Control is the key to running a successful business. When working with various counterparties, one must have a good knowledge of information and do not forget to confirm the words with real numbers from time to time. It is for this that in modern document management there is an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements.

Document Description

Relationships between partners cannot be built on trust alone. In addition to feelings, must be present real facts who at any time will be able to confirm or refute various suspicions. Any activity is actually connected with the acquisition or sale of something. Some produce goods or provide services, while others buy them by entering into an appropriate agreement. Both of them periodically need to audit their expenses.

To do this, they use the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements. In what cases does it become necessary to draw up such a document? The reasons can be very different:

1. If one of the parties provides its goods without an advance payment or with an installment payment.
2. In the case when a particularly valuable product is sold.
3. The company has a large number of partners, each of which supplies goods in a fairly wide range.
4. In the case of long-term and permanent cooperation of counterparties.
5. In a situation where both parties decide to expand the scope of their relationship by entering into new agreements.

Any of these reasons may serve as a reason to request from your partner an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements. This should not be seen as distrust or prejudice.

Important details

Every accountant knows what an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements is. This is not surprising, because it is they who have to compose it. In this situation, an employee who owns certain information is required. To compile such a document, you have to raise data from different accounts:

• on previously issued advances;
• by income;
• according to the obligations assumed;
• according to existing shortages.

Only an accountant has access to such information. At the direction of the head, he collects the necessary information and draws them up in the form of a document of a certain sample. However, the responsibility for the data provided is ultimately Chief Accountant. If there are no visible disagreements between the partners, then a similar form as a confirmation of the results of activities for a specific period. Some accountants act in this way when it turns out that the primary documents of transactions are lost or they are simply too lazy to look for them. However, this does not relieve them of responsibility for the information provided.

Procedure

How should an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements be drawn up? The sample filling will be a consistent presentation of specific information.

Any such act must contain the following information:

1. Document's name.
2. The period for which it was made.
3. Name of counterparties.
4. The basis of the transaction (agreement, agreement).
5. Dates, numbers and specific figures taken from primary documents (payment orders, invoices and others). They contain information that will confirm the delivery or payment of the goods. Such information, for ease of perception, is usually collected in a table divided into two parts. In this case, each of the parties has the opportunity to indicate separately the data it has.
6. Signatures of representatives of each of the parties.

The document must be drawn up in two copies so that each organization can keep it. The signature of the chief accountant must be mandatory here. And sometimes it can be the only one. This can be done in cases where there are no discrepancies in the data. Most often, the signature of the head of the enterprise is also required as confirmation.

Accounting automation

Some employees are interested in drawing up an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements, how to fill it out in the 1C: Accounting program? There are no particular difficulties here. Thanks to the computer, the work is much easier.

You just need to perform a few sequential operations:

1. Go to the "Sales" or "Purchases" section (if necessary). Then in the tab "Settlements with counterparties" select "Act of reconciliation".
2. Being inside the selected journal, click the "Create" button, and then go to the "Act of reconciliation with counterparties" tab. A dialog box will appear that can be filled in two ways: automatically or manually. The specialist chooses for himself exactly the one that he needs.
3. Select the "According to the organization's data" tab, then click "Fill in" and specify the request with the "Fill in according to accounting data" button. A list of all transactions performed will appear on the screen. If you need information on all contracts for the specified period, then you just need to check the box “Split by contracts”.
4. Make a note "Reconciliation agreed."
5. Find the "Additional" tab and select from the list of persons needed to sign the act.

It remains only to write down this document, and it will be possible to send it to print.

Rules for compiling a document

Accountants often have to make an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements. An example of compiling and filling out such a form is strictly individual for each organization. Considering that the law does not provide for any strict unified form for this, employees of any enterprise are forced to form it themselves, guided by general rules and requirements:

1. Any act begins with a "header" with initial information about partners.
2. Next comes the standard phrase that is used in all contracts. It states that the undersigned representatives of the two parties have drawn up this act, confirming that the following state of accounting.
3. Following these words is the already known table. The first line in it is "balance at the beginning of the period." Next come the operations, divided into "debit" (performance of work or delivery of goods) and "credit" (payment). Then follows the balance at the end of this period. And the table ends with the calculation of debt.
4. The signature of authorized persons must be confirmed by the round seal of the company.

