Table of Contents
- Enabling AI Matching
- How to Set Up AI Matching
- Creating AI Rules
- Manual Matches
- Reviewing Matches
- Removing Matches
- Importing Or Removing Data
- Sync Data to See GL Balance Changes
- Auto Sync & Apply Rules
- Finalizing The Period
- Reset/Unlock the Period
Enabling AI Matching Back to Top ↑
Managers and Admins can enable AI Matching via in-line editing at the account-by-account level:
Please note that AI Matching is only available for reconciliations with the Monthly frequency. If you don't see the AI Matching option in your FloQast instance, please reach out to your ASM for more information.
How to Set Up AI Matching Back to Top ↑
Once AI Matching is enabled for a reconciliation, you'll see 'AI Matching' under the account number and name.
Clicking on that will allow you to set up the matching instance and tell FloQast how you intend to use the tool for that particular reconciliation. Currently, there are two Matching types to choose from as the first step:
- 2-Way Match - Uploading and/or integrating with two data sources. Transactions will match across data sources (reversal matches are also accepted).
- 3-Way Match - Uploading and or integrating with 3 data sources. Transactions will match across data sources (reversal matches are also accepted).
- Debits vs. Credits - Uploading or integrating with a single data source. FloQast will match the debit transactions to the credit transactions.
Next, select the Account Type, which will provide more context on what type of reconciliation is being prepared.
Once you've selected your Match Type and Account type, you can set up your Primary Data Source. We recommend using this for your General Ledger data source, but you can set it up for whichever data source you'd like. If you select the Debits vs. Credits Match Type, this will be your only data source.
To set up your primary data source, you can:
- Name your data source, which will be displayed in the app
- Choose your data source, which will be a file upload by default. Integrations can be selected if they've been set up for your FloQast app
- If your data source is file upload, you can select the file you want to upload (note that it must be either an XLSX or CSV file type)
- Select your Import Start Row, which will be the first row of transaction data in your file (for example, if you have column headers on row 1, you'll want to select row 2 to skip those).
- Map columns from your file to the attributes in FloQast (Date, Amount, and References).
- For example, if the A column in your file contains all of the dates for each transaction, you'll want to ensure the Date mapping is set to Column A in FloQast.
- You can add as many Reference fields as you'd like by clicking on the Add Reference option.
If your data source is set to the general ledger, then we will pull transactions based on the integration you've set up (direct API or FloQast API).
- FloQast will automatically map date and amount attributes for you, and you'll be able to define which attributes from your source system to map to your references.
If your file contains two separate amount columns, with debits in one column and credits in the other, you can select the Change to DR/CR option.
This option will allow you to map the Debit and Credit columns individually. FloQast will consider debit transactions as positive numbers and credit transactions as negative.
If you selected 2-Way Match as your Match Type, you can repeat the above steps for the Secondary Source data. The secondary data source is typically your bank or other subledger system. The only difference in the mapping of the secondary data source is the Flip signs option. Use the flip sign option when signs with positive and negative amounts don't match your primary source (this is typical for bank accounts). When this option is selected, FloQast will automatically change the negative values to positive values and vice versa.
Once you've uploaded your files and chosen your Start Rows & Column Mappings, you can select the Complete Setup button in the bottom right to import your data and start the matching process. Note that these settings will be saved going forward, but you can always modify them if needed.
Transaction ID Column - When setting up one or more of your data sources as "File," you'll have the option to include a Transaction ID column. Use this feature if you have a unique identifier for each transaction. FloQast will use this attribute to recognize duplicate transactions and check whether transactions have been modified or deleted. If you use this feature, we expect users to always upload a month-to-date file so that we can ensure you have the most up-to-date transactions in the system.
Creating AI Rules Back to Top ↑
Once your data has been uploaded, you can start creating AI Matching rules by selecting matching transactions and clicking on the Create AI Rule button. By leveraging AI, FloQast will write and interpret the rules in natural language, making it easy for anyone to create and manage the rules without any technical knowledge.
FloQast will create a starting point for the rule based on the selected transactions. Once the rule has been created, you will have the opportunity to name it and edit the criteria to suit your use case best. Once you've named the rule and are satisfied with the wording and criteria, you can click Save & Apply to add the rule and match all of the remaining transactions that meet the rule criteria.
