# Cointab Context Document - New Reconciliation Platform

Company: Cointab
Product: Financial reconciliation automation platform

## 1. One-line description

Cointab is an AI-assisted reconciliation platform that helps finance teams match internal records with external records, identify discrepancies, review matched/unmatched transactions, and download audit-ready reconciliation reports.

## 2. What problem Cointab solves

Finance teams spend a lot of time reconciling data across multiple systems such as sales reports, books, ERP exports, payment gateways, marketplaces, bank statements, logistics partners, vendors, customers, and tax records.
Most teams still do this using Excel, formulas, VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, manual checks, and repeated file comparisons. This creates several problems:
- Reconciliation is slow and repetitive.
- Excel formulas break or become hard to audit.
- Different team members prepare reports differently.
- Large files become difficult to handle.
- Exceptions remain open for too long.
- Missing payments, deductions, refunds, returns, fees, or settlement differences may go unnoticed.
- Month-end close and audit preparation become stressful.
- The same reconciliation setup is repeated again and again for different customers or periods.

Cointab replaces this with a structured, reusable reconciliation workflow where users upload data, map required fields, run reconciliation, review results, and export reports.

## 3. Core product positioning

Cointab is not just a bank reconciliation tool or payment gateway reconciliation tool. It is a flexible reconciliation engine for comparing any two sides of financial or operational data.
It can be used for:
- Sales vs payment gateway reconciliation
- Marketplace sales vs settlement reconciliation
- eCommerce order vs payment reconciliation
- COD delivery partner reconciliation
- Bank statement vs books reconciliation
- Vendor reconciliation
- Customer reconciliation
- PSP / payment gateway reconciliation
- Logistics / freight invoice reconciliation
- Marketplace reconciliation
- Intercompany reconciliation
- Tax / statutory data reconciliation
- Any custom internal vs external data reconciliation

The core idea is:
Side A = records the business expects to be correct
Side B = records received from external systems, partners, banks, marketplaces, PSPs, or other sources

## 4. Who Cointab is for

### Target companies

Cointab is useful for companies that deal with high-volume or multi-source transaction data, especially where money, settlements, invoices, orders, payments, or statements need to be matched regularly.
Ideal company types include:
- eCommerce brands
- D2C brands
- Online sellers
- Retail companies
- QSR / restaurants
- SaaS companies
- Marketplaces
- Logistics companies
- Payment-heavy businesses
- Fintech companies
- Agencies and professional service firms
- Accounting / CA / CPA firms
- Mid-market finance teams
- Companies with multiple PSPs, banks, marketplaces, delivery partners, or vendors

### Target users

Cointab is mainly used by:
- Finance teams
- Accounts teams
- Controllers
- CFOs
- Founders of lean companies
- Reconciliation analysts
- Accounts receivable teams
- Accounts payable teams
- Marketplace operations teams
- eCommerce operations teams
- Audit and compliance teams
- Accounting firms handling reconciliation for multiple clients

## 5. Customer value

Cointab helps customers get value in the following ways:

### Time savings

Cointab reduces the time spent on repetitive reconciliation work by automating data preparation, matching, exception identification, and report generation.

### Better accuracy

The system applies structured matching logic consistently, reducing manual errors caused by Excel formulas, copy-paste mistakes, and inconsistent review methods.

### Reusable setup

Once a reconciliation is configured, it can be reused for future periods. Users do not need to rebuild the same reconciliation repeatedly.

### Recurring automation

Once a reconciliation is configured, Cointab can automate data collection, reconciliation runs, and output delivery using email, SFTP, or API integrations. This reduces daily manual work and helps customers keep internal finance, accounting, analytics, and BI systems updated automatically.

### Faster exception handling

Cointab separates fully matched, partially matched, unmatched, and skipped transactions clearly. This helps finance teams focus only on exceptions instead of reviewing every transaction manually.

