Credit card reconciliation: how to make sure all the money reached the bank
A card sale approved at the register does not mean the money reached your account. There are several steps between the terminal, the card processor and the bank, and money can get stuck at any of them: a wrong fee, a payout that never arrived, or a refund recorded twice. This guide explains what credit card reconciliation checks, where the errors hide, and how to do it without living in spreadsheets.
What credit card reconciliation is
Credit card reconciliation compares three sources: what was charged at the register or terminal, what the card processor reported it would pay out, and what actually reached your bank account. When all three match, everything is in order. When there is a gap, someone needs to find out why.
A small business with few transactions can do this by hand once a month. A business with several locations, many transactions and installment payments almost always ends up checking only a sample by hand, and small gaps simply go unseen.
Where the money gets stuck
- Charges that were processed but never paid out to your account, or paid out for less.
- Processing fees higher than the rate in your agreement with the processor.
- Installment transactions where one of the payments did not arrive on time.
- Refunds and voids recorded twice, or not recorded at all.
- Transactions assigned to the wrong terminal or location.
- Payout delays longer than what was agreed.
Each of these looks small on a single transaction. Across a chain with thousands of transactions a month, even a small percentage of variance adds up to significant amounts.
How to do it right
The reliable way is to compare transaction by transaction and day by day, not just monthly totals. Comparing monthly totals hides errors that cancel each other out.
- Pull the register and terminal reports, the card processor reports and the bank statements for the same period.
- Match every transaction to its payout, by date, amount, terminal and authorization code.
- Flag every transaction that did not close, with the exact amount and the likely reason.
- Prepare a clean list for each card processor to claim the money back.
Automation: ongoing checks instead of once a year
The problem with checking by hand is not only the time. It is also the frequency: an error found after a year is harder to recover than one found after a week. An automated reconciliation system runs on the reports all the time and flags every new gap right away.
At ENIGMA 360°, we build reconciliation systems for businesses that work on the reports only. They do not touch your existing register and payment systems, and you do not need to switch providers. The result is a findings report by location, card processor and period, and a file ready for your recovery claim.
Who benefits the most
- Chains with several locations and many terminals.
- Businesses with many installment transactions.
- Businesses that work with more than one card processor.
- Businesses that have never run a check like this, and so do not know how much money is stuck.
Questions and answers
Do we need to switch card processors?
No. The check works on the reports you already have, from any card processor and any terminal.
What period can be checked?
Any period you have reports for. Most businesses start with a check of a few months back, then move to ongoing monitoring.
What do we do with the gaps that were found?
You contact the card processor with an organized list of the transactions and amounts. How to proceed is your decision, and if there is a dispute, it is worth consulting your accountant.
Does our data stay secure?
Yes. Only read access to the reports is used, not permission to take actions in the account.
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