How it works
Finance teams reconcile balances that should agree: cash in the ledger against the bank, receivables against customer statements, payouts against processor reports, intercompany balances between entities. Each item is matched, timing differences are noted, and true errors are corrected with adjusting entries. Reconciliation is a core step of the month-end close and a frequent audit focus.
Example
A Shopify payout of $9,412 lands in the bank. Reconciliation breaks it into the orders, refunds and fees inside it, matches the net amount to the deposit, and posts the fees to an expense account.
In integrations
Reconciliation fails when records live in different shapes. On the Unify Graph, payouts list their charges, refunds and fees, and payments link to the invoices they settle when the source provides a reference. The Payments and Accounting APIs give your product both sides of the match; the matching rules stay in your product. Reconciliation is where data quality becomes visible. Missing fees, duplicated transactions or payouts without their parts turn a ten-minute task into an afternoon, which is why finance users judge integrations by it.