### Audit-ready reporting

Users can download Excel reconciliation reports containing matched, partially matched, unmatched, and skipped records for internal review, audit, and partner follow-up.

### AI support

AI helps users create derived columns using natural language, analyze difficult open transactions, and identify possible reasons and actions for unresolved items.

### Team collaboration

Cointab supports team-based workspaces where multiple users can work under one common team account with roles and access control.

## 6. Main system flow

[REWRITTEN FOR CLARITY] Use this updated flow:
1. User signs up.
2. User enters a team workspace.
3. User starts a new reconciliation.
4. User either selects a popular reconciliation or creates a custom reconciliation.
5. User uploads required files on Side A and Side B, or configures automated data input.
6. User maps required fields such as date, amount, and identifiers.
7. User optionally uploads supporting data for lookups, merging, enrichment, or calculation.
8. User optionally creates derived columns using AI-generated Excel formulas.
9. User runs reconciliation manually, or schedules it to run automatically.
10. System performs structured matching using the reconciliation engine.
11. Open transactions are further analyzed using AI where rules are not sufficient.
12. User sees live progress while reconciliation is running.
13. Once completed, user reviews the reconciliation report.
14. User can explore matched, partially matched, unmatched, and skipped transactions.
15. User can use filters for deeper analysis.
16. User can download the Excel report.
17. Cointab can optionally push the reconciliation output back to internal, accounting, analytics, BI, or other systems through email, SFTP, or API.
18. User can manually match transactions that the system and AI could not match.
19. Reconciliation remains available on the dashboard for future reference.
20. If a file was missed, user can upload the missed file under the same reconciliation and refresh the report.
21. The same reconciliation setup and automation can be reused for future periods.

## 7. Reconciliation types

Cointab supports two broad types of reconciliation setup:

## 7.1 Popular reconciliations

Popular reconciliations are pre-built reconciliation templates created by Cointab and made available to customers.
Examples:
- Myntra Sales vs Payment
- Flipkart Sales vs Payment
- Amazon MTR vs Disbursement
- Sales vs PG
- Bank vs Books
- Marketplace vs Settlement
- COD Delivery Partner vs Sales

These are useful when both sides of the reconciliation are based on standard external partner reports. For example, Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, PSPs, and delivery partners usually provide the same report structure across customers.
In a popular reconciliation:
- Cointab already defines the required file formats.
- Cointab already defines data preparation logic.
- Cointab already defines matching logic.
- User only uploads the required files.
- User selects the period.
- User runs reconciliation.

Popular reconciliations should use a global Cointab-maintained configuration rather than copying the configuration locally for every customer. If the global configuration changes in the future, Cointab can either create a new version or apply the change prospectively. Historical reports should not be silently changed.

## 7.2 Custom reconciliations

Custom reconciliations are created by users for their own business-specific reconciliation workflows.
In a custom reconciliation:
- User defines Side A reports.
- User defines Side B reports.
- User maps date, amount, and identifier columns.
- User can upload multiple reports on both sides.
- User can upload supporting datasets.
- User can create derived columns.
- User can define or use matching rules.
- Once created, the custom reconciliation can be reused for future runs.

Examples:
- Internal Sales Report vs Cashfree + Razorpay + Stripe
- ERP Sales vs Marketplace Settlement
- Books vs Bank Statement
- Vendor Ledger vs Vendor Statement
- Order Report vs COD Delivery Partner Reports

## 8. Side A and Side B model

## Side A - Your Records

Side A contains records the business expects to be correct.
Examples:
- Sales report
- Books data
- ERP export
- Internal order report
- Ledger report
- Customer receivable report
- Vendor payable report
- Internal settlement working
- Source-of-truth business data

Side A is shown on the left side of the reconciliation setup screen.

