This guide shows you how to reconcile the prepayments balance ScaleXP calculates with the balance in Xero or QuickBooks by checking your journals are posted and synced, aligning the opening balance, tracing manual journals, and reviewing back-dated bills. Section 6 of the Prepayments Journal page shows the two balances side by side and the difference by account; work through the causes below in order, as the first two explain almost every gap.

1. Check the journals are posted and synced

1. Confirm the proposed journal for each month has been posted from ScaleXP.
2. Sync your accounting system from Load Data and make sure the sync covers the months you are reviewing. If data is not updating, see Why is my accounting data not updating when I sync?.

2. Align the opening balance

ScaleXP builds the prepayments balance forward from the bills you select. If the balance you started from did not match your accounting system, every later month is off by the same amount. You have two options.

1. Use a dedicated ScaleXP prepayments account (recommended). Create a new balance sheet account in Xero or QuickBooks, for example "Prepaid Expenses ScaleXP", and set it as your default Prepayments account in Expense Journal Settings, with no other account selected. Code new prepaid bills to it from your switchover date. Your old prepayments account runs down through your existing process and the new one starts from zero. If you code prepaid bills to a P&L account, mark pre-switchover bills as excluded in ScaleXP instead; see How to change the review status of a supplier or bill on prepaid expenses pages.
2. Keep your existing account. Make sure every bill sitting in the account when you start is selected in ScaleXP and none is missing (see How to add a missing bill or cost supplier), then post a one-off adjusting journal in your accounting system for any remaining timing difference.

See Setup 1: Prepare your accounts for the full switchover walkthrough.

3. Trace manual journals posted outside ScaleXP

1. Expand Section 3: Journals already posted this month (click Show section if it is hidden). Any line not generated by ScaleXP is a manual journal.
2. Either mirror it in ScaleXP by adding a manual bill (see How to add a missing bill or cost supplier), or move prepayments to a dedicated account as in step 2 so manual entries and the automation stay apart.

4. Review back-dated bills and locked periods

1. Expand 3b: Late adjustments - posted in a later month in Section 3. These are bills that arrived after the month closed; ScaleXP posts the correction to the next open period, which is the right treatment for a closed book.
2. Compare them with the bills for that month on the New supplier bills page; see How to review bills by issue month. If every line ties back to a late bill, no action is needed.
3. Bills dated before your Journal Start Date are not journaled by ScaleXP. Either move the start date back in Expense Journal Settings or handle those bills through your existing process.

Related articles

• Prepayments 2: Review and post the journal
• Setup 1: Prepare your accounts
• Setup 2: Choose your settings
• How to change the review status of a supplier or bill on prepaid expenses pages
• How to add a missing bill or cost supplier
• How to review bills by issue month
• Why can't I post my prepayments journal?