Supplier statement vs AP ledger
A supplier statement is the supplier's record of invoices, credits, payments, and the balance they show as open. An AP ledger export is your organization's record of the same relationship. The two files can share invoice numbers and still disagree.
A matching closing balance is a control figure, not a line-level reconciliation. Compare the rows that make up the balance, then explain what is left.
Supplier statement and AP ledger compared
| Item | Supplier statement | AP ledger |
|---|---|---|
| Source | The supplier's customer account or receivables listing, usually sent as a statement for a period. | Your accounts payable or ERP export for that supplier: an open-item list or a ledger extract. |
| Purpose | States what the supplier believes you owe, and which documents make up that figure. | States what your organization has recorded for the same supplier. |
| Typical fields | Supplier or account reference, document number, invoice or credit date, gross or open amount, currency, and sometimes a closing balance. | Internal document reference, document or posting date, signed amount or separate debit and credit columns, currency, supplier identifier, status, and description. |
| Common issues | Includes items not yet in your books. Uses the supplier's document date. May show payments you have not applied to the same invoice. | May include other suppliers. Posting date can differ from the invoice date. Credits may be unapplied. A partial posting changes the open amount. |
| Role in reconciliation | One side of the comparison. The closing balance does not replace matching the lines. | The other side. Rows outside the confirmed supplier and period are not comparable lines. |
Fields to compare
Column names differ by system. The comparison is the meaning of the field, not the header text. The Excel template is one shared layout for those columns. It does not decide which rows match.
| Field | On the supplier statement | On the AP ledger |
|---|---|---|
| Reference | Invoice, credit, or document number | Invoice reference or document number |
| Amount | Gross or open amount | Signed amount, or debit and credit |
| Date | Invoice date or statement date | Document date or posting date |
| Currency | Statement currency | Transaction currency |
| Supplier | Name or account number | Supplier or vendor name, or supplier ID |
Why a closing balance is not enough
Two closing balances can agree while the lines do not. A missing invoice and a missing credit of the same amount can offset. A payment dated on one side of the cut-off and the invoice on the other can leave the activity different even when the ending figure matches. The balance is worth tying. It does not tell you which documents still need an explanation.
Why rows and balances differ
- Missing invoice. The statement includes a document that is not in the AP export.
- Credit not on the other side. A credit appears on one file, or it has not been applied to the same item.
- Duplicate record. The same reference or the same raw row appears more than once. That needs a look at the source system.
- Timing. The document date and the posting date fall on different sides of the cut-off.
- Supplier scope. The AP export includes several suppliers, or a different supplier account.
- Amount and sign. Tax, freight, a partial posting, decimal format, or debit and credit direction changes the amount you can compare.
How to compare the two sides
- Confirm both files name the same supplier and cover the period you intend to reconcile.
- Compare lines, not only the closing figure: reference, amount, currency, and date.
- Keep the leftovers visible. Missing invoices, credits, duplicates, and timing differences need a person.
The reconciliation guide is the full sequence, including control totals and the workpaper. This page stops at the difference between the two sources.
When both files are already spreadsheets
If you already have two CSV or XLSX exports, open SupplierRecon and compare them in the browser. If the columns are still inconsistent, start with the Excel template. Nothing on this page is a completed reconciliation.