## Side B - External Records

Side B contains records received from external systems, partners, banks, marketplaces, PSPs, or other parties.
Examples:
- Payment gateway report
- Marketplace settlement report
- Bank statement
- Delivery partner COD report
- Vendor statement
- Customer statement
- Tax authority report
- PSP payout report
- Refund report
- Reverse shipping report

Side B is shown on the right side of the reconciliation setup screen.

## 9. File upload and configuration

Users can upload CSV, XLS, or XLSX files.
For every primary report, user selects:
- Header row
- Date column
- Amount column
- Reference / identifier column or columns

Identifier columns can include:
- Order ID
- Transaction ID
- Invoice number
- Payment reference
- Bank UTR
- AWB number
- Settlement ID
- SKU
- Customer/vendor code
- Any other business identifier

Users can upload multiple files under the same report if they follow the same configured format.
If a file does not match the configured format, the system should reject it with a clear error, such as:
"This file doesn't match the configured format. Missing column: Transaction Date."

## 10. Supporting data

Supporting data is optional.
Supporting data is not reconciled directly. It is used to enrich, complete, calculate, or prepare the primary data before reconciliation.
Examples:
- Product master
- Fee rate file
- Return report
- Order metadata
- Marketplace mapping file
- GST / tax mapping file
- Delivery partner reference file
- Customer/vendor master
- SKU mapping
- Store mapping
- Report needed for VLOOKUP-style enrichment

Supporting data can be uploaded on both Side A and Side B.
Typical use cases:
- Add missing order details
- Merge reports before reconciliation
- Lookup fee or tax rate
- Pull order status from another file
- Add AWB number to sales report
- Combine sales and returns
- Convert partner-specific IDs into internal IDs

## 11. Derived / calculated columns

Users can create derived columns on both Side A and Side B.
A derived column is a calculated column created from existing columns.
Users can create derived columns using AI. The user describes what they want in natural language, and AI generates an Excel-style formula.
Example prompt:
"If Order processing status is Delivered, use Payment Amount. Otherwise 0."
Example generated formula:
=IF(UPPER(TRIM(C1))="DELIVERED",D1,0)
Derived columns can be used as:
- Amount columns
- Identifier columns
- Lookup fields
- Matching fields
- Output fields

Examples of derived columns:
- Clean Order ID
- Net Amount
- Delivered Payment Amount
- Normalized Transaction ID
- Amount excluding tax
- Amount after fee
- Refund amount as negative
- Combined reference
- Clean AWB number

Derived columns are recalculated whenever reconciliation is run.

## 12. Reconciliation engine

Cointab's reconciliation engine uses exhaustive structured logic to match records across sides.
The system supports matching across:
- One-to-one
- One-to-many
- Many-to-one
- Many-to-many
- Net-to-net
- Contra matching
- Partial matching

The system supports identifier logic such as:
- One Side A identifier vs one Side B identifier
- One Side A identifier vs all Side B identifiers
- All Side A identifiers vs one Side B identifier
- All Side A identifiers vs all Side B identifiers
- Side-only contra matching
- Cross-side matching

The system supports comparison methods such as:
- Equals
- Contains
- Similar
- Equals subset
- Contains subset
- Similar subset

The system can match records even when:
- One transaction on one side maps to multiple transactions on the other side.
- Multiple transactions on one side map to one transaction on the other side.
- Multiple transactions on both sides need to be grouped and compared.
- Identifiers are present across different fields.
- Identifiers partially match.
- Amounts need to be netted.
- Contra entries exist.
- Partial amount differences remain.

The engine first applies structured rules. After that, remaining open transactions are further analyzed using AI.

## 13. Role of AI in reconciliation

AI is used in three main ways:

## 13.1 AI formula builder

AI helps users create Excel-style formulas for derived columns.
This is useful when finance users know the business logic but do not want to write formulas manually.

