Daily Payment Gateway Settlement Reconciliation With Your Ledger
Set up a daily routine that matches gateway settlements to your ledger, catches short payments early and keeps month-end close quiet.
Finance sees one credit in the bank: a settlement amount with a UTR. Behind it are hundreds of collections, a few refunds, a chargeback and gateway fees with GST. The ledger shows gross EMI receipts. The two never agree, so someone posts a balancing entry and promises to look into it later. Later never comes.
By month-end the unexplained difference has grown, nobody remembers which day it started, and the auditors want a breakup. Short settlements, duplicate refunds and held payouts slip through because nobody checked them while the gateway support ticket could still be raised easily. Borrowers who paid sometimes show as overdue because their payment was never mapped.
Why does my bank credit not equal the gateway's collected amount?
Gateways usually deduct their fees and GST on those fees, plus refunds, chargebacks or reserves, before paying out. The bank credit is the net settlement. Reconcile using the gateway's settlement report, which shows each deduction, rather than comparing to gross collections.
How should gateway fees and GST be recorded?
Post the gross receipt against the customer or loan, then record gateway fees as an expense and the GST on those fees separately, so input tax can be reviewed. Confirm the exact treatment and input credit eligibility with your accountant or tax advisor.
Can this work with Tally or a basic LMS?
Yes. Most gateways and banks export CSV or Excel files, and Tally and most loan systems can export receipts. Daily matching only needs consistent IDs across the three files. The hard part is discipline and mapping, not the software.