Reconcile payroll exports and review only the exceptions.
Compare payroll, HR, finance, or general-ledger exports using the business key and rules that fit your process. MatchDock keeps amount differences, missing employees, duplicates, and invalid keys visible without uploading spreadsheet contents to MatchDock servers.
The demo is synthetic and runs through the real local reconciliation flow.
Payroll reconciliation
Employee ID · Wage Type · Effective Date
Results summary
- Matched
- 23
- Within date tolerance
- 2
- Differences
- 2
- Only Source A
- 2
- Only Source B
- 2
- Duplicate or ambiguous
- 1 group
- Invalid Source A keys
- 1
Selected exception
Employee 1026 · Wage type 1000 · 2026-08-26
| Field | Payroll export | Finance export | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | 500.00 | 550.00 | Difference |
Employee ID alone may not identify a payroll line.
The same employee can have several wage types and effective dates. A useful payroll key may combine employee ID, wage type, and effective date, while amount, cost center, or other values remain compare fields.
MatchDock lets you model that distinction explicitly instead of comparing rows by position or quietly using amount to decide which records belong together.
Employee ID
1026
Key field
Wage type
1000
Key field
Effective date
2026-08-26
Key field
Amount
500.00 ↔ 550.00
Compare field
Compare a payroll register with a bank payment export.
Start with structured CSV or XLSX exports for the same payroll period. If each file has one payment per employee and carries the same employee identifier, use Employee ID as the key and compare Net Pay with the payment amount. A difference needs review; Only A or Only B means the record is present in just one export.
Check currency, amount signs, and the meaning of each date before comparing. Configure an absolute amount tolerance or a date tolerance only when your process permits it. Multiple payments per employee require a genuinely unique key, such as an employee and payment reference; amount is a compare field, not a way to guess the pairing.
MatchDock reads the files you select. It has no bank connectivity or payroll-system integration, does not read PDF statements, and cannot split a batch payment across employee rows or match names fuzzily. Without a shared identifier and compatible rows, prepare the exports before reconciling.
Review the requirements for bank and ledger exports.One employee payment on each side
- Key
- Employee ID, unique in both exports for the selected period.
- Compare
- Net Pay → Payment Amount, plus currency and dates where relevant.
- Review
- Matched payments, amount differences, rows only on one side, duplicates, and invalid keys.
Compare payroll categories with general-ledger exports.
A payroll register can contain employee-level wage lines while a general ledger contains category totals. Those are different levels of detail. Export or prepare a payroll summary and ledger extract with one row per identical category, period, and cost center before using MatchDock to compare the amounts.
Map the category columns explicitly and use the same category codes in both files. Choose the fields that identify each summary row, keeping amount and currency as compare fields. Differences reveal a variance for that category; Only A and Only B reveal categories missing from one side. Duplicates and empty keys remain exceptions to investigate.
MatchDock does not aggregate employee lines into ledger totals, allocate payments, post journals, or write back to either system. The comparison checks your prepared exports; it does not certify the payroll or the accounting treatment.
Same category, period, and level of detail
For prepared summaries, a key can be Payroll Category + Period + Cost Center. Both exports must describe the same scope, currency, and amount conventions.
The fictional files below compare two payroll systems, not bank payments or ledger summaries. Use them to practise mappings, composite keys, and explicit rules before applying those mechanics to your own compatible exports.
Practise keys and rules with the payroll sample.Normalize identifiers and dates with visible rules.
000123 ↔ 123
after explicit leading-zero normalization.
01 Aug ↔ 02 Aug
when a unique date-key match falls inside the allowed tolerance.
500.00 ↔ 550.00
as an amount difference outside the configured rule.
Missing or duplicated employee lines
remain separate exceptions.
MatchDock does not certify payroll correctness. It produces an explainable comparison of the exports and rules you provide.
Move from scanning whole files to reviewing a bounded exception list.
- 01
Add the two payroll-related exports.
- 02
Map employee, wage type, date, amount, and any other relevant fields.
- 03
Define the composite key and explicit normalization or tolerance rules.
- 04
Run locally, inspect the exceptions, and export the result workbook.
Downloadable sample
Try it with sample files
Open the real MatchDock reconciler with both fictional payroll files and their configuration already loaded. Review each step before running the reconciliation.
The files contain only fictitious data. Spreadsheet contents are processed locally in your browser.
Or download the files manually
Configuration for these files
Sources and mappings
Use the Payroll A sheet in Source A and header row 1 for both files. The sample CTA preloads these seven mappings; confirm them if you upload the files manually.
- Employee ID
- Personnel No
- Wage Type
- Pay Code
- Effective Date
- Posting Date
- Employee Name
- Full Name
- Amount
- Paid Amount
- Currency
- Currency
- Cost Center
- Department
Keys and rules
SetEmployee ID, Wage Type, and Effective Date as keys. Compare the other four mapped fields.
- Employee ID: Text · Custom · Trim and Ignore leading zeros; other options off.
- Wage Type and Currency: Text · Exact.
- Effective Date: Date · YYYY-MM-DD on both sides · 1 day tolerance.
- Employee Name: Text · Ignore case and spaces.
- Amount: Number · 1,234.56 on both sides · absolute tolerance 0.02.
- Cost Center: Text · Custom · Trim and Ignore case; other options off.
You should see exact matches, matches within tolerance, value mismatches, rows on one side only, duplicates, and invalid keys.
Prefer an instant guided demo?
The payroll demo uses the production CSV parser, Web Worker, deterministic reconciliation engine, results workspace, and local XLSX export. Its data is bundled synthetic data; its results are not a static screenshot or precomputed marketing example.
Your spreadsheet contents stay in your browser.
MatchDock parses and reconciles your files locally. Spreadsheet contents are not uploaded to MatchDock servers, and Excel exports are generated in your browser.
Ready to review the exceptions?
Start with two Excel or CSV exports. Choose the records that should match, apply explicit rules, and keep uncertain outcomes visible.