What is a vendor statement?
A vendor statement, also called a supplier statement, is a document sent by a supplier showing the transactions and balance on a customer’s account for a particular period. It commonly lists invoices, credit notes, payments, and outstanding amounts according to the supplier’s records.
Also known as: supplier statement.
Accounts payable teams compare this statement with the vendor account in their own accounting system. This helps identify documents or payments recorded by one party but missing from the other.
What does a vendor statement include?
A vendor statement may contain:
- Supplier and customer account details
- Opening and closing balances
- Invoice numbers, dates and values
- Credit notes
- Payments and allocations
- Outstanding or overdue balances
- Adjustments and carried-forward items
The exact format varies. Statements may be supplied as spreadsheets, PDFs, scans, emails or structured electronic files.
Example: A supplier statement lists an invoice that does not appear in the SAP vendor account. The accounts payable team investigates whether the invoice was never received, is awaiting processing or was recorded under the wrong vendor or company code.
Why are vendor statements reconciled?
Vendor statement reconciliation provides an independent check at the end of the accounts payable process. Invoice capture and approval confirm whether individual invoices should be processed. Statement reconciliation checks whether the supplier’s overall record agrees with the vendor account.
The process can identify:
- Invoices received by the supplier but missing from the customer’s system
- Credit notes not yet recorded
- Payments not allocated by the supplier
- Duplicate or incorrect postings
- Timing differences
- Disputed transactions
- Balances carried forward incorrectly
Finding these differences can prevent avoidable supplier queries, duplicate payments, missed credits and incorrect liability balances.
How is a vendor statement reconciled?
A typical reconciliation involves:
- Obtaining the supplier statement for the period.
- Confirming the correct vendor account.
- Comparing each statement line with SAP vendor transactions.
- Matching invoices, credits and payments.
- Investigating unmatched lines and differences.
- Recording explanations and required actions.
- Reviewing and approving the completed reconciliation.
- Sharing queries or the final reconciliation with the supplier where needed.
Is a vendor statement the same as an invoice?
No. An invoice requests payment for a specific transaction. A vendor statement summarises activity across the account and may include many invoices, credits and payments. A statement does not normally replace a valid invoice.
How are vendor statements reconciled in SAP?
SAP holds vendor-account transactions, but standard SAP does not provide a complete vendor-statement reconciliation process. Many accounts payable teams export SAP data to spreadsheets, then manually compare it with statements received in different formats.
The BEST Vendor Recons module loads supplier statements into SAP and matches them with vendor-account data. It identifies unmatched statement lines, supports investigation and approval, and keeps the reconciliation and its evidence close to the source transactions.
The module supports supplier statement reconciliation. It is not an invoice capture or invoice approval platform.
Foodstuffs South Island reduced the time required to reconcile statements for 300 vendors from 1.5 days to 25 minutes and halved the staff required for the process. Read the Foodstuffs supplier reconciliation case study.
Frequently asked questions
How often should vendor statements be reconciled?
Many organisations reconcile key supplier statements monthly. Frequency may vary according to supplier value, transaction volume, payment terms and risk.
What if a supplier does not send a statement?
The accounts payable team may request one directly. Without a statement, the business loses an independent check that can reveal documents missing from its own system.
What is the difference between vendor and supplier reconciliation?
The terms are generally used for the same process. SAP commonly uses ‘vendor’, while many businesses use ‘supplier’.