## 13.2 AI-assisted open-item matching

After structured matching is complete, AI analyzes remaining open transactions where deterministic rules may not be enough.
AI can help with:
- Unstructured references
- Slightly different descriptions
- Inconsistent partner data
- Missing or partial identifiers
- Complex grouping scenarios
- Exception transactions
- Business context that is not obvious from simple rules

AI should be conservative and audit-friendly. If evidence is not strong enough, the transaction should remain unmatched rather than creating a weak match.

## 13.3 AI reason and action analysis

For open transactions, AI can help identify:
- Why the transaction may be unmatched
- What action the user should take
- Whether a file may be missing
- Whether a refund, return, fee, delay, or deduction may explain the difference
- Whether the partner should be contacted
- Whether internal records need correction

## 14. Reconciliation run

When user clicks Run reconciliation, the system starts processing the uploaded files.
Depending on data volume, reconciliation may take a few minutes.
The user is shown live output as reconciliation progresses.
The system should communicate progress clearly so the user knows that reconciliation is running and not stuck.

## 15. Reconciliation report

Once reconciliation is completed, user sees a report dashboard.
The report includes:
- Total summary
- Fully matched summary
- Partially matched summary
- Unmatched summary
- Skipped summary
- Transaction-level tables
- Filters
- Detailed matched transaction view
- Download report option

## 15.1 Fully matched

Fully matched transactions are transactions where identifiers and amounts match according to the reconciliation logic.
Example:
Sales transaction matches PG transaction by order ID and amount.

## 15.2 Partially matched

Partially matched transactions are transactions where identifiers match, but amounts do not match.
Example:
Sales order ID matches payment gateway reference, but sales amount is 669.33 and received amount is 668.00.
Partial matches are important because they show that the transaction is probably related, but the difference needs review.

## 15.3 Unmatched

Unmatched transactions are transactions present on one side but not found on the other side.
Examples:
- Present in Sales but not in PSP
- Present in PSP but not in Sales
- Present in Books but not in Bank
- Present in Bank but not in Books
- Present in Marketplace but not in internal records

## 15.4 Skipped

Skipped transactions are records that were not included in reconciliation.
Possible reasons:
- Excluded by rule
- Missing required data
- Invalid amount
- Incomplete record
- Duplicate or unusable row
- File/data issue

Skipped records should be visible so the user understands what was ignored and why.

## 16. Manual match

Cointab provides a manual match option for transactions that could not be matched by the system or AI.
Users can manually select transactions from both sides and match them if the totals tally.
Manual match is useful when:
- The user knows the business context.
- The partner data is incomplete.
- Identifiers are missing.
- AI cannot confidently match.
- A one-off exception needs manual treatment.

Manual matches should be clearly marked as manual.
Users should be able to undo manual matches.
If a transaction was previously part of a partial match and the user manually matches it, the system can break the previous partial match group and create the new manual match.

## 17. Missed file upload and report refresh

If the user forgot to upload a file, they can upload the missed file under the same reconciliation.
After the new file is uploaded, the report should be refreshed.
This is important because in real finance operations, users often receive late reports from PSPs, marketplaces, delivery partners, or banks.

## 18. Period handling

Cointab supports flexible period handling.
Users can reconcile:
- Monthly periods
- Quarterly periods
- Yearly periods
- Lifetime / all-time periods
- Custom periods

Users can also upload subsequent period files under a common period if they want to maintain a running report.
Open items can also be moved or carried forward to the next period where needed.
Examples:
- March 2026
- Q1 2026
- FY 2025-26
- Lifetime
- All_V1
- Custom settlement period

## 19. Reuse of reconciliations

A major value of Cointab is reuse.
Once a popular or custom reconciliation is configured, users should not need to configure it again.
For future runs, they should only:
- Select reconciliation
- Select period
- Upload required files
- Run reconciliation
- Review report

This reduces setup time and prevents repeated configuration mistakes.

## 20. Data automation and integrations

Once a reconciliation is created and configured, users can automate the data flow so that files or data do not need to be uploaded manually every time.
Cointab supports data automation through:
- Email
- SFTP
- API integrations

This allows data to be pushed into Cointab or pulled by Cointab from external systems on a scheduled frequency.

