Ease Reconciliation with Automated Data Preparation

Reconciliation often slows down before matching even begins. Finance teams spend time cleaning files, aligning columns, resolving duplicate rows, and preparing data so two sources can be compared reliably. Cointab reduces that effort by helping teams structure, validate, and reuse reconciliation inputs before the matching process starts.

Why data preparation becomes a bottleneck

Reconciliation data is rarely ready to compare as-is. Internal reports, partner statements, ERP exports, bank files, and marketplace reports often differ in structure and terminology. Common issues include:

• Different column names for the same field
• Missing identifiers such as order ID, transaction ID, invoice number, or UTR
• Duplicate or unusable rows
• Amount fields stored in different formats
• Dates captured inconsistently across systems
• Files that need enrichment before matching can begin
• Late or missed reports that change the reconciliation set

When teams prepare this data manually, the process becomes repetitive and difficult to audit. The same spreadsheet steps are often repeated every month, even when the underlying workflow does not change.

How Cointab automates reconciliation data preparation

Cointab gives finance teams a structured workflow for preparing data before reconciliation. Instead of modifying files manually in spreadsheets, users upload data, map the required fields, and let the platform prepare the inputs for matching.

The workflow typically includes:

1. Uploading Side A and Side B files into a reconciliation setup
2. Mapping key fields such as date, amount, and identifiers
3. Uploading optional supporting data for enrichment or lookup
4. Creating derived columns when a calculated field is needed
5. Running reconciliation manually or on a schedule
6. Reviewing matched, partially matched, unmatched, and skipped records
7. Downloading the reconciliation report for review and audit support

This makes reconciliation data preparation more repeatable and easier to review across periods.

Use Side A and Side B to keep the workflow clear

Cointab uses a simple reconciliation model:

• Side A contains the records your business expects to be correct
• Side B contains the external records received from a partner, bank, marketplace, PSP, vendor, or other source

This structure helps teams separate source-of-truth data from external statements and compare them in a controlled way. It also makes the preparation step easier because each side can be configured with its own file format and field mapping.

Clean and validate files before reconciliation

A key part of data preparation is making sure the uploaded files follow the expected format. Cointab supports CSV, XLS, and XLSX files and validates the structure before reconciliation begins.

Typical configuration includes:

• Header row
• Date column
• Amount column
• Reference or identifier column

If a file does not match the configured format, the system can reject it with a clear error so the issue is visible early. That reduces confusion later in the matching process and helps teams correct data problems before they affect the report.

Use supporting data to enrich the main reports

Some reconciliation workflows need more than just the primary reports. Cointab supports optional supporting data that helps enrich or prepare the core files before matching.

Supporting data can include:

• Product master files
• Fee rate files
• Return reports
• Order metadata
• Marketplace mapping files
• GST or tax mapping files
• Delivery partner reference files
• Customer or vendor master files
• SKU mapping files
• Store mapping files

These files are not reconciled directly. They are used to complete missing fields, merge related information, and make the primary reconciliation data more usable.

Create derived columns instead of editing spreadsheets

Not every reconciliation field exists in the raw file. Teams often need a cleaned identifier, a normalized amount, or a calculated field before matching can happen. Cointab lets users create derived columns on both sides of the reconciliation.

Derived columns can be used for:

• Amount columns
• Identifier columns
• Lookup fields
• Matching fields
• Output fields

Examples include:

• Clean Order ID
• Net Amount
• Delivered Payment Amount
• Normalized Transaction ID
• Amount after fee
• Refund amount as negative
• Combined reference
• Clean AWB number

Users can also use AI to create Excel-style formulas from natural language, which helps finance teams define calculations without manually building formulas in a spreadsheet.

Prepare once and reuse the workflow

One of the biggest advantages of automating data preparation is reuse. Once a reconciliation is configured, teams do not need to rebuild the same setup every month.

Instead, they can:

• Select the reconciliation
• Choose the period
• Upload the required files, or receive them automatically
• Run reconciliation
• Review the report

This helps reduce repeat setup work, limits variation across team members, and keeps the reconciliation process more consistent.

Support recurring automation for finance operations

For recurring workflows, Cointab can automate data input through email, SFTP, or API integrations. That means reconciliation preparation does not have to depend on manual uploads every time.

A scheduled workflow can:

1. Receive or pull the required data
2. Validate the file or dataset
3. Load it into the correct reconciliation
4. Run the reconciliation automatically
5. Prepare the report
6. Notify users when the run is complete
7. Push output back to internal systems if needed

This is especially useful for daily, weekly, or month-end processes where the same source files arrive repeatedly.

Keep exception handling visible

Automated preparation should not hide what happened to the data. Cointab separates records clearly so teams can focus on the items that need attention.

The reconciliation report includes:

• Fully matched transactions
• Partially matched transactions
• Unmatched transactions
• Skipped transactions

This gives finance teams a clear view of what was matched, what needs review, and what was excluded from the run. Users can also filter the report, inspect transactions in detail, and manually match records when business context is needed.

Make reports audit-ready

Prepared data is only useful if the final output can be reviewed easily. Cointab lets users download Excel reconciliation reports that include transaction-level details for internal review, partner follow-up, and audit support.

Because the workflow is structured and reusable, teams can trace how the reconciliation was configured, what data was used, and how open items were handled. That makes the process more controlled than a chain of one-off spreadsheet files.

A better fit for finance teams than manual spreadsheets

Cointab is built for finance teams that need more than a basic file comparison. It helps users prepare reconciliation data in a repeatable way, apply field mapping and supporting data consistently, and move from raw files to reviewable results faster.

For teams managing bank reconciliation, payment reconciliation, marketplace reconciliation, vendor reconciliation, or custom internal vs external matching workflows, automated data preparation can remove a large part of the manual effort before reconciliation starts.

The result is a more structured workflow where users know what they are reconciling, what was prepared, what matched, and what still needs review.