We draw up the correct act of reconciliation. The main features of the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements

Quite common in economic activity business entities is an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements. The most popular area of ​​its application is supply contracts. When goods are shipped in multiple batches over a period of time and payment is due later.

However, the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements can also be applied under any other agreements when it is necessary to document the debt. It can be drawn up after, as well as in any other legal relationship that provides for settlements between subjects within a certain period of time.

An example of an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements

between Selkhozmash LLC and the head of the peasant farm Isaev Eduard Yuryevich

We, the undersigned, Chief Accountant Selkhozmash LLC Ladoshkin Andrey Viktorovich, on the one hand, and the head of the Krestyansky farming Isaev Eduard Yuryevich, on the other hand, drew up this reconciliation act according to the accounting data as follows:

According to Selkhozmash LLC, the debt of the KFH Isaev E.Yu. in favor of Selkhozmash LLC is 181,207 rubles.

General Director of Selkhozmash LLC Burmistrov S.I.

Chief Accountant of Selkhozmash LLC Ladoshkin A.V.

Head of KFH Isaev E.Yu.

Chief Accountant of KFH __________

You are kindly requested to sign the reconciliation act by the director (IP) and the chief accountant. If the act is signed by an authorized person, a copy must be attached. Please return the signed original of the reconciliation report to the address: 630015, Novosibirsk, st. Kuklachev, 19, of. 305.

Why is an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements drawn up

The purpose of the document is obvious - the actual recognition of the debt of one party to the other. We recommend that you draw up an act of reconciliation of mutual settlements:

when cooperation between organizations (parties to the contract) is long-term, permanent

before conclusion additional agreements and other agreements

when granting a deferment (installment plan) of payment

Is the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements? Of course, the court evaluates the evidence based on internal conviction. The act signed by both parties also testifies to the existence of legal relations between the parties, the presence of debt and even its size. At the same time, a reconciliation act without the signature of an authorized person is controversial evidence. The court examines such a document and the corresponding objections of the other party. And in any case, primary documents (waybills, payment orders, bills of lading, etc.) must be examined in the trial.

The act of reconciliation of mutual settlements is compiled by accountants using the 1-C program. However individual entrepreneurs often assume the duties of an accountant themselves. The following information must be included in the document:

names of the parties;

grounds for the occurrence of debt (details of the contract);

requisites primary documents;

actual income and expenditure Money between contractors;

signatures of authorized persons. The document must be signed by the director.

If the counterparty does not want to sign the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements, therefore, has no intention to recognize the debt, which may indicate the need to send a supply contract and file a lawsuit.

The act of reconciliation of mutual settlements is one of the primary accounting documents. It is intended to mark the status of mutual settlements between partners on a certain date. To avoid mistakes and misunderstandings, you need to know how to make the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements correct and relevant.

When is an act required?

Periodic completion of the reconciliation act takes place between constantly cooperating entities. The partners can be the supplier and recipient of the goods, the taxpayer and the state fund, two divisions large corporation etc.

The reasons for this, in addition to long-term interaction, are:

• the ability to pay for goods and services in the future;
• the need to navigate in large numbers names;
• work with expensive products;
• conducting an inventory of settlements;
• the need to present the status of settlements to superiors or government agencies.

What are the optimal timings?

The act of reconciliation of mutual settlements, by agreement of the parties, can be developed for a month, half a year, a year and even a longer period. There are no fixed deadlines. However, in any case, the act must include all transactions that took place during the selected period. Most companies issue statements monthly.

In some cases, two separate documents between the same partners are required. This is possible and even desirable when cooperation is heterogeneous: for example, firm A is a supplier for firm B for some goods, and a buyer for others. In this case, the frequency of execution of acts on different directions may vary.

To maintain the relevance of the acts, they must be filled out from the beginning of joint activities, and in the future - immediately after the signing of the next act.

How to fill out a reconciliation act?