### 20.1 Automated data input

After a reconciliation is built, users can configure data automation for the required reports.
For example:
- A payment gateway report can be received daily by email.
- A marketplace settlement report can be pulled from SFTP.
- A bank statement can be fetched through API.
- An internal sales report can be pushed from the customer's ERP.
- A logistics partner report can be uploaded automatically to Cointab through SFTP.
- A custom system can send data to Cointab through API.

Once data is received or pulled, Cointab loads it into the correct reconciliation workflow.

### 20.2 Scheduled reconciliation runs

Users can define a schedule for automated reconciliation.
Examples:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
- End of day
- Every morning
- After file receipt
- After all required files are received
- Custom scheduled frequency

Once the required data is available, Cointab can automatically start the reconciliation without manual user action.
Typical automated flow:
1. Cointab receives or pulls the required data.
2. Cointab validates the file/data format.
3. Cointab loads the data into the correct reconciliation.
4. Cointab runs reconciliation automatically.
5. Cointab prepares the reconciliation report.
6. User is notified when the report is ready.
7. Output can optionally be pushed back to other systems.

### 20.3 Automated output delivery

After reconciliation is completed, Cointab can also push the output back to other systems.
Output can be delivered through:
- Email
- SFTP
- API

This helps customers update their internal systems automatically.
Examples of systems that may receive reconciliation output:
- Accounting system
- ERP
- Internal finance system
- Analytics database
- BI dashboard
- Data warehouse
- Reporting system
- Customer's internal operations system
- Partner follow-up system

Examples of output that can be sent back:
- Fully matched records
- Partially matched records
- Unmatched records
- Skipped records
- Open items
- Exception reasons
- Suggested actions
- Final reconciliation summary
- Excel reports
- Structured API response
- Data files for downstream processing

### 20.4 Why data automation matters

Data automation makes Cointab more useful for recurring finance operations.
Without automation, users manually upload files and run reconciliation.
With automation, Cointab becomes part of the customer's finance infrastructure.
The customer can set up the reconciliation once and then let Cointab handle recurring data flow, reconciliation runs, reports, and output delivery.
This is especially valuable for:
- High-volume companies
- Daily reconciliation workflows
- Payment gateway reconciliation
- Marketplace reconciliation
- Bank reconciliation
- COD reconciliation
- Multi-partner reconciliations
- Finance teams that need regular reporting
- Companies that want to update ERP, accounting, BI, or analytics systems automatically

### 20.5 Automation principles

Cointab's data automation should follow these principles:
- Users should configure automation once and reuse it.
- Manual upload should remain available where automation is not required.
- The system should validate incoming files before running reconciliation.
- Users should be notified if any expected file is missing.
- Users should be notified if a file format is incorrect.
- Automated runs should be visible on the reconciliation dashboard.
- Users should be able to see when the run happened, what data was used, and whether it was triggered manually or automatically.
- Audit logs should capture automated data receipt, reconciliation runs, output delivery, failures, and retries.
- Users should be able to pause, edit, or disable automation when needed.

## 21. Dashboard

The reconciliation dashboard shows past reconciliation runs.
Typical dashboard fields:
- Recon ID
- Reconciliation name
- Period
- Files
- Status
- Run date and time
- Run by
- Actions
- View report

Users can filter by:
- Reconciliation
- Period
- Run by

Reports remain available for future reference.

