Compare a vendor statement with the accounts-payable list by job

When a construction vendor sends a statement, compare it with the accounts-payable list line by line before changing the books. The goal is to document whether each statement item is already recorded, missing, duplicated, credited, or simply outside the agreed cutoff.

Start with the same cutoff

Put the statement date, entity, vendor account number, and reporting cutoff at the top of the workpaper. Export the accounts-payable detail for the same vendor and cutoff. Include document number, invoice date, due date, amount, job reference, and current status. A bill is an unpaid supplier obligation in QuickBooks; Intuit distinguishes bills from paid expenses and checks.¹

Classify every difference

Illustrative example. A supplier statement dated July 31 lists invoice 9041 for $2,740 under Job C-104. The AP list contains the same invoice and amount, so it is marked matched. The statement also lists invoice 9060 for $680, but the office has only an email reference and no invoice or job code. That line stays in the open-items section; it is not entered as a bill simply to make the statement total agree. A $215 credit on the statement is linked to its credit memo and flagged for the person who owns the vendor review.

Keep the comparison usable

Give each open item an owner, next document needed, and review date. Keep the vendor statement, exported AP list, and correspondence together with the comparison. If an item is resolved after the period closes, retain the original comparison and add the resolution rather than overwriting the earlier evidence.

Use this workpaper with the unpaid vendor bills by job review and the construction invoice approval map. It is a bookkeeping control; it does not authorize payment, interpret contract terms, or determine tax treatment.