How to Reconcile Accounts Payable, Step by Step

The steps, in plain language

1
Pick the date
Use the last day of the month you are closing, and run every report for that date.
2
Run the AP aging
Take the total of the AP aging summary as of that date.
3
Run the balance sheet
On the accrual basis, take the Accounts Payable balance for the same date.
4
Compare
If they agree, move on to vendor statements. If not, list the difference and find what makes it up.
5
Look for journal entries to AP
Manual journals posted to the AP account change the ledger but not the aging. Move them to the right account or tie them to a vendor.
6
Look for unapplied credits and payments
Vendor credits or payments not applied to a bill show as negative lines in the aging. Apply them.
7
Check the period
Bills or payments dated after the reconciliation date, or back-dated into a closed period, cause timing differences.
8
Check nothing is missing
Invoices approved in your AP tool but not yet posted are a liability the ledger does not show.
9
Document and sign off
Keep the two reports, the list of reconciling items and who reviewed them.

In Aequo AP

Check Aequo AP and the ledger agree

Aequo is where invoices are approved; the reconciliation itself happens in your accounting system. Your job in Aequo is to prove nothing approved is missing from the ledger.

1
Find failed syncs
In the Work Queue (My Work), use the Failed sync filter. Fix the cause and select Retry in Settings › Accounting Sync.
2
Find approved bills not yet exported
Use the Ready to export filter in the Work Queue.
3
Find open exceptions
The Exception Aging report in Reports lists invoices still in exceptions; decide whether they need an accrual.
4
Check payments
Reports › Vendor Payment History helps when a vendor says they were not paid.

In QuickBooks Online

Run the reports in QuickBooks Online

Report names from Intuit’s year-end guide.

1
AP aging
Reports › Standard reports › Accounts payable aging summary (or aging detail to see each bill).
2
Balance sheet
Run the Balance Sheet for the same date on the accrual basis and compare the Accounts Payable line.
3
Clear what you find
Apply unapplied vendor credits and payments to their bills, and correct journal entries posted directly to Accounts Payable. Ask your accountant before writing off old balances.

In Xero

The same comparison applies.

1
Compare the reports
Compare the aged payables report total with the accounts payable balance on the balance sheet for the same date, and clear differences the same way.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn’t my AP aging match the balance sheet?

The usual reasons are journal entries posted directly to the AP account, unapplied vendor credits or payments, transactions dated in a different period, or running the balance sheet on the cash basis.

How often should I reconcile accounts payable?

Monthly, as part of the close. Intuit’s year-end guide also recommends reconciling all accounts monthly.

What is the difference between AP reconciliation and vendor statement reconciliation?

AP reconciliation agrees your AP subledger (the aging) to your general ledger. Vendor statement reconciliation agrees one supplier’s statement to what you have recorded for that supplier.

Try it in Aequo AP

Aequo AP captures invoices, matches them to purchase orders and delivery notes, routes approvals and flags exceptions and duplicates, then syncs approved bills with QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks or Zoho Books.

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Sources

Third-party steps follow the vendor’s own help pages. Menus change; check the current page if a label differs.

Intuit: Year-end guide for QuickBooks Online — Updated by Intuit 21 August 2026; fetched 23 October 2026.