Customer Balance Disagreement: Reconcile Invoices and Payments

Agree the date and the account before comparing totals

"We only owe $3,300" is hard to investigate without the underlying transactions. Ask for an account statement or transaction list from the customer's accounts team, with the date it was prepared. Check that both reports cover the same buying entity, currency and cutoff. A list from Friday and a report run after Monday's payment won't necessarily agree.

Save your starting report before changing anything. Include the opening balance, invoices, credit notes and receipts through the agreed date. An activity view can help when the disagreement concerns movements during the period: MYOB's statement guidance explains the difference between a list of unpaid invoices and an activity statement with a running balance.

This is a check of account records. If the real problem is disagreement about the work, price or responsibility to pay, record that separately rather than trying to cure it with a matching entry. The invoice follow-up guide is the next step once the amount and issue are clear.

Send a neutral balance confirmation request

Adapt this template to the actual account:

Subject: Account check: [customer entity], as at [date]

Hi [name], our attached account activity shows [amount] outstanding as at [date]. Your message shows [different amount]. Could you compare the invoice, credit and receipt references and tell us which items differ?

If you've paid several invoices together, please send the remittance with the payment date, amount, reference and invoice numbers it covers. For a credit missing from either record, please include the credit reference and a copy. You can omit unrelated transactions and unnecessary bank details.

We'll investigate the differences and send an updated statement with any supported corrections. Please let us know if the figures agree or which item still needs checking.

Use a trusted customer contact and a secure channel for supporting documents. There's no need to ask for the customer's entire bank statement. The request is an administrative records check, not a formal debt-admission or settlement document. Get legal advice if you need that kind of document or the customer raises a legal dispute.

Build a discrepancy schedule rather than guessing the answer

In this fictional example, the supplier's customer ledger shows $4,730 at 31 August. The customer reports $3,300. Both started the period at zero and agree on three invoices totalling $4,950.

Assumptions: Fictional AUD totals as at 31 August 2026. Supplier customer-ledger balance $4,730; customer balance $3,300. Negative entries reduce the amount owing. Receipt R-88 is visible in the supplier bank but has not been assigned to this customer account.

Reference	Supplier customer ledger	Customer record	Evidence and action	Owner
Opening balance	$0	$0	Same agreed start date	Both
INV-810	$1,100	$1,100	Original invoice matches	No correction
INV-811	$2,200	$2,200	Original invoice matches	No correction
INV-812	$1,650	$1,650	Original invoice matches	No correction
CN-44, against INV-811	−$220	Not entered	Existing issued credit supplied again; customer checks it	Customer accounts
R-88 bank receipt	Not on this customer account	−$1,650	Bank receipt and customer remittance identify the payment	Supplier bookkeeper
Starting reported totals	$4,730	$3,300	Difference $1,430; do not create a balancing credit	Both

Original ASBG fictional example. Use the assumptions above when replacing these figures with your own.

The $1,430 difference is not one missing $1,430 transaction. It is the net effect of a $1,650 receipt absent from the supplier's customer account and a $220 credit absent from the customer's record: $1,650 − $220 = $1,430. Searching only for a bank deposit matching the discrepancy would miss both causes.

When the customer pays several invoices in one transfer

Here, the customer sends remittance advice confirming that R-88 covers $1,100 for INV-810 and $550 for INV-811. The supplier can connect the existing bank receipt to the correct customer and invoices. It is one payment covering several invoices, not additional sales income.

Before correcting the allocation, check whether the bank transaction was already matched somewhere else and whether part of it has already been applied. Keep the original reference. MYOB's payment guidance supports full or partial payments across invoices; use the applicable product workflow or ask your bookkeeper to do the correction. Don't record the bank receipt again simply because it was missing from the customer statement.

Where the customer can't identify the invoices, keep the allocation unresolved with an owner and follow-up date. Ask for the invoice references even if two outstanding amounts happen to add up to the payment.

Confirm the correction on each side

In the example, CN-44 already exists and is supported, so the supplier resends a copy rather than issuing another $220 credit. The customer checks and records the missing document. That is different from inventing a new discount. MYOB's credit guidance distinguishes recording a credit and applying it to an invoice or refunding it.

Assumptions: Only existing supported documents and the verified receipt are used. No new discount, write-off, GST adjustment or agreement about legal liability is created by this worksheet.

Reconciliation	Supplier record	Customer record
Starting reported amount	$4,730	$3,300
Missing receipt connected to account	−$1,650	Already included
Missing existing credit entered	Already included	−$220
Reconciled customer balance	$3,080	$3,080
Open-invoice check	INV-810: $0; INV-811: $1,430; INV-812: $1,650	Total open invoices: $3,080

Original ASBG fictional example. Use the assumptions above when replacing these figures with your own.

Keep a short correction log: reference, difference found, evidence, action taken, person who made it and date. Save the before-and-after reports and ask the customer to confirm the updated record or identify any remaining difference. Don't mark an unanswered request as agreement. ASBFEO's dispute guidance recommends understanding the issue and retaining written notes of discussions and agreed outcomes.

Close the check without hiding another problem

Confirm the bank receipt is recorded once and every credit is used once. Include other open customer accounts when reconciling the overall receivables figure on your balance sheet. Check the other customer accounts too before relying on the overall ledger balance.

Put unresolved items into the monthly bookkeeping routine. Changes affecting lodged tax reports, closed periods or the underlying sale need review by the appropriate registered agent; this worksheet doesn't prescribe those entries. Update the cash forecast for verified outstanding amounts and realistic receipt dates, without counting money already in the bank again.

Next, send a statement that explains existing invoices and receipts.

Key takeaways

• Compare the same entity, currency and date, then inspect the transaction references.
• A net difference can hide several errors moving in opposite directions.
• Request remittance details when one customer payment covers several invoices.
• Keep evidence of supported corrections and unresolved items; agreement isn't assumed from silence.

Where to get help

Use MYOB's customer-statement instructions to produce an activity record, or the equivalent official instructions for your product. Ask your bookkeeper about allocations you can't trace. For an unresolved business dispute, use ASBFEO's dispute-support tool. Find related tasks in cash flow and getting paid.