Instead of the head, another person can sign the act. To do this, you need a power of attorney that will give him such authority. By the way, in court, its absence may cast doubt on the entire document.

Drafting The act of reconciliation of mutual settlements usually necessary when two legal entities need to certify transfers made between each other. Most often, such acts of reconciliations are made for specific contracts or invoices; reconciliations are also possible under contracts for a certain time period. It is worth noting that, despite the fact that this document is not mandatory and is created only by mutual agreement of the parties, it is common in all areas of activity and is used by most organizations.

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Who draws up the act

The act of reconciliation can be claimed by any of the parties to a particular transaction. Compilation, as a rule, is carried out by an accountant.

An act of mutual settlements is drawn up at the request of one of the parties and it is compiled by specialists from the accounting departments. Before sending a document to a counterparty, it must be signed by the chief accountant or head of the organization, or an employee authorized to sign such documents.

How is reconciliation carried out

This procedure can be carried out only for one of the following items: name or number of goods, contract, specific delivery, a certain period of time. In order for this document to be valid, it should be drawn up either after the last transfer, or from the moment of delivery. In addition, reconciliation is convenient to carry out during the annual inventory of funds and property of the enterprise. Quite often, according to the results of such checks, debts are revealed: receivables or payables.
If such facts are confirmed, you must immediately make a reconciliation report and send it to the partner organization.

Rules for issuing an act

There is no unified, standard for all form of drawing up an act, so it can be written in free form or according to a template developed at the enterprise. A regular sheet of A4 format is suitable for filling.

It is necessary to print the act in two copies - one for each of the interested parties.

Both signed and completed copies are sent to the counterparty, whose specialists compare the information from the sent act with the data they have. If there are no objections to the financial transfers specified in the act, all the information matches, then the counterparty signs the documents and returns one copy, and keeps the second.

If necessary, the act can be certified with a seal, but since 2016, the presence of a seal for legal entities is not a requirement of the law (however, without a seal, in the event of litigation, the document may be declared null and void).

So that the process of signing the reconciliation act does not drag out, when sending the document, you should indicate the time frame in which it must be returned back.

The purpose of the act

If the information in the document drawn up by the initiator of the reconciliation does not coincide with that of his counterparty, then at the end of the document the discrepancies should be recorded. The same applies to debts: if such facts are revealed, it is necessary to indicate the period during which they should be repaid. Otherwise, the court, in the event of a claim, will not be able to take into account the argument for violating the terms of monetary transfers.

The act of reconciliation of mutual settlements under the law may be the basis for interrupting the three-year limitation period. That is, in cases where the debtor signs the act of reconciliation within three years, he is considered to have recognized his debt obligations and is obliged to repay them within the prescribed time frame.

It happens that during the period that has elapsed since the signing of the contract and the fulfillment of obligations, the counterparty has been declared bankrupt. In such situations, accounts payable after a certain time can be written off as expenses of the organization.

Instructions for filling out the act of reconciliation

In the "header" you need to enter data on the period for which the reconciliation act is carried out, as well as indicate the contract that served as the basis for the creation of this document. Here you should also enter the name of the companies in accordance with the constituent documents (it is possible without such details as KPP, TIN, PSRN, etc.).

The second part of the document includes a table in which each of the parties enters the information contained in its accounting for transfers in accordance with the contract in question or for a certain period of time. They must match exactly. Under the table, each enterprise enters the existing debt. These data must also be the same. If there are no debts, this must be noted in writing.

In conclusion, the document must be signed by the heads of enterprises with the obligatory indication of positions and decoding of signatures. A document drawn up in accordance with all the rules of office work, in the presence of signatures of directors of enterprises, acquires legal force.

The financial relations of enterprises with each other are continuously recorded by employees of the accounting department.

