Data & Spreadsheets
Reconcile Two Sets of Records
Free to useNo sign-up requiredNo watermarkRuns in your browser
Two systems that should agree and do not: a ledger against a bank export, a supplier statement against your purchase records, an invoice list against what was actually paid.
Point this at both, tell it which column is the reference and which is the amount, and it reports what matched, what is missing from each side, and every amount difference larger than the tolerance you set - with the totals from both sides and the gap between them at the top.
How this tool works
Add both datasets
Two XLSX, XLS or CSV files.
Say which columns mean what
The reference on each side, and optionally the amount and a description. The two files do not have to use the same headings.
Set the tolerance
How large an amount difference to ignore. Rounding noise is not a finding; anything larger is reported with its own figure.
Reconcile
The summary shows both totals and the difference, with every exception listed below.
Download the workbook
A sheet for each outcome, each carrying how the reference was matched.
How it works
References are matched exactly first, then again after tidying up spacing and capitalisation, and only then - if you turn it on - by similarity. A close match can never displace an exact one.
An amount difference outranks a description difference. If the money is wrong, that is the finding, whatever else also differs on the row.
Tolerance applies only to the amount columns and is an absolute figure, so a tolerance of 0.01 accepts a one-penny rounding difference and reports everything larger. Every difference is reported with its own value rather than a pass or fail.
Every row of both datasets appears exactly once in the result, so the counts always add up. A reference that repeats within one dataset is reported as a duplicate rather than being reconciled twice.
The whole comparison runs in a background thread in your browser, so the page stays usable and neither file is uploaded.
What each outcome means
| Matched | Found on both sides, and the amount agrees within your tolerance |
|---|---|
| Amount Difference | Found on both sides, but the amounts differ by more than the tolerance |
| Field Difference | Amounts agree, but a description column differs |
| Missing in A | Present in the second dataset only |
| Missing in B | Present in the first dataset only |
| Duplicate | The reference appears more than once, so it cannot be paired reliably |
| Needs Review | A blank reference, or two candidates too close to choose between |
Frequently asked questions
Is this reconciliation tool free?
Yes, free with no sign-up.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. Your files stay on your device. Both are read and reconciled by your browser, which matters when the data is financial.
Do both files need the same column names?
No. You choose the reference, amount and description column on each side independently.
What tolerance should I use?
Enough to absorb rounding, and no more. 0.01 is a sensible default for currency. Set it to zero to see every difference however small.
What happens if a reference appears twice?
It is reported as a duplicate rather than reconciled, because there is no way to know which row on one side belongs to which on the other.
Can it reconcile records with no shared reference number?
Turn on close matching and it will match on similar references. That is a fallback, not an improvement on a real shared identifier, and anything too close to call is reported for review rather than reconciled on a guess.
Guides for this tool
How to reconcile two Excel reports and find differences
Two Excel reports don't reconcile? Compare them in your browser with VSThiran's reconciliation workflow and identify exactly which references or amounts don't agree.
Excel names don't match? Find similar records with fuzzy matching
Company or customer names differ slightly between two spreadsheets? Use VSThiran's fuzzy matching to find records that are similar even when the text isn't identical - like "ABC Trading LLC" and "ABC Trading L.L.C."
How to compare two Excel files and find what changed
Have two versions of a spreadsheet that should match but might not? Compare them in your browser with VSThiran and identify exactly which rows changed, without checking every row by hand.