Uniform requirements regarding how it is formed right act reconciliation does not exist. However, there are several principles on how to fill out a reconciliation act:

• The document must have the name and date of execution, as well as the names of both parties.
• The document must indicate the officials whose signatures are placed at the bottom of the reconciliation act.
• All data must be strictly distributed according to contracts.

In addition, it is desirable that the accountant comply with the basic requirements applicable to primary documents in general. Usually the act is drawn up in the form of a list of documents ordered in chronological order. Instead, you can specify the nature of the action (acquisition of goods, transfer of money, sale of property).

A sample of the correct reconciliation act is shown in the figure:

How to conduct reconciliations?

Settlements with regular business partners are carried out under one article - a contract, name of a product or service, a separate delivery, etc. To avoid double work, reconciliation can be organized during the inventory period, which is carried out once a year.

If any discrepancies were noticed in the accounts payable or receivable, it is necessary to immediately draw up an act and send it to your counterparty with the appropriate notification. It happens that a long-standing debt cannot be repaid by the counterparty due to the fact that he has become bankrupt, and then the amount of debt is taken into account in the expense item. To avoid such troubles, reconciliations should be carried out as often as possible.

What to do after the act is drawn up?

Even taking into account the fact that accountants are involved in compiling the document, the form of the reconciliation act assumes that it contains the signature of the manager. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to present the document to the director for signature.

Then the representative of the firm that drew up the act sends two copies to the partner firm in person or through postal services. The counterparty, in turn, gets acquainted with the document, signs both copies, and then sends one of them back.

Does the act have legal force?

Valid from the point of view of the law is the original of the correct act of reconciliation, which bears the signatures and seals of the directors of both companies.

The partner retains the right to refuse to sign the act, and then the document will not have legal force. Refusal to confirm the act by a partner in most cases means an unwillingness to admit the presence of one's own debt.

To avoid such situations, the procedure for reconciling mutual settlements and signing acts should be fixed in the contract. In case of its violation, sanctions should be provided. There are no other legal methods to force the counterparty to sign.

According to the judges, the act is not sufficient proof of the debt, but it acts as a good additional artifact in the presence of primary documents directly related to the debt. In addition, with the help of an act, the limitation period can be increased, because. it begins to be counted not from the day the disputed transaction was concluded, but from the day the last of the reconciliation acts was signed.

Thus, the reconciliation act is not just a formal document, it is a real instrument of legal influence on business partners.

For reconciliation of accounts legal entities and individual entrepreneurs often draw up an appropriate act. The legislation does not provide for a single sample and obligation to use this particular document, so each company can develop its own form. Finished example and instructions for filling out are presented in the article.

Purpose and varieties

Fixing the expenditure transactions of each company is carried out in without fail. For this, payment documents, receipts, invoices, orders and other papers are drawn up. However, in practice, it becomes necessary to compare mutual settlements between two or more counterparties, for which a reconciliation act is drawn up.

As a rule, it is signed by legal entities, as well as individual entrepreneurs. The names of the parties are similar to those indicated in the relevant agreements:

• "Customer";
• "Executor".

The document reflects all types of transactions between companies (or individual settlements, selectively) for a specific period - a month, a quarter, a year (the reporting period is determined by agreement). Accountants are responsible for the execution. They produce:

• drawing up an act;
• reconciliation with the data that came from the counterparty.

The document can be drawn up as an annex to the contract, or as a separate document. And in this regard, we can conditionally distinguish 2 varieties:

1. Appendix to the main agreement - for example, to the supply contract. In this case, the document is an integral part of this agreement and is not legally binding on its own, in the absence of the underlying agreement. As a rule, they record information about all transactions that took place under this agreement.
2. An independent document that is used outside of a specific contract. It combines mutual financial settlements for a specific period of time (or for individual groups of goods and services).

The supply contract should additionally specify the conditions for reconciliation of mutual settlements, the timing and procedure for signing the act. Otherwise, an unscrupulous counterparty may evade signing the paper.