Bookkeeping provides that periodically firms conduct reconciliation of calculations among themselves. In this article, we will understand what an act of reconciliation in accounting is.

Procedure for making calculations

How to reconcile the status of accounts between organizations is not strictly regulated. This procedure is usually approved by internal documents.

The order and frequency of settlements can be included in job description an accountant who manages the accounting document flow of this section.

In case of disagreement in the reflection of information on the accounts, any of the organizations may send a reconciliation act to the counterparty.

The meeting party must verify the correctness of the reflection of the information on their accounts. All missing, or superfluous, erroneously reflected information is subject to agreement and correction.

Contents of the act of reconciliation

There is no strictly established form of the act of reconciliation. At the same time, there is a certain set of information necessary to be reflected in the act. First of all, reconciliation is carried out as of a certain date.

The document records all operations performed up to this date, and in addition, the balance of debt on the start date and the same on the end date. The main purpose of the reconciliation act is to ensure that the final balance in the accounting of both enterprises is the same.

Specify information about the organizations participating in the reconciliation. On behalf of each party, the document is signed by an authorized person. Usually this is the chief accountant of the enterprise or the accountant responsible for the area of ​​settlements with counterparties.

The most significant part of the act is to reflect transactions. They are listed in a table containing four columns. The first two are filled in by one participant in the act, the rest - by another participant.

Consistently in chronological order all transactions reflected in the accounting are entered into the document. These are issued/received invoices, as well as paid/received funds on the basis of payment orders or bank statements.

If several different agreements are concluded between organizations, then a separate reconciliation of calculations is carried out in the context of each. If there are no special requirements, you can include all operations in the act and display a single balance.

In the event of a discrepancy between the balances between firms, the accountant must find out which document and for what reason was not reflected or identify excessively reflected information. Missing documents are requested from the counterparty.

Usually, the formation of the reconciliation act is performed automatically by means of software accounting products.

And the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements is a document that reflects the status of settlements for a certain period of time between two counterparties. Despite the fact that the legislation does not stipulate the obligation to draw up reconciliation acts, this should be done regularly. Timely reconciliation will save you from errors in tax and accounting reports. The act of reconciliation also testifies to the recognition of debt by the counterparty. Moreover, on the day of signing the document, the limitation period is interrupted and starts anew.

We develop the form of the act of reconciliation

Organizations develop the form of the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements independently. The legislation does not provide for a unified form of this document (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 18, 2005 No. 07-05-04 / 2).

Before you start developing the details of the act, you should understand whether it refers to primary accounting documents. There are two opposite points of view.

On the one hand, the Federal Tax Service of Russia, in a letter dated December 6, 2010 No. ШС-37-3/16955, noted that the reconciliation act is not a primary accounting document confirming the completion of a business transaction. Officials explained this by the fact that when signing the document financial condition sides does not change. In our opinion, this position is quite logical.

On the other hand, the same tax authorities have repeatedly tried to prove in courts that if the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements is drawn up without taking into account the mandatory details of the primary accounting document, then it is not a basis for interrupting the limitation period. Note that this point of view of officials does not find support among the arbitrators.

Arbitrage practice

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The judges considered that the reconciliation act is not a strict accounting document, the form and mandatory details of which are determined by law (decisions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated September 4, 2013 in case No. A40-148003 / 12-55-1356, Northwestern District dated 04/09/2013 in case No. A56-44437 / 2012, Ural District dated 03.27.2012 No. F09-933 / 12).

Here is a list of details that, in our opinion, the act of reconciliation of settlements should contain:

1. Title of the document;
2. names of the parties;
3. date of signing the act;
4. the period for which the reconciliation is carried out;
5. details of the contract under which the reconciliation is carried out;
6. links to primary documents (invoices, acts of acceptance and transfer of the results of work performed / services rendered, payment orders, cash orders, etc.);
7. the amount of transactions (the fact of economic life) in monetary terms;
8. closing balance in monetary terms;
9. signatures of the parties and F.I.Oh. persons who signed the act;
10. side prints.

