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Transaction matching links a paid bill to its corresponding card transaction, confirming that the payment cleared your account and giving you a complete, accurate picture of your finances. Topkey can match transactions automatically in many cases, but you can also match them manually when needed.

Why Transaction Matching Matters

When you pay a bill, two things happen: a bill record is marked as paid in Topkey, and a transaction appears in your card activity. Matching connects these two records so your books reflect reality — not just what was entered, but what actually cleared. Without matching, you risk double-counting expenses or missing discrepancies between what was billed and what was paid.

How Auto-Matching Works

After a bill is paid, Topkey automatically attempts to find a corresponding card transaction by comparing the amount, date, and vendor. When a match is found with sufficient confidence, Topkey links the two records without any action required on your part.

Auto-matching runs in the background after payment is recorded. It may take a short time for a match to appear after a bill is marked as paid.

Matching Transactions Manually

When auto-matching does not find a match — for example, if the transaction date differs slightly or the vendor name does not align exactly — you can link the records yourself from the Cards Transactions view.

Navigate to Cards and select the Transactions tab.
Find the transaction you want to match to a bill.
Select the transaction to open its detail panel.
Locate the Bill or Match section within the detail panel.
Search for the bill by vendor name, amount, or date to find the correct bill.
Select the bill from the results and confirm the match.

Use the transaction amount and date as your primary filters when searching for the correct bill. This helps you quickly narrow down results when a vendor has multiple open or recently paid bills.

Unmatching a Transaction

If a transaction is linked to the wrong bill — for example, a payment was reversed or the wrong record was selected — you can remove the match from the Cards Transactions view.

Navigate to Cards and select the Transactions tab.
Find the transaction with the incorrect match.
Open the transaction's detail panel.
Locate the matched bill in the Bill or Match section.
Select the option to remove or unmatch the link.
Confirm the action.

Unmatching a transaction does not reverse a payment or change the bill's paid status. It only removes the link between the two records. You can re-match the transaction to the correct bill after unmatching.

Common reasons to unmatch a transaction:

The wrong transaction was linked to a bill
A payment was reversed and the bill needs to be re-opened
A duplicate match was created in error

Match Statuses

Each bill's connection to a card transaction can be in one of the following states:

Unmatched — No card transaction has been linked to this bill yet. Action may be required if you expect the payment to have cleared.
Auto-Matched — Topkey found and linked a matching transaction automatically based on amount, date, and vendor.
Manually Matched — A team member linked the transaction to the bill by hand through the Cards Transactions view.

Reviewing unmatched bills periodically is a good habit for keeping your reconciliation up to date. An unmatched paid bill may indicate a transaction that hasn't cleared, a discrepancy in the payment amount, or a transaction that needs to be matched manually.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a bill show as paid but still appear unmatched? A bill can be marked as paid in Topkey before the card transaction is visible in your transaction feed. Transactions may take one to two business days to appear. If the transaction has cleared but the bill is still unmatched, you can link it manually from the Cards Transactions view.

Why didn't Topkey auto-match my transaction? Auto-matching relies on the amount, date, and vendor aligning closely between the bill and the transaction. If any of these differ — for example, the vendor name on the card statement is abbreviated differently, or the transaction posted on a different date than expected — Topkey may not make the match automatically. In these cases, use the manual matching workflow described above.

Can a single transaction be matched to more than one bill? No. Each card transaction can only be matched to one bill. If a single payment covers multiple bills, you will need to manage the reconciliation through your accounting records. Contact Support if you need guidance on handling split payments.