Form and sample document

As a rule, it is a summary table with a description of each type of operation (service, work), its amount. The document must reflect the details and names of both parties, record the presence / absence of the customer's debt to the contractor on a specific date.

The form and sample of the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements are presented below.

The number of copies is determined by the number of parties, so a minimum of 2 original documents with the same legal force is drawn up.

Compilation Instructions

To begin with, you need to pay attention to a few recommendations:

1. The document must indicate the reporting period for which reconciliation is made.
2. The date of its compilation should always be indicated. It does not have to be related to the reporting period. For example, the act was drawn up on January 29, 2018, while the reporting period is from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017.
3. The parties indicate not only the types of operations (services), but also the documents on the basis of which their accounting was made (for example, invoices).
4. As a rule, not only the final amount is indicated, but also the opening balance (balance).
5. At the end of the page, the representatives of the parties put their signatures. As a rule, the chief accountant has the right to sign. It can also be signed by managers - this is especially important in cases where there are disagreements between partners regarding settlement operations.

NOTE. In some cases, the company does not use the usual blue print. Then it is enough for the representative to put his own signature, decipher it (surname, initials) and indicate the position.

Thus, drawing up an act makes it possible to simplify the procedure for reconciling mutual settlements and confirm the fact that there are no claims between the customer and the contractor. The document is usually drawn up in printed form, blots and corrections are not allowed in it.

The act of reconciliation of mutual settlements is not a mandatory document, however, like reconciliation is not a mandatory procedure. It is carried out at the initiative of the parties. This document does not belong to, therefore, its form is not regulated by law.

Reconciliation of calculations and the preparation of the corresponding act is carried out in order to determine whether there is a debt of one counterparty to another and what is its amount. The reconciliation period is determined in an arbitrary order, usually from the moment when the last reconciliation was carried out.

The parties to the transaction have the right to refuse to conduct reconciliation and even the court will not be able to influence this decision, since there are no relevant legislative norms that would allow this. To avoid conflict situation in this case, the management of a company that is interested in such a procedure should write down the corresponding clause in the standard contract.

What it is

The act of reconciliation of mutual settlements is a document reflecting the status of settlements for a specific period of time between counterparties. The law does not oblige to draw up this paper, but experience shows that it is better to do this regularly. Reconciliation will eliminate possible errors in tax and accounting.

With the help of this document, you can check whether all the business transactions when conducting accounting with a specific counterparty, and whether any payments or shipments were missed. In addition, the act allows you to detect "doubled" fulfillment of obligations. This paper can be used as evidence in court, which will confirm the existence of unfulfilled obligations.

Another function of the reconciliation act is that after the expiration of the limitation period, it serves as the basis for writing off the existing debt. The countdown of this period begins from the moment the act is signed.

The preparation of this document will be mandatory when it comes to offsetting between the parties to the transaction. This is relevant in the case when companies have entered into two or more contracts for which there are mutual debts. In such a situation, it is easier to sign an agreement on offsetting debts under such contracts. To clarify the amount of debts, it is necessary to draw up a reconciliation act.

Exist certain rules bookkeeping in the organization. According to them, before preparing an annual report, accountants must conduct an inventory of property and liabilities. The most convenient and fast ways to inventory settlements with counterparties is the execution of acts of reconciliations.

Features of preparing papers

Where to download word sample for free

The reconciliation act does not have a state-developed and legislatively approved sample. Based on this, organizations independently develop a convenient form for themselves or use a sample that can be easily found on specialized sites on the Internet.

The document is in the form of a register. The form can be found online in word and excel format. Most sites allow you to download it for free.

The form of the act includes data on transactions with a specific counterparty for a specific period of time. Such data is entered into the act in the form of a table that has two mandatory columns: debit and credit.

An example of the correct design online

Regardless of whether the accountant draws up the reconciliation act form on his own or uses a ready-made one that he downloaded from the Internet, he should have an idea about the information that should be contained in the document.