## 22. Team workspace

Cointab supports team-based workspaces.
Multiple users can be invited to a common team account.
This allows finance teams to work together instead of sharing Excel files over email.
Team features include:
- Multiple users
- Roles and permissions
- Shared reconciliation history
- Audit logs
- Common workspace
- Visibility into who ran each reconciliation

## 23. Pricing context

Cointab has four self-serve SaaS plans.

| Feature | Starter | Growth | Professional | Enterprise |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Price per month | $149 | $249 | $499 | $749 |
| Ideal for | Simple 2-3 report reconciliation | Multi-report setups | Finance-heavy teams | Complex setups |
| Reports / data sources per workflow | Up to 5 | Up to 10 | Up to 15 | Up to 20 |
| Max rows per file | 50,000 | 100,000 | 250,000 | 500,000 |
| Reconciliation runs per month | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Upload methods | Manual upload only | Manual + SFTP + Email automation | Manual + SFTP + Email + API integration | Manual + SFTP + Email + API integration |
| Matched / unmatched reports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Excel report export | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Users included | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| Teams & roles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Audit logs | Basic | Full | Advanced | Advanced |
| Data retention | 6 months | 12 months | 18 months | 24 months |
| Priority processing | - | - | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Email + chat support | Priority email + chat support | Priority email + chat support | Dedicated support channel |

Additional users may be priced separately depending on the plan and commercial policy.
Cointab may also offer managed reconciliation or dispute support as optional add-ons where the Cointab team helps the customer complete reconciliation or follow up on discrepancies.

## 24. Common product examples

Use these examples when explaining Cointab:

### Example 1 - eCommerce Sales vs Payment Gateway

A D2C brand uploads its internal sales report on Side A and Cashfree/Razorpay/Stripe payment reports on Side B. Cointab matches orders with payment records and shows which orders were paid, underpaid, overpaid, missing, refunded, or unmatched.

### Example 2 - Marketplace Sales vs Settlement

A brand selling on Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, or other marketplaces uploads marketplace sales, settlement, return, and payment reports. Cointab reconciles sales, payments, deductions, returns, and settlements.

### Example 3 - COD Delivery Partner Reconciliation

A company uploads internal COD order data and delivery partner COD remittance reports. Cointab matches AWB/order references and identifies missing remittances or amount differences.

### Example 4 - Bank vs Books

A finance team uploads bank statements and book ledger data. Cointab matches receipts/payments and identifies entries present in one system but missing in the other.

### Example 5 - Vendor Reconciliation

A company uploads its vendor ledger and the vendor's statement. Cointab matches invoices, payments, credit notes, and differences.

## 25. Messaging guidelines

When explaining Cointab, use simple finance language.
Good phrases:
- "Upload your files, map fields once, and run reconciliation anytime."
- "Cointab separates fully matched, partially matched, unmatched, and skipped records."
- "Use popular reconciliations for standard partner reports."
- "Use custom reconciliations for business-specific workflows."
- "AI helps with formulas, exception analysis, and difficult open transactions."
- "Download audit-ready Excel reports."
- "Your team works in one shared workspace instead of passing Excel files around."
- "Set up the reconciliation once, then automate recurring data flow."
- "Cointab can pull data from your systems or receive data through email, SFTP, or API."
- "Once reconciliation is completed, Cointab can push output back to your ERP, accounting system, BI tool, or internal system."
- "Manual upload is available, but recurring workflows can be automated end-to-end."
- "Cointab can become part of your daily finance operations, not just a monthly file upload tool."

Avoid saying:
- Cointab is only for payment reconciliation.
- Cointab is only for banks.
- Cointab is only an AI tool.
- AI blindly matches everything.
- Users need technical knowledge to use the system.
- Every reconciliation requires custom implementation.
- Users must rebuild configuration every month.

## 26. Product philosophy

Cointab should feel powerful but simple.
The product should make finance users feel:
"I know exactly what I'm reconciling, what files are used, what rules are applied, what matched, what did not match, and what I need to do next."
Important principles:
- Use finance-friendly language.
- Keep the workflow transparent.
- Do not hide logic from users.
- Make reports audit-friendly.
- Let users reuse setup.
- Let AI assist, but keep output reviewable.
- Show skipped and unmatched items clearly.
- Make manual override possible but auditable.
- Reduce repeat work.
- Reduce Excel dependency.