Checking each receipt when it arrives tells you a client paid. Reconciling at the end of the month tells you that every peso in your accounts belongs to a sale, and every sale has its peso. The two catch different mistakes.
This guide is a routine you can run in an hour or two each month, with your GCash history, your bank statement, and your sales list side by side.
Keep business money in business accounts
Reconciling is slow when a personal GCash number also receives business payments, because every family transfer and online order has to be explained. Use one GCash number and one bank account only for the business, and pay yourself from them on purpose.
- One account per purpose makes the statement read like your sales list.
- Name the account clearly for clients, so a transfer is never sent to an old number.
- Move cash to the bank on a set day, so the bank statement also shows the cash you took.
Gather three lists for the month
- Your sales by payment method: every payment you recorded, with its date, amount, method, and reference number.
- Your GCash transaction history for the month, from the app.
- Your bank statement for the month, from online banking or the branch.
Put them in one spreadsheet, a tab each, sorted by date. Add a column on each tab called Matched.
Match by reference, then by amount and date
Go down your sales list and find each payment in the account it went to. Mark both rows when they match.
- Reference number first. It is the only thing unique to one transfer. Two clients can send ₱1,500 on the same afternoon.
- Amount and date next, for payments recorded without a reference. A transfer sent late at night can land on the next day's statement.
- Totals last. When every row is matched, the method's total in your sales should equal the money in on that account, less refunds and your own transfers.
Sort what is left by what went wrong
Each leftover row is one of a few problems. Name it, fix it, and write down what you did.
| What you see | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Money in the account, no sale | A client paid in chat for something never recorded, or paid twice | Find the client by name or number and record or refund it |
| A sale, no money in the account | A receipt was approved without checking the app, or the client sent it to another account | Ask the client for the reference, and check every account you have |
| The amounts differ | A short payment, an overpayment, or a deposit with the balance paid another way | Collect the difference, or refund it |
| Money out, no refund recorded | A refund was sent but never recorded | Record the refund against the sale |
| One large deposit from a gateway | A payout covering many card or e-wallet payments, after fees | Match it to the gateway's payout report, not to single sales |
Close every refund you owe
A refund owed by transfer is easy to forget, because nothing reminds the client's bank to chase you. Before you close the month, check that every refund you agreed to has been sent and recorded with its reference. A client waiting weeks for ₱800 remembers it longer than the service.
Hand your accountant a clean file
Save the month's three lists, your matched spreadsheet, and a short note of what you fixed. Your accountant gets one file instead of a folder of screenshots, and next month you can see how the last one ended. For what records to keep, see how to keep sales records for BIR.
In Onsuki, every receipt waits under To verify with its amount, method, and reference, and refunds owed by transfer wait under To refund until you send them. The Sales report splits the month by payment method, Transaction Detail lists every line of every sale, and Team Activity shows who approved, refunded, or voided what. Each exports as a CSV for your spreadsheet. See GCash and bank transfers and Reports.