The paper must include:

• outgoing registration number of the document;
• the date the paper was signed;
• the time period for which the reconciliation is carried out;
• names of contractors;
• position and surname of the person who signs the act;
• insert a table with debit and credit, data on deliveries, settlements and debts;
• balance at the beginning and end of the reconciliation period;
• information about the total turnover;
• add an empty table in which the counterparty can enter his data in case there are discrepancies in the calculations.

The reconciliation act, which is signed by representatives of both organizations, is a confirmation that the parties agree with the information contained in it and testified to the existence of a relationship between them of a certain nature, namely the presence of debt obligations that arose as a result of the lack of full settlement.

Requirements for filling out documents

In 2019, accounting often uses special software products. With this in mind, it is not difficult to various tasks, including filling out an act of reconciliation of settlements. Due to the fact that the information that is necessary to draw up the act is stored in the accounting system, it is the accounting department that is responsible for the reconciliation.

The act is sent to the counterparty in two copies. If the second party has no objections and agrees with the data recorded in the document, the document received from the partner is signed. If there are discrepancies, corrected data is entered into the table, which is sent as a response.

If the accountant who conducts the reconciliation has received back an act with disagreements, he must analyze the causes of the discrepancies. For example, a situation is possible when it was sent to the bank, the money was debited from the payer's account, but they never reached the recipient's account. In such a situation, you need to deal with the bank and make appropriate claims.

However, disagreements between the parties may be more serious, for example, the customer denies the fact that certain services were provided to him.

In this case, according to the available regulatory documents according to accounting, an economic entity has the right to display calculations based on its position. Changes in accounting can be made if there is an appropriate decision of the court, which will establish the truth by making a detailed analysis of the case materials.

How to write it in 1C

The reconciliation act can be filled out in the 1C: Accounting program. To do this, the supplier should enter the "Sale" menu, and the buyer - "Purchase".

How to draw up an act:

1. Open the section named Settlements with counterparties.
2. Add new document– reconciliation act, for this purpose, you need to click the Create button.
3. In the document that opens, enter:
   • the name of the counterparty with which the reconciliation is carried out;
   • what currency was used for settlements;
   • details of the contract for the sale or purchase.
4. If we talk about program 8.2, then it contains several tabs:
   • in the first one, data about your company is entered (if there is a debt to your own organization, then it should be entered in the Debit column, and if the company itself is a debtor, in Credit);
   • the second tab is information about the partner organization;
   • the third is current accounts, here the accounts that need to be checked are selected;
   • the fourth column contains information about officials who sign the reconciliation act (the print settings are immediately configured).
5. The document does not require postings. It must be saved and then printed.
6. When the reconciliation is completed and the acts are signed by both parties, it can be noted on paper that the reconciliation has been agreed. This means that the data entered into the document cannot be changed.

Who can sign the form

When preparing a reconciliation report, the question often arises of who signs this document. This problem is very relevant, since when signing a special paper that does not have such powers, it is very easy to challenge it in court and exclude it from the case file.

Thus, the document must be signed by an authorized person, it can be:

• individual entrepreneur;
• the head of the company who acts on the basis of the Statute: the president or director;
• another employee, provided that he acts on the basis of a duly prepared power of attorney.

Often, the document must also be signed by the chief accountant, this is due to the fact that he has the right of a second signature when it comes to documents of a financial nature.

The paper can only be signed by an accountant, if we are talking about internal control over the completeness of the calculations. In the event of a dispute, such a document will not have the proper legal force.

It should be noted that Article 53 of the Russian Civil Code defines that an accountant is not a person who can act on behalf of an organization without an appropriate power of attorney. In addition to the signatures of authorized persons, the document must bear the seal of the organization.

The form of the act of reconciliation of mutual settlements as evidence in court

On the one hand, drawing up a reconciliation act can be very useful in the event of litigation, which concerns the fulfillment of the conditions by the parties to the contractual relationship. However, domestic judicial practice suggests that the attitude towards such a document is ambiguous. Many judges perceive it only as indirect evidence that one side recognizes that it has a debt to the other side.

