Reconciliation is a practice that should be completed on a regular schedule to ensure that business records are kept up to date and as accurate as possible. Although this sounds like a very common sense approach, it is not always that common.
For example, if your vendor sends a monthly statement (as most do), you should reconcile the balance on the vendor statement against the balance your accounting system is showing for the vendor. Check that you have all of the invoices listed on the vendor statement entered into your system (either paid or unpaid) and investigate any discrepancies by contacting the vendor and requesting a copy of any missing invoices.
Ensuring your vendor account balances are accurate is vital in the validation and accuracy of your financial statements. A missing invoice means a missing expense and thus an inaccurate Income Statement or Balance Sheet. This process will also keep you in good standing with your vendor and ensure a favourable credit history.
As a further note, Vendor Account Reconciliations may be included on your accountant’s Year End Audit Items list and it is a bonus to be able to strike that off the list as “completed”.