This is an accounting workflow example, not a quoted provider fee.
Work the exception queue
Assign unmatched receipts, missing invoices, duplicate transactions and payout differences to an owner. Retain remittance information and approved adjustments. Recheck refunds and charge reversals against the original receipt so the customer balance remains explainable.
Close with a control total
Reconcile invoice allocations, gross transactions, fees, refunds, payouts and bank activity for the period. Keep timing differences visible across period boundaries. Pass reconciled records to accounting using stable mappings and retain the export or transfer result. A booked sale and an issued invoice remain different from collected cash.
A practical worksheet
For each payout, list gross customer receipts, refunds, provider fees, adjustments and the net bank amount. Record timing differences rather than forcing the period to balance through unexplained edits. A customer may send one remittance covering several invoices, while a payout may combine many unrelated customer transactions. Preserve both allocation layers. For an unmatched deposit, assign an owner to obtain the remittance or provider report and keep the item in the exception queue. The final reconciliation should let another finance user reproduce the matches and explain the remaining difference.
Review checklist
- Match references, not merely similar amounts.
- Separate fees and timing differences from customer balances.
- Keep unresolved exceptions visible at close.