It is also common for the defendant to object to the legality of signing the reconciliation act, which is presented as evidence in court.

The most common argument is that the document was signed by a person who does not have the appropriate authority. And this means that the claims of the plaintiff are unlawful, since the respondent organization did not recognize its debt to him.

Increasingly, in order to reject the claims of the plaintiff, the courts accept the argument of the responding party that the reconciliation act, not being a primary document, cannot act as a recognition of a debt, as well as a document for extending the limitation period.

If the defendant tries to get away with the argument that the act was signed by an accountant who did not have the appropriate authority to sign it, the complainant can take the following steps:

• find and provide other supporting documents: acceptance certificates, invoices, etc.;
• ask the respondent to provide job description accountant to get acquainted with the terms of his duties and powers;
• in order to protect yourself in the future, you should revise the standard contract with counterparties and prescribe in it the procedure for exchanging reconciliation acts;
• present as an argument a positive judicial practice on a similar issue.

Cover letter when completed

The cover letter is binding document, which is attached to the act of reconciliation. It is carried out in the form of a separate printed document. Having a sample of such a document will greatly facilitate the life of an accountant, especially during quarterly or annual reports.

Having found an example of such a document on the Internet, you can easily customize it for yourself by making minor adjustments that will make it more convenient to fill out.

Young professionals may wonder why they need to fill out such a document. Everything is explained simply: there are certain rules business ethics, which, among other things, relate to the form of address and the style of correspondence.

Documents that are sent to counterparties cannot simply be packaged and sent to partners. The direction of the papers implies the need to complete some formalities, one of them is the preparation of a cover letter.

A sample letter looks like this:

To: position, organization name, full name, address

From: position, organization name, full name, address

Transmittal letter

To reconcile the settlements between our organizations for (name of services / goods) that were produced (period), we send the prepared reconciliation report.

I ask you to provide one version of the act with the signatures of authorized persons of your organization by _____.

Application:

Act of reconciliation of settlements for (name of services / goods)

Position of authorized person ________

Date and signature ___________

Differences in drafting

Certain disagreements may arise between organizations in the course of signing and using reconciliation acts.

What they are and how to avoid them:

• Some counterparties refuse to sign the reconciliation act. It should be noted right away that they have every right to do so, since the law does not provide that this procedure was made mandatory. In addition, there are no fixed terms and procedures for the reconciliation. With this in mind, one can be guided by the available on this topic judicial practice. The court has no right to influence the defendant and demand that he provide a signed act. To protect yourself, the company's management should immediately include a clause on signing the reconciliation act in its standard contract with contractors. This will be the lever that will allow you to demand from them the fulfillment of their obligations.
• In situations where organizations have mutual outstanding obligations, the problem may lie in the fact that one of the parties will consider that the existing debts overlap each other, while the second company will continue to insist on fulfilling the terms of the contract and reconciliation. In order to avoid misunderstandings, it is better to immediately send an explanatory note to the partner, which sets out the benefits received by each of the parties in connection with the offset of outstanding obligations.
• Many carefully keep the reconciliation act, not paying attention to the fact that it is high time to put things in order in the primary accounting documents, since sometimes it is not possible to find something in them. This is a big mistake, since the act itself is of no value and cannot serve as evidence in court.
• When signing the reconciliation act, it is important to ensure that it is signed by a person with the appropriate authority on the part of the counterparty. Otherwise, the document cannot be used in court as evidence of recognition of debt obligations by the defendant. And, of course, it is important to ensure that the statute of limitations does not expire when filing claims. It is 3 years from the date of signing the act.

During cooperation, between any business objects there are economic ties. Mutual settlements between , issuance and , in government bodies All of these transactions involve money.

In order to avoid errors and discrepancies in the amounts paid by one party and received by the other, reconciliation acts are drawn up. document not related to accounting and not mandatory. It is formed at the request of one of the participants in the operation and declares all amounts, payments and receipts that take place between organizations in a certain period of time.

