Are you working for a fast-growing startup that is struggling to keep track of purchases made with credit cards? Do you find yourself drowning in mountains of purchase orders and credit card statements, trying to match them to your company's general ledger? If so, you're not alone.
For many hardware-centric and procurement-heavy companies, this is a time-consuming and frustrating task that requires a lot of detective work. The data trail is often spread across various mediums such as email, spreadsheets, paper, and sticky notes, making it hard to piece together fragmented procurement data into the company's accounting software.
The biggest culprit is often Amazon, with one order broken down into multiple payments and shipments, making it even more challenging to reconcile transactions. Fortunately, there is a solution. ControlHub offers automated credit card reconciliation and auto-import to Quickbooks & Netsuite, saving you time and headaches in the process.
Credit card reconciliation is the process of ensuring that credit card statement transactions match those on the company's general ledger. If there's a mismatch, the accounting team faces the struggle of assigning a payment to a ledger account without proper context. This involves finding out who made the payment, what was bought and why, which project the purchase was for, and more.
Purchasing software can automate a big part of the procurement process, including the reconciliation stage, and save you a lot of time and headaches along the way. ControlHub automatically assigns all Amazon charges to the right general ledger accounts and makes it easy to detect duplicates and inconsistencies. If you're looking for a solution to optimize your purchasing processes, check out ControlHub's product page to learn more.
What is Credit Card Reconciliation and why it matters
Credit card reconciliation is simply the process of ensuring that credit card statement transactions match those on the company’s general ledger.
If the general ledger matches a payment in the credit card statement, the accounting team can close the company’s books.
But if there’s a mismatch, the struggle is real. Imagine traversing corridors and hopping over cubicles just to find out the person who made the payment isn’t in office and even worse they are on vacation, leaving no way to get context around what was bought and why.
The Problem: Assigning a payment to a ledger account
Should this purchase be assigned to Marketing or Operations? Are these items office supplies or R&D material? Which project is this purchase from? What budget should it be assigned? What was the reason the purchase was made? Should it have happened in the first place?
The answer: context.
The reality? Finance and accounting crush their step goal at the end of month by chasing down their colleagues in an effort to gather missing info and pull the pieces of the puzzle together.
What happens after all these accounts are matched?
Once all info is collected and a match is found for all payments & accounts, the time has come to upload the data into the company’s accounting software.
Despite the not-so-recent tech boom and evolution of procurement processes inside companies around the world, many of them are still using clunky software and complex accounting solutions that require them to manually upload all accounting data.
In companies that are using either Quickbooks or Netsuite, accountants have to manually assign each payment to the general ledger account. One by one. You could imagine how painful the process could be and how unscalable it gets as purchasing volume increases.
The Answer: Purchasing software
Purchasing software automates a big part of the procurement process, including the reconciliation stage, saving you a lot of time and headaches along the way.
When you manage all company purchases from a single purchasing solution accountants are no longer required to go through spreadsheets cell by cell, or to compare accounts with a bank statement.
ControlHub automatically assigns all Amazon charges to the right general ledger accounts, and makes it easy to detect duplicates and inconsistencies. Furthermore, if your company adopts virtual cards receipts are automatically matched to transactions.
If you want to learn more about how ControlHub helps fast-growing startups optimize their purchasing processes, take a look at our product page.
Learnings
As a hardware-centric or procurement-heavy startup, you may find that reconciling credit card statements with your company's general ledger is a frustrating and time-consuming task. This involves matching a mountain of purchase orders with credit card charges that provide little to no context.
The data trail is often scattered across various mediums, including email, spreadsheets, paper, and sticky notes. Amazon is often the biggest culprit, with one order being broken down into multiple payments and shipments, making reconciliation even more challenging.
ControlHub offers a solution to this problem by providing automated credit card reconciliation and auto-import to Quickbooks & Netsuite. Credit card reconciliation is the process of ensuring that credit card statement transactions match those on the company's general ledger. If there is a mismatch, the accounting team has to assign payments to ledger accounts without proper context, such as whether the purchase was for marketing or operations, what type of items were bought, which project it was for, and what budget it should be assigned to.
The solution to this problem lies in purchasing software that can automate a big part of the procurement process, including the reconciliation stage. By managing all company purchases from a single purchasing solution, accountants no longer need to go through spreadsheets cell by cell or compare accounts with a bank statement. ControlHub automatically assigns all Amazon charges to the right general ledger accounts, making it easy to detect duplicates and inconsistencies.
Implementing purchasing software can save your company a lot of time and headaches in the long run. It eliminates the need for manual data entry and allows your accounting team to focus on more high-level tasks. By adopting a virtual card, receipts can be automatically matched to transactions, providing more efficient and accurate reconciliation.
In conclusion, hardware-centric and procurement-heavy startups can benefit greatly from implementing purchase approval software to automate their procurement processes, including credit card reconciliation. ControlHub offers a user-friendly solution that can save you time and headaches, allowing you to focus on growing your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is credit card reconciliation, and why is it essential for startups?
Credit card reconciliation is the process of matching credit card transactions with your company's general ledger. For startups, it's crucial because it ensures accurate financial records, saves time, and prevents headaches at the end of each month.
2. How does ControlHub help with credit card reconciliation?
ControlHub is your ultimate superhero for credit card reconciliation! It offers automated reconciliation, saving you time and effort in matching transactions. It integrates seamlessly with Quickbooks and Netsuite, making the process smooth and stress-free.
3. Why is credit card reconciliation a challenge for hardware-centric and procurement-heavy companies?
Hardware-centric and procurement-heavy companies often deal with multiple payments, shipments, and complex transactions, especially from vendors like Amazon. This makes the reconciliation process like solving a never-ending puzzle.
4. How can ControlHub's automation streamline the procurement process?
ControlHub's automation eliminates the need for spreadsheets, paper trails, and manual data entry. It automates the entire procurement process, including credit card reconciliation, giving your finance and accounting teams the gift of efficiency and accuracy.
5. Is ControlHub suitable for fast-growing startups?
Absolutely! ControlHub is designed to support fast-growing startups in their journey. It optimizes purchasing processes, keeps financial records accurate, and ensures your team can focus on scaling the business without getting bogged down by reconciliation woes.
6. Can ControlHub be customized to my startup's unique needs?
Yes! ControlHub is highly customizable to fit your startup's unique requirements. Whether you're dealing with various vendors, multiple projects, or specific accounting preferences, ControlHub adapts to your needs like a chameleon.
7. How does ControlHub make the credit card reconciliation process stress-free?
With ControlHub's automation and integration with accounting software, you won't have to manually upload data or hunt for missing information. The reconciliation process becomes seamless, stress-free, and leaves your finance team with more time to celebrate their successes.
8. How can I get started with ControlHub and simplify my credit card reconciliation?
Getting started is easy! Head over to ControlHub's product page to explore how it works and how it can optimize your purchasing processes. Embrace the future of credit card reconciliation and take control of your finances with ControlHub!
