# How to save up to 10 hours weekly with auto-reconciliation

**Auto-reconciliation eliminates the manual work of matching payments to invoices by automatically syncing payment data between Alternative Payments and your connected integration.**

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## What Is Auto-Reconciliation?

Auto-reconciliation is the automatic two-way sync of invoice and payment data between Alternative Payments and your PSA or accounting software. When a customer pays through your Alternative Payments portal, the payment details are written back to your integration automatically -- no manual entry, no copy-pasting, no reconciliation spreadsheets.

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## How It Works Step by Step

1. **Invoices sync in** -- Once your integration is connected, your open invoices are pulled into Alternative Payments automatically. New invoices sync as they are created in your PSA or accounting software.
2. **Customers pay through the portal** -- Your customers receive a billing link or invoice notification and pay using their preferred method (ACH, credit card, or Pay in Installments).
3. **Payment status syncs back** -- When a payment is processed, Alternative Payments updates the invoice status in your connected integration (e.g., marked as paid in QuickBooks, closed in ConnectWise).
4. **Deposits are recorded** -- Payment deposit details are written to the bank account you selected in your integration settings, so your books stay accurate without manual journal entries.

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## What Syncs and in Which Direction

| Data                  | Direction          | Description                                                                             |
| --------------------- | ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Invoices              | Integration --> AP | Open invoices are pulled from your PSA or accounting software into Alternative Payments |
| Customer/contact info | Integration --> AP | Billing contacts sync so invoice notifications reach the right people                   |
| Payment status        | AP --> Integration | Paid, partial, or failed status updates are pushed back to your integration             |
| Deposit records       | AP --> Integration | Payment deposit details are recorded against the bank account you configure             |

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## Where the Time Savings Come From

Partners report saving up to 10 hours per week because auto-reconciliation eliminates:

* **Manual data entry** -- No re-keying payment amounts, dates, or reference numbers into your accounting system
* **Payment matching** -- No comparing bank deposits against open invoices to figure out who paid what
* **Status tracking** -- No logging into multiple systems to check whether an invoice was paid
* **Error correction** -- No fixing mismatched amounts or duplicate entries caused by manual processes

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## How to Enable Auto-Reconciliation

Auto-reconciliation is enabled automatically when you connect an integration. There is no separate toggle -- once your PSA or accounting software is linked to your Alternative Payments dashboard, the two-way sync begins.

To connect an integration, see: [Differences Between Integrations](/integrations/getting-started/differences-between-integrations.md)

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