Confirm the statement population
Start the close by confirming which statements belong to the period. A card program may issue statements on different dates, and a transaction near the cutoff may appear on the next statement. Record the statement date, the card ending, the cardholder, and the transaction count so the population is fixed before reconciliation begins.
Compare the statement total with the card issuer's portal or file. If the totals differ, stop and resolve the source difference before matching individual transactions. Reconciling a partial statement produces a clean-looking result that is not tied to the actual liability.
Match transactions and receipts
Match each transaction to a receipt or an approved missing receipt record. Use the date, amount, merchant, and card ending. For foreign currency transactions, record the original currency, the converted amount, and the rate source. Do not force a match when the amount differs by a small amount; document the difference and route it.
Flag transactions with no receipt, a receipt for a different amount, a duplicate charge, a refund, or a merchant that does not match the business purpose. These flags are the raw material for the exception review. A statement that is matched but has unexplained flags is not complete.
Use the related specialist service role as a starting point for defining scope and evidence.
Review coding and approvals
Check that each transaction has a valid account, department, project, and approver. The cardholder or budget owner should confirm ambiguous coding. Payables can compare the coding to the receipt and prior treatment, but it should not assign a code that changes the meaning of the expense without confirmation.
Review split purchases and recurring charges for policy compliance. A recurring subscription may have a valid business purpose but an outdated cost center. A split purchase may be an attempt to stay under an approval threshold. Record the question and route it to the policy owner.
Resolve disputes and credits
List open disputes with the transaction, amount, reason, issuer reference, and expected resolution date. Keep the disputed amount separate from the reconciled total so it is not counted twice. If a provisional credit is issued, record the conditions and the possibility of reversal.
Match credits and refunds to the original transaction. If the original is in a prior statement, document the cross-period link. A credit that cannot be matched should remain open rather than being applied to an unrelated charge.
IRS Recordkeeping Guidance provides public guidance that can help your team test relevant workflow assumptions.
Prepare the close package
Assemble the statement, reconciliation, exception log, missing receipt records, dispute list, and approval evidence. Include a summary that states the population, matched amount, open items, and the owner for each unresolved issue. The package should let a reviewer understand the close without opening every receipt.
Do not mark the statement complete while a material exception is unresolved. If the policy allows a close with open items, list them explicitly and assign a follow-up date. The close record should distinguish a known exception from an unexamined transaction.
Compare this approach with our guide to the next related workflow.
Run a post-close review
After the close, review a sample of transactions for receipt quality, coding accuracy, approval, and timely submission. Look for patterns by cardholder, merchant, or department. A repeated late submission may be a reminder problem, while a repeated merchant exception may require a policy change.
Use the findings to improve the request template and the card program guidance. The goal is a close that gets easier because the evidence arrives correctly, not a longer checklist that compensates for a broken intake.
Common questions answered
Can the statement close before every receipt arrives?
Follow the organization's policy. If an exception close is allowed, list the missing items and assign an owner and follow-up date.
Who approves a missing receipt?
The delegation policy should name the approver. The cardholder explains the purchase, and the approver accepts or declines the exception.
How should foreign currency differences be handled?
Record the original amount, converted amount, rate source, and any difference. Route unusual differences for review.
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