Basic information about the act of reconciliation with suppliers and buyers

The act of reconciliation with suppliers and buyers is a declarative document reflecting all settlements made between counterparties for a specified period of time: a month, a quarter, a year or the entire period of cooperation. Law Russian Federation does not require such a document. However, in business practice, reconciliation acts are quite common and are implicitly mandatory for registration.

• Periodic or continuous reconciliations and recording their results on paper helps business partners avoid errors in calculations and payments, detect and repay debts in a timely manner, and eliminate other financial discrepancies.
• Moreover, if one of the parties is indebted to the other and does not recognize the current situation, the reconciliation act can serve as one of the indirect evidence when filing a lawsuit about the existence of a debt in court, and can also become one of the refutation factors.

When compiling a paper, it must be certified by the signatures of the heads and chief accountants of both organizations, as well as wet seals. Formed in duplicate.

When , the guilty party usually refuses. If, during the course of the judicial investigation, the counterparty nevertheless assured the protocol, thereby recognizing the underpayment, the claim period is reset to zero and begins anew.

As already indicated, the execution of such a document is not foreseen by law, but such acts are mentioned in the Letter of the Ministry of Finance No. 07-05-04 / 2 of February 18, 2005 and in Federal Law No. 402. The document is classified as secondary, as it does not have a direct impact on financial condition any of the partners.

How to draw up a reconciliation act if the supplier and the buyer are in one person? The video below explains this:

Design features

Rules and requirements

There are no clear requirements for the form of the protocol. Each organization can set the form of the document on its own, approving it with its own. But, there are several aspects, the knowledge of which will help to use reconciliation more effectively. If the document is signed only by the chief accountant, and the signature of the head is not put, the paper is only technical in nature, the nature of reference information.

In order for the protocol to have legal force, it must be certified by 4 signatures (two from each partner) and the official seals of organizations, and also contain some aspects. The act must contain information about:

• The name of the document;
• The period covered by the reconciliation;
• The date it was made;
• Operations that check;
• Indicators of all calculations;
• References to primary documentation;
• Persons responsible for compilation and accuracy.

The presence of such items is advisory in nature, but they will not be superfluous when using papers in court or other bodies. As a rule, the act has the form of a table in which data such as debits and credits, numbers and dates of primary documents are entered that confirm payment, dispatch and delivery of goods. At the end of the document, it is displayed, as well as the total amount of debits and credits for the period under review. The balance is the sum of the difference between receipts and expenditures.

A sample act of reconciliation with the supplier is discussed in this video:

Discrepancies and verification

If, after checking by the second party, discrepancies are found, they are also fixed after all the data. When conducting reconciliation between buyers and sellers, often use the recommendations established Guidelines inventory of property and financial obligations. The main task, when forming a document, is to check and confirm the validity of all amounts entered into the table of the act.

It is mandatory to check "Settlements with suppliers and contractors" for compliance with the corresponding accounts. The following points are fixed:

• Fulfillment of obligations for paid goods in transit;
• Fulfillment of obligations related to deliveries;
• Accuracy and support of debit and credit with primary documents.

The drawing up of an appropriate act may be required by both the buyer and the supplier.

• The formation and verification of acts is usually carried out in special accounting programs. If the compiler uses this, then according to the entered form automatically, based on the data of the documents already in the memory of the application. The same is true for verification.
• In the case of manual verification, all data from the table in the act is verified with the data of the primary documentation and the data available in the documents and reconciliations of the verifying party.

The reconciliation report is a standard record of similarities and discrepancies in financial transactions carried out between two organizations. The document does not have an established form and specific requirements; it can be drawn up for use within a partner organization, between partners, or as indirect evidence when considering lawsuits about debts. Properly drawn up, it will help to control and regulate all financial relations that arise between them.

The act of reconciliation with the buyer, its features and examples - the topic of the video below: