Bank Feeds
Part of Expense management tools
Reconciling card transactions with submitted receipts
Card reconciliation pairs a bank-feed transaction with the employee's evidence and business explanation.
Reconcile each settled card-feed transaction against the employee’s submitted receipt, then classify and record the verified expense. Use several details to identify a match; an equal amount on its own is not enough when purchases share a value.
Start with the imported card transaction and find the employee’s receipt or expense record. Compare the date, merchant, cardholder, amount and currency, checking the receipt itself rather than relying only on a summary or amount.
Treat a pending authorisation as different from a settled transaction. When the settled item appears, compare it with the receipt; if the amount differs, investigate the difference rather than forcing a match.
For a tip, refund or foreign-exchange difference, compare the receipt with the settled transaction, identify what differs and record the explanation before matching or correcting the ledger entry. No single adjustment method or threshold applies in every case.
A receipt with no card-feed item may relate to an employee-paid claim, so keep it separate from the card match. A card-feed item without a receipt remains an exception.
After validation, classify the expense using the relevant chart-of-accounts mapping and post it to the accounting system. For example, fileLedger by fileAI has a Xero bank-feed integration that sends bank and credit-card transactions to Xero’s Reconcile tab, and it processes receipts; check each proposed match against the employee’s evidence.
Give each item a clear status, such as awaiting evidence, under review, matched, exported or corrected. Keep a trail of manual matches and unmatches so the reconciliation can be reviewed later.
Review aged unmatched items and duplicate-looking receipts regularly. Escalate uncertain transactions to the cardholder or finance owner before posting.
Keep the receipt and bank record as supporting records: Australian record-keeping requirements include business expenses and bank records, and GST records if the business is registered for GST. Records must be in English or readily translatable into English; the ATO recommends digital record-keeping and accepts electronic images that are true, clear reproductions and follow record-keeping rules.
Store records so they cannot be changed or damaged, and back up digital records. Once a paper record has been saved as an acceptable image, the paper copy does not need to be kept unless a particular law or rule requires it; the ATO’s free record-keeping evaluation tool can help check which records a business needs.
Key Requirements for Compliance with Australian Record-Keeping Rules
- Receipts and bank records must be retained for at least 5 yearsRequired under ATO guidelines for tax purposes.
- Records must be in English or readily translatableThe ATO requires this for audit readiness.
- Digital records must be secure and unchangeableAvoid tampering; use backup systems and access controls.
- Paper records can be destroyed after digital capture if acceptableOnly if the digital copy meets ATO standards (true, clear, complete).
- GST records must be kept if registered for GSTInclude input tax credits and output tax amounts.
Settled Transaction vs. Pending Authorisation: Key Differences
- Status
- Settled Transaction
- Timing
- Payment has been processed and cleared by the bank
- Matching with Receipt
- Can be matched once settled; verify against receipt before posting
- Status
- Pending Authorisation
- Timing
- Transaction is approved but not yet settled
- Matching with Receipt
- Cannot be matched until settled; treat as temporary hold
Australian Record-Keeping and Reconciliation Statistics
- ATO Record-Keeping Requirement
- Minimum 5 years for business expenses and bank records
- Acceptance of Digital Records
- Yes – if true, clear and unaltered
- GST Registration Requirement
- Must keep detailed records if registered for GST
- Free Record-Keeping Tool Available
- ATO’s free record-keeping evaluation tool helps determine retention needs
