The Daily Payment Reconciliation SOP

Purpose

Define how the day's collected money is matched, counted, and closed out every working day. A standard operating procedure (SOP) is the written, repeatable process everyone runs the same way, so the numbers tie out regardless of who is at the desk. Payments come in through several channels in a service shop: cards run in the field, checks and cash handed to techs, portal and online payments, and phone payments taken at the office. If they are not reconciled daily, a missing check or a card that never settled hides for weeks and surfaces during a stressful month-end. Reconcile every day and a discrepancy is caught while the trail is still warm.

Scope

Applies to all customer payments received in a single business day across every channel:

• Card payments (in-field and office)
• Cash and checks collected by technicians
• Online, portal, and phone payments

Excludes vendor payments and payroll (outbound, different process) and the formal bank reconciliation to the statement (a month-end step this daily close feeds).

Roles and responsibilities

Procedure

Step 1: Gather every payment record for the day

Pull together all evidence of money in:

• The card processor's daily batch or settlement report
• Cash and checks turned in by each tech, with their job paperwork
• Online and portal payment notifications
• Any phone payments logged at the office

Set a hard cutoff time. Payments after the cutoff belong to the next day's close, or the two days will never reconcile.

Step 2: Match each payment to an invoice

Walk every payment to the job it belongs to. Confirm the amount matches the invoice and mark the invoice paid in the system.

• A payment with no matching invoice is a red flag: an untracked job, a duplicate, or a keying error. Stop and resolve it.
• An invoice marked paid with no payment behind it is the mirror error. Both break the books.

Step 3: Reconcile the card batch

Compare the processor's settled batch total to the card payments recorded in the system for the day. They should match to the penny. A card authorized but never captured shows up here as a system payment with no settlement. Chase it before it ages out and the authorization expires.

Step 4: Count cash and checks against the log

Physically count cash and total the checks. Compare to what the techs logged as collected. Any short or over gets investigated the same day, while the tech remembers the call. Two people counting cash separately is the simplest control against both error and temptation.

Step 5: Categorize by payment method

Tag each payment by method (card, cash, check, online). Method totals feed the deposit and let the owner see the mix. A sudden swing, far more cash than usual, is worth a look.

Step 6: Prepare the deposit

Bundle cash and checks for the bank deposit and record the deposit total. The deposit slip total must equal the counted cash and checks from Step 4. File the deposit record with the day's paperwork.

Step 7: Flag discrepancies, then lock the day

Any unresolved gap goes on a short exception list with a named owner and a by-when. Once every channel ties out, mark the day reconciled. A locked day should not be reopened without a note explaining why.

Records and retention

Keep daily reconciliation summaries, batch reports, and deposit records with the supporting invoices. These are the backup for the month-end close and for any card chargeback dispute.

Common reconciliation failures

• No daily cutoff. Payments straddle two days and neither balances.
• Authorized but not captured cards. Money looks collected but never lands.
• Single-person cash count. No control against error or loss.
• Deposit total not tied to the count. A short deposit hides until the bank statement arrives.

References

• IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records
• Card network operating rules on authorization and settlement timing
• See related: Month-End Close Checklist for a Service Business
• Trade-standard practice for field-service cash handling and daily close