1. Define the month before adding up the money
Write down the earning period, broker entity, statement cutoff and currency. A September earning may be paid in October. Keep its earning month and payment date separate so the payment does not become new October commission. Confirm the broker’s timezone and reporting cutoff from the applicable statement or agreement.
Build a source list for every relationship you expect to include. Record a missing export as missing, not as a zero-income broker. If one file contains a monthly total and another contains the trades behind that total, choose a reconciliation level before importing; adding both can double-count the same income.
- Broker and legal entity identified
- Earning period and cutoff recorded
- Currency checked without relabeling or silent conversion
- Missing sources and overlapping totals listed
2. Reconcile entitlement, reporting and cash separately
Expected commission needs an agreement version and eligible activity. Reported commission is the broker’s stated amount. Received is supported by a payment record. Each comparison answers a different question, and an unknown expected amount prevents an entitlement conclusion even when the cash matches.
In this fictional USD example, the agreement calculation is $1,250.00, the broker reports $1,200.00, receipts are $1,150.00 and separately evidenced fees are $10.00. There are two review questions: the $50.00 difference between expected and reported, and the $40.00 reported balance not explained by receipts or fees. Neither difference is automatically a proven debt.
| Measure | USD | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Expected commission | 1,250.00 | Agreement version and eligible activity |
| Broker-reported commission | 1,200.00 | Statement scope and adjustments |
| Received | 1,150.00 | Payment reference and settlement date |
| Evidenced fees | 10.00 | Fee allocation; no second deduction |
| Expected less reported | 50.00 | Entitlement review |
| Reported less received and fees | 40.00 | Payment-timing and allocation review |
3. Match receipts without adding the same cash twice
A receipt can cover more than one statement; a statement can be paid in several transfers. Preserve the payment reference and document the split. Check that allocations do not exceed the receipt and do not cross broker identities accidentally. Do not use one broker’s overpayment to conceal another broker’s unsettled balance.
If the source statement already includes the received amount, adding it again as a new broker receipt would duplicate cash. IBDock’s additional-receipt journal is separate from source received amounts. Review both sources before entering an additional receipt. An unmatched remainder needs an explanation rather than an invented allocation.
4. Review the partner close as its own journal
A sub-IB share should state its basis, effective agreement version, earning date and percentage. Check whether the declared basis is gross commission or another contractually defined amount. A broker deposit arriving today does not by itself establish a partner’s earned amount today.
The partner journal records accruals, payments, corrections and close/reopen events. Use the effective dated terms for each earning and keep payment reversals linked to the original entry. Review outstanding balances before closing. If a correction requires reopening, retain the original close snapshot and the reason; do not rewrite history to make the previous export appear correct.
- Each share links to the intended partner and terms
- Payments and reversals have supporting references
- Unresolved balances remain visible
- Original close export retained when a period is reopened
5. Save an evidence pack with an honest status
Keep original source exports, the statement review, supporting payment records, relevant agreement versions and a dated list of unresolved questions. Record who reviewed the material in your own process. This is an operational evidence packet, not a tax return, independent audit or substitute for required accounting records.
The IBDock statement review ZIP contains statements.csv, review.txt and questions.json. Its checklist-completed label is a manual review status, not a period lock or proof of complete data. It excludes separate broker receipts, calculated agreement expectations and partner journals; export those separately where needed. An unfinished checklist remains a draft.
The public preview is held in the current browser tab. Export before refreshing or leaving it, keep downloaded files securely, and use anonymized samples. Private account availability is shown separately; a successful public preview does not mean records were saved to an account.
6. Carry questions forward without re-counting income
Start the next month from the unresolved-items list. When a later payment arrives, match it to the original earning period and reduce the appropriate open balance. A question can be resolved by timing, corrected eligibility, a fee allocation or a supported statement revision; retain the explanation.
Keep a simple closure log: original reference, question, evidence requested, next review date and resolution. Do not paste client identities or financial records into a general support form. The goal is a repeatable review in which every number can be traced, including the numbers that are still unknown.
Put the method to work.
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Explore the month-end tools →Editorial scope: product reporting guidance with fictional examples. No paid broker placement, investment recommendation or independent audit claim. Product capabilities are described as of the update date shown above.
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