At the same time, we note that the absence of any of the listed details does not automatically entail the invalidity of the act (see the sample of the reconciliation act in the Example).

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Arbitrage practice

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The supreme arbitrators took into account the reconciliation act, which did not contain references to primary accounting documents, the basis for the occurrence of debt and the date of signing of the act. They explained this by the fact that according to Part 2 of Art. 71 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the court evaluates both the relevance, admissibility, and reliability of each piece of evidence individually, as well as the sufficiency and interconnection of evidence in their totality. In this case, the court compared the amounts of debt contained in the reconciliation report with the amounts indicated in the signed acts of work performed and the certificate of work performed and costs. The lack of evidence of other contractual obligations between the parties also played a role (Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated 05.03.2013 No. 13031/12).

Nevertheless, most often judges insist on the presence in the act of reconciliations of references to primary documents.

Arbitrage practice

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The court did not recognize the debt, t.to. in the reconciliation act there were no references to primary documents (numbers and dates were not indicated) and the date of signing of the act (determination of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated February 27, 2013 No. VAS-1472/13).

In another case, the arbitrators did not accept an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements, in which there were no references to the disputed consignment notes (decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District dated April 26, 2010 in case No. A31-3047 / 2009).

In another case, the act was not adopted by the court, because. it mentioned a work contract and an act of offset (Decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Central District dated 05.06.2009 No. F10-2002/09).

Who will sign the act?

The reconciliation act is drawn up in two copies - one for each of the parties. He) or a representative acting on the basis of a power of attorney issued by such a body.

In order for the reconciliation act to become lawful, it must be signed by both parties.

Arbitrage practice

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The acts of reconciliations of mutual settlements submitted by the seller were recognized by the courts as inadmissible evidence, since they were signed unilaterally and are not confirmed by primary accounting documents (determination of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated January 30, 2013 No. VAS-48/13).

At the same time, the courts do not accept reconciliation acts signed by unauthorized persons as evidence.

Arbitrage practice

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The act of reconciliation of settlements was not accepted by the court as evidence of the interruption of the limitation period, since it was signed by an unauthorized person (determination of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated 09.01.2013 No. VAS-17480/12).

A successful business involves cooperation with a large number of people with whom cash settlements are regularly made. A considerable share is also occupied by settlements with the state - for taxes and insurance premiums. All these monetary relations require careful control, and the easiest way to carry it out is through regular.

How to read the act of reconciliation

Purpose of signing

Sample act of disagreement

The act of disagreement is signed by the same person who signs the main reconciliation acts. Copies of documents confirming the disagreement must be attached to it.

Varieties of such a document

The most common

The most common types of reconciliation acts include:

1. The act of reconciliation with the supplier. Contains transactions recorded on account 60. The debit reflects all payments made to the address of the supplier, and the amount of product deliveries is reflected on the credit.
2. The act of reconciliation with the buyer. In this case, accounting is kept on account 62. The amounts of shipments are recorded on the debit, and the payments transferred by the buyers are recorded on the credit.
3. Certificate of reconciliation of work performed. It is drawn up according to the general rules, only instead of the amounts of product deliveries, it reflects the amounts according to the acts of work performed.
4. Group act of reconciliation. It is a set of reconciliation acts for all existing counterparties of the company. It is formed due to the installation of a special extension to the accounting program. This method of forming acts is especially convenient at the end of the reporting period, when it is necessary to take an inventory of the entire volume of calculations.
5. Zero act of reconciliation. Distinctive feature is a zero balance at the end of the period considered in the document.
6. . It is drawn up in the same way as acts for any other services. When the document is generated by the lessor, the debit will show the rental amounts according to the invoices issued, and the payments transferred by the tenant will be credited.

Reconciliation acts are also classified depending on the status of the counterparty - or an individual. Moreover, not only can act as an individual, but also ordinary citizens with whom the company has any settlements. Such an act is formed according to general rules, as in the case of reconciliation with organizations. The company cannot refuse to an individual in providing an act of reconciliation, if it was requested by him.