Before you begin: You do not need special permissions to benefit from OFX’s automatic tax rounding feature. This process applies to all users uploading or syncing bills.

Next Steps:

To understand and resolve rounding differences between your bill subtotal and total, follow these steps:

1. Why does this happen?

   • Supplier invoices and accounting systems often use different methods to calculate totals:

     • Subtotal-then-tax: All line items are summed, subtotal is rounded, then tax is calculated on the subtotal.

     • Per-line rounding: Tax is calculated and rounded for each line, then all lines are summed.

   • These methods can result in small differences (usually a few cents) between the sum of line items and the invoice total.

2. How does OFX handle rounding differences?

   • When you upload a bill, OFX uses OCR to read the total and tax amounts from your invoice (you can also manually update these amounts).

   • The system constructs line items and calculates tax per line, rounding each line to two decimal places.

   • OFX compares the sum of the line items to the totals captured from your invoice.

   • If there’s a small difference (up to 10 cents), OFX automatically adds a “Tax Rounding” adjustment to the last eligible line item to balance the bill.

   • This ensures your bill total matches the supplier invoice and reduces sync errors with accounting systems like Xero or QuickBooks.

   

3. What will you see in OFX?

   • A clearly labelled “Tax Rounding” line or amount will appear when a minor difference is detected.

   • Your bill’s total will match the supplier invoice ensuring you report the correct GST and pay the correct amount. This will also make reconciliation and syncing much smoother.

4. What if the difference is more than 10 cents?

   • OFX will not allow adjustment differences greater than 10 cents as this indicates a potential different problem with the Bill.

   • Review your bill for possible data entry errors, incorrect tax codes, or OCR misreads.

   • Split mixed-tax items into separate lines if needed, and check that the tax mode (inclusive or exclusive) matches your supplier invoice.

   

Why is this important:

• Ensures your bill totals always match your supplier’s invoice, reducing manual adjustments and reconciliation time.

• Minimises sync errors with accounting platforms like Xero and QuickBooks.

• Provides a clear, auditable adjustment for minor rounding differences, making your financial records more accurate and reliable.

Related FAQ Articles:

• How does the Xero Integration work for Bills?

• List of common Xero error codes and how to fix them