Once AI is finished applying the rule, the Rules drawer will update to show how many matches were found.
If there are unmatched transactions left, you can repeat this process and create more rules until all transactions are matched. Once all of your rules are created, they will be saved and automatically available for each period going forward. If you have new transactions in the future that don't match the existing rules, you can just create a new rule for those as they appear, which will also be remembered for future periods.
When more rules are created, they'll stack in the Rules drawer. You can change the order in which the rules run by clicking on the up or down arrows, with the topmost rule running first before the second from the top, third, and so on.
Users can edit rule criteria by clicking on the pencil icon below the rule. This will remove all matches associated with the rule and reapply the rule with the new criteria.
User can remove a rule from their account by clicking the middle button.
Users can delete a rule by opening the rules drawer and clicking the trash icon below it. This will remove all matches associated with the rule, and users can try to create a new rule.
Manual Matches Back to Top ↑
There may be a scenario where transactions should be matched, but there is no rule associated with it, or you do not anticipate this same type of match on a regular basis. In this case, you can manually match these transactions by clicking on the "Create Manual Match" button.
Reviewing Matches Back to Top ↑
You can review the matches on the Matched Transactions tab.
1-1 matches will be displayed side-by-side in the Primary and Secondary panels, while 1-Many and Many-Many matches will be displayed as a single, expandable line. Clicking on the carrot will reveal all of the transactions included in the match. Each match will also display which Rule was used to create it, which can be filtered. For user-made matches, we will show "Manual Match" in the rule column, and you can hover over this to see who created the match.
Removing Matches Back to Top ↑
Manual matches can be removed manually. If you need to remove a match made by a rule, we recommend editing or deleting the rule within the rules drawer, which will remove all matches associated with those rules. By editing the rule, we hope this will improve its accuracy and ensure no bad matches are found going forward.
Importing Or Removing Data Back to Top ↑
You can select the Manage Date button to return to the initial Manage Data screen. From there, you can import more data by selecting files for your new data sources. You can upload as many files as you need each period. Your file can include month-to-date activity, and FloQast will only bring in new net transactions.
If you use direct integrations to sync data into Matching, FloQast will only bring in net new transactions for the period and will also update transactions in case records are modified or deleted in your source system.
You can also remove data on the manage data screen by selecting the Undo Last Import button. This will only remove transactions from the previous import (the most recent File 1 import and the most recent File 2 import will be removed at the same time), but you can undo multiple times in case you need to remove multiple imports.
Just note that undoing the last import(s) will also remove any matches from those files on the Matched Transactions page.
Sync Data to See GL Balance Changes Back to Top ↑
When your GL balances change mid-period, you need to sync the data back into FloQast to ensure the balance updates. For example, if a journal entry or GL transaction is posted to your ERP after AI Matching has already been run, the updated balance does not automatically appear in FloQast. To sync your data, click the Sync button within the AI Matching module.
Auto Sync & Apply Rules Back to Top ↑
The Auto Sync & Apply Rules feature uses Autopilot to create a nightly job that automatically syncs and applies all rules across all accounts with open reconciliation periods. With AI Matching enabled on specific accounts, Autopilot will automatically create jobs that will run nightly to to sync and run the rules for these accounts. The Autopilot tool allows you to customize frequency and run time or create additional automations. To learn more about the Autopilot tool, refer to this help center article.
Finalizing The Period Back to Top ↑
Once your data has been matched, you can use the Export button to download the matching data, which can then be uploaded to the reconciliation folder as your supporting documentation.
You can then lock the completed period so no more edits can be made by navigating to AI Matching in the next period and selecting the Rollforward option. This will pull any outstanding transactions from the completed period into the next and ensure that no changes are made to the completed period.
Reset/Unlock the Period Back to Top ↑
If you need to adjust key settings, such as switching to a 3-way match after your data has already been uploaded, or to unlock or reset a period, you can choose to Clear All Imported Data. To do so, click the three dots (kebab menu) in the top right corner, select Manage Data to bring you to the Manage Data screen. Then click the kebab button again and select Clear All Imported Data, update your key settings (such as match type), and then import your data. Be careful as completing this step will indeed permanently delete all source transactions and matches.