Minimum Version Required: 25.10
Pre-Conditions
Financial Periods Closed: Both the AP Close and Financials Close processes should be completed for the period being compared (e.g., if comparing as of 9/30, both AP and Financials should be closed through 9/30). This is not always necessary depending on set filters for status.
Report Date Alignment: The Statement Date used for the Accounts Payable Aging Report must precisely match the date or period-end used for the General Ledger Trial Balance.
Correct Account Comparison: You must be comparing the Total of the Accounts Payable Aging Report to the balance of the designated Accounts Payable General Ledger Account (e.g., 1-00-2200-00 or similar).
Steps
1. Verify Period Closures:
Confirm that both the AP Close and Financials Close processes have been run and completed for the period ending on the comparison date (e.g., month-end).
Failure to close both can prevent certain transactions from generating or verifying the necessary General Ledger journal entries.
2. Ensure Date Consistency:
Run the Accounts Payable Aging Report and the Trial Balance using the exact same period-end date.
Even a slight difference can cause a variance due to how different reports pull data.
3. Find the Date the Discrepancy Began:
Run both reports for consecutive prior periods (e.g., month-end) until they balance.
The first date they don't balance is the date the variance started. This narrows down the transaction search.
4. Examine Transactions on the Discrepancy Date:
On the date the variance began (from Step 3), examine all Purchase and Journal Entry transactions.
Look specifically for:
Purchases that have been paid via a Check Run but are in a status (like Received or Ordered) that has not yet generated a Balanced Status journal entry.
Check Run journal entries that have posted to the General Ledger (verified) debiting AP, but the corresponding Purchase journal entry to credit AP has not posted.
In the provided example, the variance was a Purchase that was paid and verified via a Check Run (debiting GL) but was still in Received status, meaning the corresponding credit to the AP GL account had not yet posted.
5. Re-confirm the Affected Purchase Transaction:
If a Purchase transaction is identified as the source of the variance (e.g., it was paid but not yet confirmed/balanced):
Reopen the AP period (if applicable and necessary).
Re-confirm the identified Purchase transaction(s) to ensure the balanced General Ledger entry is created and posted.
Re-close the AP period.
Re-run and compare the Trial Balance and Accounts Payable Aging Report.
6. Contact Support:
If the variance persists after completing the above steps, you must contact support for advanced investigation. To ensure efficient troubleshooting, please provide the following information:
Exact variance amount and the date it occurred.
Exact error messages or codes encountered during closing or reporting (if any).
Screenshots or video recordings of the report criteria and the final totals.
The exact steps taken (including the specific Purchase and Check Run IDs) that led to the issue.
The date and time the issue was first observed and any recurrence.
Any changes made to the system (e.g., new integrations, process changes, or setting updates) before the issue appeared.
Fields And Definitions
Accounts Payable (AP) Aging Report A detailed report (the subsidiary ledger) listing all outstanding vendor invoices, organized by how long they are past due (aging buckets). The total should equal the General Ledger AP liability account balance.
Trial Balance (TB) A report listing all the General Ledger accounts and their debit/credit balances at a specific point in time. It's used to verify that the sum of all debits equals the sum of all credits.
General Ledger (GL) The main record-keeping system for a company's financial transactions, with all accounts (Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenue, Expenses).
Subsidiary Ledger A detailed record supporting the summary balance in a General Ledger control account (e.g., the AP Aging Report is the subsidiary ledger for the Accounts Payable GL account).
AP Close The process that locks the Accounts Payable period, ensuring all related transactions are final for reporting.
Financials Close The process that locks the main General Ledger and financial statements for a given period.
Received Status (Purchase) A status on a Purchase transaction indicating the goods or services have been received, but the transaction may not have generated a full, Balanced Status journal entry yet.
Check Run A batch process used to select and pay multiple vendor invoices, which generates a corresponding journal entry to debit the AP liability account and credit the Cash account.
Balanced Status The status of a financial transaction (like a Purchase) that signifies a complete and balanced General Ledger journal entry has been created and is ready to post (credit to AP, debit to Inventory/Expense).
Best Practices
Routine Reconciliation: Make reconciling the AP Aging to the GL Trial Balance a routine, monthly process after the financial period is formally closed. This prevents small variances from accumulating and becoming difficult to trace.
Maintain Transaction Status Discipline: Always ensure that Purchase transactions are brought to a Confirmed status promptly, especially when they are tied to a payment. This ensures the subsidiary ledger and the general ledger are updated concurrently.
Review Payment Processes: If the variance is a recurring issue, review your Check Run or payment processes to confirm that payments are only being applied to Purchases that are ready to generate a balanced GL entry. Paying bills via a Check Run using a minimum status like Ordered or Received can frequently lead to this type of imbalance.
Utilize AP Close: It is suggested to run the AP Close process then the Financials Close for maximum integrity, as it finalizes the Accounts Payable sub-ledger.