How to Reconcile Cash and Inventory After Leaving NCR Retail Online

Moving away from NCR Retail Online changes more than the storefront customers see. Payment records, product codes, stock quantities, tax settings and fulfilment data may now sit across a new ecommerce platform, a point-of-sale system and an accounting package. Reconciliation is the process of proving that these systems describe the same trading activity.

The work is especially important after a migration to Magento or WooCommerce through an NCR Counterpoint partner. The former platform has been discontinued, so businesses need a dependable opening position rather than relying on old dashboards remaining available. A clean handover protects gross margin, GST reporting and customer order history.

For an Australian retailer, the process should account for Australian dollars, GST, EFTPOS settlements, card fees, payment gateways and the timing differences between an online order and the bank deposit. A shop in Melbourne may have a different sales pattern from a business serving regional New South Wales, but both need the same audit trail.

Establish A Clear Cutover Position

Choose a cutover date and stop making uncontrolled changes in the old environment. Before the final export, record the time zone, currency, tax configuration, sales channels and the last order number. Save reports for sales, refunds, cancelled orders, payments, inventory on hand and open purchase orders. PDF copies are useful for review, while CSV files support detailed matching.

Perform a physical stocktake as close as practical to the cutover. Count sellable units separately from damaged, display, quarantined and consignment stock. For a retailer carrying kitchen accessories range, count variations such as colour, size and pack quantity as separate SKUs. A product title that looks identical can still represent different barcodes or supplier costs.

Create a reconciliation workbook with columns for SKU, old quantity, physical quantity, quantity imported, unit cost, variance, reason and approver. Do the same for cash, using transaction date, settlement date, payment method, gross amount, fees, refunds and net deposit. This creates a controlled opening balance instead of hiding migration differences inside the first month of trading.

Match Sales To Real Bank Deposits

Sales revenue and banked cash rarely align on the same day. An order placed on Friday night may settle on Monday, while a payment provider may group several days of transactions into one deposit. EFTPOS can follow a different settlement cycle from Visa, Mastercard, PayPal or buy-now-pay-later services. Reconcile by settlement batch and transaction reference, not just by the date shown on the order.

Begin with gross sales from the ecommerce platform. Deduct GST where appropriate, discounts, refunds and chargebacks, then compare the result with processor reports and bank deposits. Record payment fees as a separate expense rather than reducing sales. If a $110 Australian order includes 10 percent GST, the accounting treatment should distinguish the $100 taxable sale from the $10 GST component, subject to the business’s tax circumstances and accountant’s advice.

Physical cash needs its own count sheet. Record the opening float, cash sales, cash refunds, paid-outs and the closing till count. The expected cash figure is the opening float plus cash received, less cash refunds and approved withdrawals. Investigate an overage or shortage on the day it appears; carrying unexplained differences into the next period makes patterns difficult to identify.

Rebuild The Inventory Opening Balance

Inventory reconciliation starts with units, then moves to value. Compare the final exported quantity for each SKU with the physical count and the quantity loaded into the replacement platform. Common variances include orders imported twice, unfulfilled orders treated as completed, cancelled orders still reserving stock, and bundles converted into individual items incorrectly.

Review the product mapping between NCR Retail Online and the new platform. The migration from one catalogue structure to another can alter SKU formats, barcode fields, tax classes, warehouse locations and stock-status rules. A inventory differences guide can help frame this review, particularly where the replacement system handles reservations, backorders or multi-location stock differently.

Value the opening inventory using the method used in the accounting records, such as weighted average cost or first-in, first-out. Do not use current retail prices as stock value. Check landed costs, freight, supplier rebates and imported goods carefully, since a unit cost error can make stock appear correct while distorting gross profit.

Every adjustment should have a reason code. Useful categories include counting error, duplicate import, shrinkage, damaged goods, supplier correction and timing difference. Require a manager to approve material adjustments, and retain the original export beside the corrected register. This is particularly valuable when an auditor or bookkeeper needs to explain why the new platform does not exactly match the discontinued system.

Account For Returns, Bundles And Customer Credits

Returns can create a timing gap between inventory and cash. A refund may be issued before the item arrives, or a returned product may come back damaged and need to be written down rather than returned to sellable stock. Match each refund to the original order, payment reference and GST treatment. For exchanges, record the returned SKU and replacement SKU separately so the stock movement remains visible.

Review bundles, kits and gift sets manually. A catalogue item such as gift basket orders may be sold as one product while the warehouse holds several component products. Decide whether the new platform should deduct a finished bundle, its components or both. Applying both deductions creates artificial shrinkage.

Customer credits, gift cards, deposits and loyalty balances are liabilities, not ordinary sales. Export the balance and expiry information where available, then test several redemptions in the new system. A missing $50 gift-card balance may not appear in the cash reconciliation until a customer uses it, when the business may record revenue without receiving new money.

Check shipping charges and partial refunds as well. An Australian customer in Perth may receive a different freight charge from a customer in Sydney, and a refund may return the product price but retain postage. Document the rules used by the new platform so staff apply them consistently rather than making ad hoc adjustments.

Run A Short Parallel Review

For the first two to four weeks, compare daily totals from the new platform with the bank, payment gateways, point-of-sale records and warehouse movements. A simple exception report should highlight unmatched orders, duplicate transaction IDs, negative stock, refunds without original sales and deposits without a corresponding settlement batch.

Separate migration errors from normal trading timing. A payment received on 2 July for a 30 June order may be a valid settlement lag, while two identical order IDs usually indicate an import problem. Review exceptions by value and risk, prioritising GST, high-value stock, chargebacks, gift cards and products with frequent overselling.

Australian trading calendars can add unusual patterns. End-of-financial-year promotions may create a heavy order volume around 30 June, while Boxing Day sales can produce large return volumes in January. Record the reporting period used by the accountant and ensure the new platform’s time zone matches the business’s Australian operating location.

Once the initial review is complete, make reconciliation a routine control. Set daily checks for payment settlements and cash tills, weekly checks for inventory exceptions, and a monthly review of refunds, credits, stock adjustments and gross margin. Keep access permissions tight: staff may process a return, but only authorised users should alter historical transactions or opening balances.

A reliable migration file should contain the cutover reports, final stocktake, bank and gateway statements, adjustment approvals, mapping rules and unresolved exceptions. Reconcile cash first by settlement batch, reconcile inventory by SKU and physical count, then tie both to the accounting ledger. That sequence turns a platform change into a traceable opening position and gives the business a practical habit: every sale, dollar and unit should have one documented place in the new system.