How to reconcile POS transactions in Nigeria

To reconcile POS transactions, match three records for each terminal and day: your sales record, the provider's settlement report and your bank or wallet statement. Any difference is a fee, a declined sale, a reversal, a payment still in the settlement cycle, or money that went somewhere else. Below: the method step by step, common differences, and where the money usually is.

When POS money should arrive

The CBN's Guidelines on Operations of Electronic Payment Channels (2020) require domestic POS transactions to settle to merchants on T+1, and set a 48-hour window for POS disputes. With a T+1 provider, Monday's card sales should be in your account on Tuesday. Weekends and holidays can bring several days in one credit. Check your provider's terms.

What you need

• A terminal list: every terminal ID, its provider, its branch and the account it settles into.
• The sales record by terminal: every card sale, with terminal, time and amount.
• The settlement report from each provider: transactions per terminal, fees and amounts paid out.
• The bank or wallet statement for each settlement account.

Step by step

1. Confirm the terminal mapping. Check the settlement account on the provider's report against your terminal list. A terminal paying into an account you don't recognise is the first thing to fix.
2. Total the day's card sales for each terminal.
3. Match sales to the settlement report by terminal, date and amount. Mark sales recorded but missing from the report (often declined payments recorded as sales) and report lines with no recorded sale.
4. Match the settlement report to the bank or wallet by terminal and date. Providers often pay one net amount per terminal per day, so one bank line matches many sales.
5. Recompute the fees. Apply your agreed rate, and VAT on the fee where charged, to the gross. A difference is an overcharge or a different rate from the one you agreed.
6. Deal with reversals. A payment that failed after the customer was debited goes back to the customer. It is not a sale.
7. Carry pending items forward. Anything still inside the settlement cycle is pending, not missing. Record it with its date.
8. Chase what is late with the terminal ID, date, amount and the reference from the slip. Raise disputes promptly.
9. Clear the POS clearing account. Sales go in, settlements and fees come out. What remains should be a short list of named, dated items, each with an owner.

Example figures: Terminal 2, Lekki branch, 14 October. Sales record: 38 card sales totalling ₦1,246,500. Settlement report: 37 approved payments totalling ₦1,212,500, and one declined payment of ₦34,000 recorded as a sale in error. On 15 October the bank shows one credit from the provider, net of fees. Recompute the fee on ₦1,212,500 at your agreed rate to check the credit. The ₦34,000 goes back to the sales person, because that money was never paid.

Common differences and their causes

So where is the money?

Work through it in this order:

1. Which account does the terminal settle into? Ask the provider for the settlement report showing the destination account.
2. Were the payments approved? A declined slip, or no slip, means no money.
3. Is it still pending? Check the settlement cycle before calling it missing.
4. Were fees or chargebacks deducted? Compare gross sales, fees and net settlement.
5. Does the provider's report agree with your sales record? If the provider shows fewer payments than your staff recorded, the gap is in your shop, not the payment system.

If someone inside the business diverted money, keep the evidence and report it. For fake transfers, see how to detect fake bank alerts.

How Brillrec helps

Brillrec is the finance operations platform for Nigerian businesses, with three products on one record: Reconciliation, Internal Control Automation and Financial Close Management. For POS, Reconciliation does the matching above:

• POS reports as they come. Moniepoint POS exports and Moniepoint business statements are recognised by name. Other POS reports are read by their columns: terminal ID, reference, response code, amount, fee and net. Declined payments are left out and counted, so they can't inflate your sales. OPay, PalmPay and other terminal reports are loaded by upload.
• Matched to the bank by day, with each day's approved payments grouped as one payout. For bank POS, Brillrec checks that each day's net amount reached the bank.
• Fees checked. Fees are recomputed against published prices for Paystack, Flutterwave, Monnify and Squad, and for Moniepoint or any other provider once you enter your agreed rate. Overcharges are listed by month, and each can be marked Raised, then Recovered or Closed. Fincra, Paga and VFD Bank bring statements.
• Daily reconciliation on Essential and above, so a missing settlement shows the next day, not at month-end.
• The POS clearing account (Professional and above) is matched in and out, with every item matched or aged and owned. It signs off only when it nets to nil or every item is explained.
• Disputes register (Professional and above): chargebacks, refunds and reversals, each with an owner, age and status.
• Find a transaction (Professional and above): search by reference, RRN, amount, date or the last 4 digits of a card, and produce a masked evidence PDF for the customer or provider. A Support role lets customer-support staff use Find a transaction and nothing else; it counts as a user.
• A 7am morning digest lists open items by account, short settlements and fee overcharges, late payouts and disputes past their window. It is on for admins and approvers, and anyone can switch it on or off.
• The owner's month-end report in Financial Close Management shows cash by account, money found and reconciliations signed off.

Reported by clients: 99% of clients' bank and ledger lines matched automatically in a month; 70% less month-end close time; 50% less audit preparation time; 2.5x finance team productivity. Results depend on your records and how your team works. See client results.

See POS money and how to reconcile Paystack, Flutterwave and Moniepoint.

Frequently asked questions

How long does POS settlement take in Nigeria?

The CBN's 2020 guidelines require domestic POS transactions to settle to merchants on T+1. Some providers settle faster.

Why is my POS settlement less than my sales?

Usually fees, a declined payment recorded as a sale, a chargeback, or a settlement still pending. Match payment by payment and recompute the fees.

What should I do if POS money did not enter my account?

Check which account the terminal settles into and that the payments were approved, then contact the provider with the terminal ID, date, amount and reference.

How often should I reconcile POS transactions?

Daily. With T+1 settlement and a 48-hour dispute window, a monthly check is too late.

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