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Reconciliation is the process of matching payments received to invoices that were sent. Ari automates this tedious work, using customer information, invoice amounts, dates, and email records to match payments to invoices accurately. Spend less time in spreadsheets, more time on strategy.

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How Reconciliation Works

Ari syncs payment data from Stripe and invoice data from your system, then intelligently matches them using multiple data points.
Ari uses a multi-factor matching approach:
  • Customer: Must match the invoice customer
  • Amount: Payment amount matches invoice total or partial payment is allocated
  • Date: Payment date should be close to invoice due date
  • Email: Payment method or notification confirms customer identity
  • Reference: Invoice number in payment memo or notes
Ari can match partial payments and track them against invoices. Multiple partial payments can be applied to a single invoice.
If a payment exceeds invoice total, Ari flags it for review. Overpayments can be applied to future invoices or refunded.

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Automatic Reconciliation

Ari reconciles payments automatically based on Stripe sync data and invoice records.
1

Payments received

Payments come into Stripe from customers
2

Ari syncs data

Ari checks Stripe and your invoice system for new activity
3

Intelligent matching

Ari matches payments to invoices using customer, amount, and date
4

Confirmation

High-confidence matches are marked complete. Uncertain matches are flagged
5

Review in Slack

Check reconciliation status anytime with Ari
Most payments are matched automatically. You only need to review flagged or ambiguous matches.

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Checking Reconciliation Status

View reconciliation information for specific customers or time periods.

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Example Commands

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Manual Reconciliation

Sometimes you need to manually match a payment to an invoice. This is common for unusual transactions or when automatic matching isn’t confident.
1

Identify the issue

@Ari there’s a payment that isn’t matched
2

Provide details

Tell Ari the customer, amount, and invoice number (or description)
3

Confirm match

Ari shows the payment and invoice side-by-side
4

Approve match

Click Approve to mark them as matched

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Example Commands

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Handling Unmatched Payments

Payments that don’t match any invoice are flagged for review.
Unmatched payments might be advance payments, deposits, prepayments for upcoming invoices, or payment errors. Review them promptly to maintain accurate accounts.

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Handling Payment Disputes

When a customer claims they’ve paid but reconciliation shows otherwise, investigate quickly.
1

Check customer claim

Ask the customer for payment date and method
2

Search for payment

@Ari search for [customer]‘s claimed payment
3

Verify receipt

Check Stripe transaction history for the payment
4

Reconcile or refund

If found, reconcile it. If not found, determine next steps with customer

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Overdue Invoice Management

Reconciliation ties directly to collections. Invoices marked as paid are removed from overdue reports.

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Reconciliation Reports

Generate reconciliation summaries and reports for accounting and finance reviews.
These reports can be exported to CSV or PDF for your accounting team or auditors.

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Currency and Multi-Payment Method

Handle reconciliation across different payment methods and currencies.
If a customer pays partly with card and partly with ACH, Ari can match both payments to the invoice.
For international payments, Ari uses Stripe’s conversion rates to match payments in different currencies.
Ari accounts for payment processing fees when matching amounts.

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Audit Trail

Every reconciliation action is logged and can be reviewed for audit purposes.

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Best Practices

  • Review daily: Check Ari’s reconciliation status daily to catch issues early
  • Investigate flagged items: Don’t leave ambiguous matches sitting—resolve them promptly
  • Confirm overpayments: Contact customers about overpayments to clarify intentions
  • Match partial payments clearly: Ensure partial payments are clearly allocated to specific invoices
  • Use invoice references: Ask customers to include invoice numbers in payment memos for easier matching
  • Monthly close: Reconcile all payments by the end of each month before closing your books
  • Audit regularly: Spot-check reconciliation to ensure accuracy, especially for high-value invoices

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Integration with Other Features

Reconciliation works together with your full AR workflow:
  • Invoicing: Invoice amounts and numbers are core to reconciliation
  • Collections: Only unpaid invoices appear in collections reminders
  • Revenue Analytics: Reconciliation status affects cash recognition and revenue reporting
  • Accounting: Reconciled transactions feed into your financial statements