Till, books, accountant: why every one of them has a different number
Each source counts a different thing: the till counts rung-up receipts, the books count posted documents, the accountant counts documents with paper originals and VAT. A difference between them is not an error in itself but a consequence of different period boundaries, rounding and missing documents. The question is not who is right but what exactly differs.
The classic month-end scene: the manager names one figure, the accounting system a second, the accountant a third. Each shows their screen, and each is right.
They really are all right. They are counting different things.
What each source counts
The till - revenue from receipts rung up on a calendar day, net of refunds and discounts.
The accounting system - posted documents: invoices, write-offs, transfers. A document that was never posted does not exist for it.
The accountant - documents with originals and correct VAT. An invoice without paper will not appear in their statement.
The manager - what they remember: the shift close, a conversation with a supplier, a promised discount.
Where the differences come from
The period boundary. Delivery on the 31st, document arrives on the 2nd. For the books it is the old month, for the accountant the new one.
Nobody has the document. The email with the invoice was lost; the goods are on the shelf, the paperwork is not.
The document exists twice. One delivery, two invoices with different numbers - stock grew by an amount that was never there.
Different subjects. The accountant's statement often covers products only, without household goods, and at amounts excluding VAT.
A duplicate does not look like an error: both invoices are correct and the numbers differ. What matches is the supplier, the date, the total and the line items. Read the case.
How this gets closed
Reconciliation is not a hunt for someone to blame. It is sorting the differences into three baskets: ours and not the accountant's, the accountant's and not ours, both present but the amounts differ. Each basket is handled its own way, and every line has an owner's name on it.
They are better sorted as documents arrive than on the first of the month. Then closing leaves a short list rather than an evening with spreadsheets - see the month-end page.
What to do this week
Check that every invoice from last month reached the books - by number, not by feel.
Look for gaps in the numbering of your regular suppliers: a missing number often means a lost document.
Compare one week of till data with the books and write down the reason for each difference. There are usually three or four reasons, and they repeat.
Which difference counts as normal?
An explainable one: a shifted period boundary, rounding, a different subject. An unexplained difference of any size gets investigated.
Why does the accountant's statement not match the books by total?
Usually because it covers products only, at amounts excluding VAT, while the books also hold household goods at gross amounts.
How do you catch a duplicated invoice?
Not by the number. By the supplier, date, total and line items matching. Duplicates usually arrive with different numbers.