The Paid Parts Match: a monthly auto repair parts reconciliation checklist

This is the checklist from our video on automotive accounting automation. It has the same three steps, in the same order, with the reports to pull, the columns to compare and the decisions that stay with a person. Print it, or copy it into the notes field of your month-end task.

1. Pull the usage. Export the parts your shop system says were used on repair orders that month.
2. Match the bills. Set that list beside the parts bills recorded in your books for the same month.
3. Flag the rest. Every paid part has to land on a paid ticket. Anything that doesn't gets flagged, and your bookkeeper decides what it is.

Why the two numbers drift apart

Most shops keep parts in two places. The shop management system knows which parts went on which repair order, and the books know which vendor bills were paid. An accounting sync helps, but a sync moves numbers. It doesn't check them.

Tekmetric's accounting guide shows how far apart the two can get. In its example, the shop system showed 25,000 dollars of parts cost while QuickBooks showed 35,000 dollars. The same guide gives two more illustrations: a repeat part with 2 orders in the shop system and 10 in the books, and 100 oil filters bought with none used in two months. Those are the guide's examples, not industry averages, but they are exactly the kind of gap this checklist is built to catch.

The guide's own rhythm is the one we use here: check numbers monthly, reconcile thoroughly each quarter, and match every paid part to a paid ticket.

Who this is for, and what you need first

It's for an owner, office manager or bookkeeper at an independent shop or a small group, whoever closes the month. You need three things before the first run:

• Access to the parts reports in your shop management system (parts purchased and parts used, or the closest your system has).
• Access to the cost of goods sold or parts expense detail in your books, ideally sorted by vendor.
• One person named as the decider for flagged lines. That's usually the bookkeeper or CPA. The SBA suggests considering a certified public accountant, a bookkeeper or an online service for this kind of work.

Pick the same date window in both systems. A calendar month is easiest.

Step 1: Pull the usage

Export the parts used on repair orders for the month from your shop system. Keep these columns:

Column	Why you need it
RO number	so every line can be traced to a ticket
RO status (paid, unpaid, void)	only paid tickets count as matched
Part description and part number	to pair it with a bill line
Vendor	most bills are sorted this way
Cost	the amount you'll compare

A repair order does a lot of work. Tekmetric describes the RO turning into the invoice once the job is complete, so the RO list is your record of what the shop believes it sold.

Before moving on, total the cost column. Write that number at the top of the sheet.

Step 2: Match the bills

Now pull the parts bills from your books for the same month. Tekmetric's guide suggests comparing the shop system's parts purchased and parts usage reports against the vendor-sorted cost of goods report in your accounting file. Total it and write it next to the first number.

If the two totals are close, you still do the line check. Two errors can cancel out.

Work vendor by vendor:

1. Sort both lists by vendor, then by part number.
2. Pair each bill line with an RO line for the same part and cost.
3. Mark a pair as matched only when the RO is paid.
4. Leave every unpaired line on the sheet. Don't delete anything.

A shared spreadsheet with one tab per vendor works fine. So does printing both lists and using two highlighters.

Step 3: Flag the rest

Every line left over goes on a short flag list with four columns: the line, the amount, a guess at the cause, and the decision. The guess is a starting point. The decision belongs to the person you named in the setup.

The causes worth checking, in the order we'd check them:

• Stock bought but not used yet. The oil filter example lives here. Bulk buys can be fine. They can also be money sitting on a shelf.
• A part used on an unpaid or open ticket. It will match once the ticket is paid. Note the RO number and check again next month.
• A part on a ticket with no bill. The bill may be late, posted to another month, or missing.
• A duplicate order. The 2 versus 10 orders example in the guide is this pattern.
• Returns, cores and credits. Ask how your accounting connection handles each one, because they're easy to post once in one system and twice in the other.

Software can do the sorting and pairing and hand you the leftovers. The decision on each flagged line stays with a person, because only they know whether that pallet of filters was a deal or a mistake.

The one-page checklist

Copy this into your month-end task:

1. Same date window in both systems (first to last day of the month).
2. Export parts used from the shop system: RO, status, part, vendor, cost.
3. Export parts bills from the books, sorted by vendor.
4. Write both totals at the top. Note the gap.
5. Pair lines vendor by vendor. Matched only when the RO is paid.
6. Move every unpaired line to the flag list with its amount.
7. Add a likely cause to each flag: stock, open ticket, missing bill, duplicate, return or core.
8. The named decider marks each flag: fix, return to vendor, move to stock, or check next month.
9. Carry open flags to next month's sheet.
10. Every quarter, hand the sheets to your bookkeeper or CPA for the full reconciliation.

What stays with a person

• The chart of accounts and the mapping. If parts post to the wrong account, every month is wrong in the same way.
• The method. The SBA explains that the accrual method records a sale when it is complete, while the cash method records it once payment is received. Your checklist should follow whichever one your accountant uses, or the months won't line up.
• The records. The IRS says you may choose any recordkeeping system suited to your business that clearly shows your income and expenses and must keep records as long as they're needed to prove income or deductions. Keep each month's sheet with its exports.

How to tell it's working

After two or three months you should see the same pattern each time. The gap between the two totals is explained line by line, the flag list is short, and nothing on it is older than a month or two. If the same vendor shows up on the flag list every month, that's a process problem worth a conversation, not a bookkeeping one.

Tekmetric's guide also points out that the shop system shows what you think you earned, while the books capture costs the shop system typically misses, such as payroll taxes and benefits. So don't expect the two profit numbers to agree. Only the parts lines should.

Where RevvOS fits

RevvOS is not accounting software and doesn't post entries to your books. It sits beside the shop system and finance tools you already use and lists what needs an owner's attention, with the source and last update on each line. A possible gap is shown as something to review, never as a confirmed amount. For the wider picture see automotive accounting automation, auto repair shop automation and the executive visibility view.

This page is general information, not accounting, legal or tax advice.