How should a musician review bank statement matches in Clef?
Published · Updated · Clef
Before confirming a bank statement match in Clef, compare the bank row with the proposed book transaction and its supporting document. Check the account, date, amount, and what the payment represents. Treat a suggested match as a candidate for review, and keep unmatched or uncertain items visible until the evidence explains them.
What should you check before reviewing individual rows?
Start with one identifiable bank account and a defined statement period. Keep the original statement available, including its opening and closing information. Confirm that the rows being reviewed belong to that account and period rather than a second account, a partial download, or an overlapping file.
Clef’s Start Reconciliation form asks for an Account, Statement Ending Date, and Statement Ending Balance. The date initially defaults to today, so compare it with the actual statement instead of accepting it during later bookkeeping. Use the statement’s ending figure rather than substituting the balance currently shown in online banking.
This guide covers reviewing proposed matches for a musician’s bookkeeping, with Canadian-dollar examples. It does not determine a payment’s tax treatment. Where a statement or transaction needs currency conversion, get that treatment resolved before assuming two displayed amounts represent the same movement.
Which evidence makes a proposed match convincing?
Use the statement and the document behind the transaction together. CRA’s business-records guidance for Canadian sole proprietors and partnerships requires income records to identify the date, amount, and source, with original supporting documents. A matching amount is useful evidence, but it does not identify the client invoice or expense on its own.
The following review checklist is an organisational aid. It is not a scoring rule used by Clef, and it does not replace a reviewer’s judgement when the evidence is incomplete.
| Check | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Account and direction | The intended account and whether money came in or went out. |
| Amount and currency | The bank amount, book amount, and the currency each represents. |
| Date and reference | The posting dates, payment reference, invoice number, or other identifier. |
| Underlying event | The client payment, purchase, transfer, or other movement supported by the documents. |
How does Clef present matches for review?
Clef’s match review distinguishes three statuses: pending, confirmed, and rejected. A pending card shows a Bank side and a Book side, with descriptions, dates, and amounts where available. Compare those details with your source evidence before using Confirm match; an attractive description or a displayed confidence percentage is not a supporting document.
The card also offers Reject match and Remove match controls. If the proposed pair is wrong, avoid confirming it merely to reduce the pending count. Establish which row and transaction belong together, and use the review controls for the pair you have actually checked.
Unmatched Bank Rows appear separately with Date, Description, and Amount. Treat that list as work to investigate. An unmatched row does not by itself prove a missing expense or authorise creating another entry. First check whether the movement is already recorded elsewhere or needs a different explanation.
What if two client payments have the same amount?
Constructed example: a session musician has two client invoices for $250 each. One client pays on September 12 and the other on September 14. A bank row for $250 is proposed against one of the book transactions. The equal amounts alone do not tell the reviewer which invoice was paid.
The musician opens the payment reference and the client’s remittance email, then compares those details with the invoice number and the book transaction. If the reference identifies the second client, a proposal against the first invoice should not be confirmed simply because its value fits.
The follow-up note identifies the bank row, the document that resolves the ambiguity, and any remaining question about the other payment. If evidence is still missing, the note says what has been requested. This example demonstrates an identity check, not a claim that Clef automatically reads remittance emails or resolves duplicate amounts.
Does a zero displayed difference prove the books are correct?
Check what a screen’s totals mean before relying on them. In Clef’s current reconciliation session page, the value passed to Book Balance is the sum of transaction amounts on confirmed matches. The balance bar subtracts that value from Statement Balance and marks an exact zero as balanced.
That is a specific comparison of the session’s values. It does not establish by itself that the complete account ledger, opening balance, supporting documents, and all outstanding items have been reviewed. Do not change a statement figure or confirm an unsupported pair to produce a zero.
Keep a separate explanation for each unresolved item and ask your bookkeeper or accountant how it should be handled in the wider reconciliation. A review can uncover a missing document, an incorrect candidate, or a genuine bookkeeping correction; those are different next steps and should remain distinguishable.
What should you retain after the review?
Keep the statement, the identifying evidence for reviewed payments, and a short list of unresolved rows with their references. Give each follow-up question enough detail that another person can locate the same item. Record who reviewed the issue and where the answer or correction can be found.
For a distributor deposit that differs from an earnings statement, use the related Clef royalty-payout guide to investigate the statement-to-deposit comparison. For a broader accountant handoff, use the records-preparation guide. This match review should leave an understandable trail into those workflows rather than a pile of unexplained confirmations.
What else should I know?
Should I create a new transaction for every unmatched bank row?
Investigate first. Look for an existing entry, another account involved in a transfer, or evidence that explains the movement. Creating an entry before checking can leave the same event represented more than once.
Can a payment date differ from an invoice date?
An invoice and its later payment describe different events. Compare the proposed payment record and bank posting with the relevant invoice and payment reference, rather than insisting that the original invoice date must identify the bank movement.
What if the bank description is abbreviated?
Use the statement’s additional transaction details and the original business documents to identify the counterparty and purpose. Keep the explanation accessible to the reviewer instead of guessing from a short merchant label.
Is confirming a match the same as deciding an expense is deductible?
No. A match review checks the relationship between records. Business purpose, classification, tax eligibility, and any personal-use portion require their own evidence and review.