Buyer's checklist
How to choose bank reconciliation software for a bookkeeping practice
If you close books for a dozen or more clients, the right tool depends less on how fast it matches and more on how it prices, what it reads, how a reviewer signs off and where client files go. Here are eight things to check, with how Clearing answers each, including where it isn't a fit yet.
01
How does the price scale with your client count?
What to check
Find out whether you pay per user, per client, per bank account or per transaction, and whether there's a minimum contract. Across a dozen or more clients, those terms can matter more than the headline price.
How Clearing answers it
Flat yearly tiers by client count, with unlimited bank accounts per client: Solo is $199/year for up to 3 clients, Pro is $499/year for up to 20, and Firm is $899/year for up to 50. Monthly billing is $19, $55 or $89. No GreenBar account is required.
Compare plans →02
Does it reconcile, or only suggest matches?
What to check
Suggested matches are not a finished reconciliation. Check that the tool ties the statement to the books and won't let you finish with a difference nobody has explained.
How Clearing answers it
Clearing proposes matches, sends everything it can't match with confidence to an exceptions list, and keeps export locked until every exception is resolved and the books balance.
03
How does it handle splits, timing differences and duplicates?
What to check
Test it on the transactions that break simple matching: one deposit covering several invoices, items that clear next month, duplicates and fees. Check that you can see why something matched and reject a match that's wrong.
How Clearing answers it
Clearing is built for splits, partial matches, timing differences and duplicates. It matches in four passes (exact, reference, tolerance, then fuzzy) and scores each suggestion on the amount, the date, the reference and the description, so you can see why it matched. Nothing is cleared until you approve it, and you can accept, change or reject each item.
04
Which file formats does it read?
What to check
List the formats your clients actually send. If statements arrive as PDFs, test real ones before you commit.
How Clearing answers it
CSV or Excel bank and ledger exports. Supported layouts are detected from the file. OFX, QFX and PDF statements are not supported yet, so if most of your clients send PDFs, Clearing isn't a fit today.
05
Does it depend on a bank feed or a live accounting sync?
What to check
Feeds are convenient until one disconnects or a bank changes its format. Find out what happens then, and whether you can work from files instead.
How Clearing answers it
Clearing works from files you import. It does not connect to your bank out of the box, and live two-way QuickBooks Online and Xero sync is not shipped. You export from your books, reconcile in Clearing, and make any change to the books in QuickBooks or Xero.
06
Can a reviewer sign off separately from the preparer?
What to check
Ask whether the preparer can finish without approving their own work, whether only a different person can sign off, and whether the record shows a change made after sign-off.
How Clearing answers it
On Pro and Firm, the preparer and the reviewer are different people, and the software enforces it. The audit trail names both, timestamps every item a person accepted, changed or rejected, and exports to PDF or CSV. Each closed period is sealed with a SHA-256 hash; any later change shows, and you can re-check the seal offline with gbverify.
See a sample audit trail (demonstration data) →07
Where do your clients' files go?
What to check
Ask where bank and ledger files are processed and stored, who can see them, and how you export or delete your data if you leave.
How Clearing answers it
Clearing runs on your computer. Bank and ledger files you import as CSV or Excel stay on your machine and are not uploaded to GreenBar, and the matching engine makes no network call of its own. Team sync on Pro and Firm is off by default and, when an admin turns it on, goes only to a server your firm hosts.
How we protect your data →08
How will you test it on real clients?
What to check
Run a short pilot on a few clients with different banks, and time the whole close, including exceptions, review and export, not just the matching.
How Clearing answers it
There's no free trial. Every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee with a full refund, so you can pilot Clearing on a few real clients and get your money back if it doesn't save you time.
Not a fit
When Clearing isn't the right choice
- Your clients mostly send PDF, OFX or QFX statements. Clearing reads CSV and Excel only, for now.
- You need a live bank feed or live two-way QuickBooks Online or Xero sync. Neither is shipped; file import works today.
- You match across currencies. Clearing handles one currency per account, with no FX revaluation yet.
- You need group consolidation or cross-entity matching. Each client reconciles on its own.
- You run enterprise close on BlackLine or FloQast, with multi-entity consolidation or SOX compliance. You're already served.
- You want a mobile app. Clearing is desktop only: Windows, macOS and Linux.
Pilot it on real clients
Every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee with a full refund.