[GL] Balancing the Accounts Payable Subledger to the General Ledger

Step 1: Identify the Out-of-Balance Amount

• Determine if the difference is from Payments, Transactions, or both.

Step 2: Run Key Reports

Run the following reports for the month you are reconciling:

1. AP Open Payables

2. GL Trial Balance

3. AP Check Register (for Payments)

4. AP Batch Transactions (for Transactions)

5. HQ Batch Control (to check batch status)

Tip: Ensure prior months are balanced and no open batches exist (check HQ Batch Control, Filter by Source = AP, Status = 5 or 6).

Step 3: Compare AP to GL

• Compare AP Open Payables total to the GL Trial Balance total.

• Ensure totals match the beginning vs. ending balances.

Important:

• For AP Aged Payable reports, set Select by Month and leave Through Invoice Date blank.

Step 4: Narrow Down the Cause

1. Payments:

   • Use AP Check Register by Paid Month (not by Date).

   • Compare to GL Trial Balance for the relevant Payment GL Account and Journal (usually CA).

2. Transactions:

   • Use AP Batch Transactions by month.

   • Export to Excel to calculate totals and compare to GL Trial Balance for the Expense GL Account and Journal (usually AP).

Step 5: Check Batches and Interfaces

• In HQ Batch Control, filter by Source = AP Payment/AP Entry, Status = 5-Posted.

• Make sure GL Interface Level ≠ 0 (otherwise batch didn’t update to GL).

• Verify no batches are in statuses 0–4 (Open, Validation, Posting in Progress).

Step 6: Check Other Sources

• If still out of balance, see if other sources (Payroll, Job Cost, etc.) posted to the same AP GL Account.

• Correct any misposted entries.

Tip: Assign the P-Payables Subledger Code in GL Chart of Accounts to prevent other subledgers from posting to the AP GL Account.

Step 7: Correct the Out-of-Balance

• Wrong GL Account: Undo or offset in the original module.

• Transaction in GL but not AP: Check interface flag; undo/recreate with flag on.

• Transaction in AP but not GL: Check GL interface flag; delete/recreate with flag on or post a GL Journal Entry.

Step 8: Compare in Excel if Needed

• Export AP Check Register or AP Batch Transactions and GL Trial Balance to Excel.

• Match by Amount, Vendor, Batch ID, or GL Reference to locate the discrepancy.

• Calculate the delta to pinpoint errors and correct them.

This workflow focuses on Payments vs Transactions, checks batch interfaces, and provides a clear method to track and correct AP-to-GL variances.