Did you know Microsoft Dynamics GP includes a built-in feature that can take much of the guesswork out of reconciling your Accounts Payable subledger to your General Ledger? In this post we will tell you about Great Plains' Reconcile to GL tool, what it is actually designed to do, how to use it and how it helps AP teams cut down on month-end investigation time.
Save Month-End time with The Reconcile to GL Tool
The Reconcile to GL tool is one of Dynamics GP's most valuable yet underutilized features. It is best understood as a troubleshooting aid. The tool compares the distribution records in Payables Management against the distribution records in the General Ledger and flags where they do not line up.
It is worth being clear about its role. Your true reconciliation is between the Payables Management Historical Aged Trial Balance (HATB) and the GL Trial Balance. The Reconcile to GL spreadsheet does not replace that comparison and its totals are not meant to tie to the HATB. What it does well is point you to the specific transactions causing a difference, so instead of combing through transaction lists or building complex spreadsheets by hand, your team can go straight to the entries that need attention.
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How the Tool Works
When you run the Reconcile to GL tool for Accounts Payable, it generates a comprehensive Excel report that organizes your transactions into three clear categories:
- Matched Transactions: These transactions align on every field the tool checks. Voucher numbers correspond to originating control numbers, transaction source codes agree, posting dates match and amounts are equal.
- Potentially Matched Transactions: These have most data points aligned but contain minor differences. The most common cause is a discount amount that was not coded to the Discount GL account, which is why focusing on this section often surfaces real issues.
- Unmatched Transactions: These exist in one system but not the other, or differ enough that they need investigation and correction.
This organized approach allows you to immediately focus on transactions that need attention, saving valuable time during the reconciliation process.
6 Simple Steps
- Navigate to Financial > Routines > Financial > Reconcile to GL
- Select Payables Management as your module
- Choose where you want to save the output Excel file
- Enter the accounts used to match Payables transactions to GL distributions, most often the Accounts Payable and Discount Available accounts
- Specify your desired date range for reconciliation
- Choose Process
Within moments, you will have a detailed reconciliation report ready for review. The output also includes drill-back hyperlinks so you can jump straight to a vendor, a document, a journal entry or a GL account.
You may also like: Accounts Payable Aging Report in Dynamics GP
It Covers More Than Just Payables
The Reconcile to GL routine has been part of Dynamics GP since GP 10.0 (Service Pack 2), so most installations already have it. Beyond Payables, the routine also supports Receivables, Inventory, Bank Reconciliation and Fixed Assets, which makes it useful well past the AP close.
Benefits for Your AP Team
By incorporating the Reconcile to GL tool into your month-end processes, your AP team can:
- Reduce reconciliation time significantly
- Identify discrepancies with greater accuracy
- Focus efforts on transactions that require attention
- Streamline the month-end closing process
- Improve the overall accuracy of financial reporting
Learn more about: Dynamics GP End of Life
Conclusion
Month-end reconciliation is a necessary but time-consuming process for accounting teams. The Reconcile to GL tool will not balance your books for you, but as a diagnostic aid it takes much of the manual searching out of the work, using software you already own. Pair it with your HATB to GL Trial Balance comparison and your team can find and fix differences faster.
