Always compare the balance sheet and the sales ledger as of the same date.

Compare the “Unpaid invoices balance total” amount in the sales ledger with the closing balance of account 1210 Trade receivables in the balance sheet. If the “Total sum” and “Remainder” column totals differ in the sales ledger, then compare the “Remainder” column total with the balance of account 1210.

The “Total sum” column shows the full amount of the issued invoice. If part of the invoice has been paid, the unpaid portion appears in the “Remainder” column. The sum of unpaid portions of invoices constitutes the trade receivables.

If there are receipts in the sales ledger that are not linked to an invoice, they are included in the line “Prepayments sum”. This amount must match the balance of account 2210 Prepayments by buyers in the balance sheet.

If you notice any differences, adjust the comparison date until you find the date when the data last matched. Then check the main ledger starting from that date and review the entries in the following period to identify anything unusual.

For example, if you are looking for the cause of a difference in the Prepayments by buyers account, the account must not contain entries with the description “Invoice” or “Purchase invoice”. Correct entries should contain descriptions such as “Receivable from client” or “Incoming from client from prepayments”. Also check that the entry has an “A” on a grey background, indicating an automatically created transaction that has not been modified by the user.

Once the cause of the difference is found, make the necessary corrections.