Reports Your Team Will Actually Use: Flagged Entries, Entry Summaries and Reconciliation

The run is not the end

When a batch finishes, someone has to answer simple questions. What was entered? What needs attention? Does it agree with the source documents? Can I show a partner, or a client, what happened?

If the only output is a file of entries, those questions have no easy answer. The team ends up opening documents again to rebuild the picture. Good reports are what turn a run into something you can rely on and explain.

Here are four we build, and what each one is for.

1. The flagged-entry list

This is the report your reviewer opens first. It lists only the entries that need a human look, with the reason shown by name:

• Invoice number and vendor.
• Which check failed, such as GST check, line math, GSTIN format or state code.
• The value found and, where relevant, the value expected.
• Fields that could not be found.

The point is to make review a short, targeted task. The reviewer works down the list, resolves each item and moves on. They do not need to re-read every invoice in the batch.

2. A summary of what was entered

This is a plain account of the run:

• How many documents were processed.
• How many entries were produced.
• How many passed all set checks, and how many were flagged.
• Totals by vendor, by month or by whatever grouping you use.

A summary like "50 of 50 invoices passed all set checks" or "46 passed, 4 flagged" is only meaningful alongside the list of checks, so the report states which ones were run. This gives your team a quick view and gives a partner something to read in a minute.

3. Reconciliation of page totals against entered totals

This one answers a question that is easy to skip: does what was entered add up to what the documents say?

Many invoices and statements print their own totals. The script reads those totals from the page, adds up the values it extracted, and compares the two. If they agree, you have independent evidence that the entries match the document. If they differ, the report says which document and by how much.

It is a useful safeguard because it does not rely on trusting any single field. If a line was missed or misread, the totals tend not to agree, and the difference shows up. It will not catch every kind of error. If two mistakes offset each other, or the printed total is itself wrong, this check will not see it. That is why it sits alongside the other checks and does not replace them.

For a related approach using master data, see our post on how to reconcile extracted PDF data against an Excel master.

4. Firm-specific report templates

Every firm presents things its own way. One wants a monthly sheet by client with specific column headings. Another wants a one-page view for partners, with charts. Another wants the flagged list in a layout it already uses for follow-up.

Since the workflow is built around your process, the reports can be too. We build templates to match the layout your team already knows, in Excel, so people do not have to learn a new format. The data behind them comes from the same run, so every view agrees.

Not every firm needs entries posted at all. Some only want the flagged list or a report. That is a fine place to start, and it can grow later.

What these reports do for you

Together they give you a trail:

• Before the run: the list of checks that were set.
• During: what was flagged, and why.
• After: a summary of entries, and a reconciliation against the source totals.

When a client asks what was entered for them last quarter, or a reviewer asks why something was posted, you can show the answer from the run itself.

What we do not claim

Reports reflect what was checked. If a problem sits outside the set checks, it will not appear on a flagged list. We state which checks each report is based on, so nobody reads more into it than it says.

If you would like to see what a flagged list, entry summary or reconciliation could look like for your documents, you can show us your workflow and we will sketch it with you. The document automation assessment is a short way to list those documents first.

FAQ

What reports can invoice automation produce?

Useful ones include a flagged-entry list, a summary of what was entered, a reconciliation of page totals against entered totals and firm-specific templates.

How do I prove what was entered from an invoice batch?

Keep the run's summary, the flagged list and the reconciliation. Together they show what was processed, what failed which check and whether totals agree.

Can the reports follow our firm's format?

Yes. Report templates can be built around the layout your team already uses, usually in Excel.