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Five places money hides in your books, and how to see them early
Overdue receivables, slow-moving stock, ITC at risk, unreconciled cash and bank, and advances left on account: what to check, how often, and what to do.
By Auditer Team · · 5 min read
Money hides in five places in most books: overdue receivables, slow-moving stock, input tax credit at risk from suppliers who have not filed, unreconciled cash and bank entries, and credits and advances left on account. None of these shows up as a loss in the profit and loss account until it is too late. A short weekly and monthly review, by the owner or the accountant, finds them while the money can still be recovered.
| Where money hides | What to look at | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Overdue receivables | Ageing by party; bills past due | Weekly |
| Slow-moving stock | Items with no sales in 90 or 180 days; batches near expiry | Monthly |
| ITC at risk | Purchases missing from GSTR-2B | Monthly, before GSTR-3B |
| Unreconciled cash and bank | Bank entries not in the books, and the reverse | Weekly or monthly |
| Credits and advances on account | Unadjusted receipts, supplier advances, odd balances | Monthly or quarterly |
1. Overdue receivables
What it is: money customers owe you past the due date. The longer a bill stays unpaid, the less likely you are to collect it in full.
What to look at:
- the receivables ageing in buckets: 0 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days;
- the ten parties with the largest overdue amounts;
- customers whose overdue amount keeps growing while they keep buying.
Example: a steel trader in Bengaluru has ₹42 lakh in receivables. ₹11 lakh is over 60 days old, and three contractors account for ₹8 lakh of it. They are still placing orders on credit.
What to do: remind before and after the due date, call the large accounts, and pause further credit for parties beyond an agreed limit. See payment reminders that get paid.
2. Slow-moving stock
What it is: items that have not sold, or sold very little, over a set period. Every rupee in them is a rupee not in the bank, and some items lose value or expire.
What to look at:
- the aged stock list, with value by age;
- fast- and slow-moving items;
- batches close to expiry, for pharma, food and chemicals;
- negative stock, which signals entries missing from the books.
Example: a pharma distributor in Indore finds ₹6.5 lakh of stock with less than six months of shelf life left, much of it from one manufacturer that accepts returns only with notice before expiry.
What to do: return or exchange where the supplier allows, run schemes to move the stock, stop reordering slow items, and correct negative stock in the books.
3. Input tax credit at risk
What it is: GST you paid on purchases but cannot claim yet, because the supplier has not reported the invoice and it is missing from your GSTR-2B. You may claim ITC only for invoices that appear there.
What to look at:
- purchases in your books that are missing from GSTR-2B, by supplier, with the tax amount;
- suppliers who file late again and again;
- supplier bills unpaid for more than 180 days, on which you must reverse the credit until you pay.
Example: an electrical goods dealer in Lucknow finds ₹2.3 lakh of ITC on 14 invoices from four suppliers missing from his GSTR-2B for September.
What to do: remind the suppliers with invoice details, hold back the GST part of payments where your terms allow, and track each invoice until it appears. For 2025-26 purchases, the last date to claim is 30 November 2026, or the annual return date if earlier. See GSTR-2B and input tax credit.
4. Unreconciled cash and bank
What it is: differences between the bank statement and the books, or between the cash book and the cash in the drawer. They hide receipts not booked against customers, charges not recorded, and sometimes errors or fraud.
What to look at:
- bank entries with no matching voucher, such as UPI receipts, bank charges and interest;
- cheques issued long ago but not yet presented;
- the cash register against the cash actually counted.
Example: a garment wholesaler in Ludhiana finds ₹1.8 lakh of UPI receipts in the bank that were never entered against customers. Those customers looked overdue, and two of them received reminders for bills they had already paid.
What to do: reconcile the bank in TallyPrime at least monthly, or weekly if you receive many UPI payments; count cash against the cash register regularly; and look into anything unexplained at once.
5. Credits and advances left on account
What it is: money that sits in a ledger without being matched to a bill. Typical cases are receipts entered on account instead of against invoices, advances paid to suppliers that were never adjusted, customers with credit balances and suppliers with debit balances.
What to look at:
- on-account amounts in customer and supplier ledgers;
- supplier advances older than three to six months;
- debit balances in creditors and credit balances in debtors.
Example: a CA firm in Pune reviewing a client’s books finds ₹6.4 lakh of advances to suppliers older than six months, including ₹1.1 lakh paid to a supplier the client no longer buys from.
What to do: adjust on-account receipts against bills so the outstanding report is right, ask for refunds or goods against old advances, and raise debit notes for returns that were never recorded.
A simple review rhythm
- Every week: overdue receivables and bank entries.
- Every month: stock ageing and expiry, GSTR-2B matching before GSTR-3B, and on-account amounts.
- Every quarter: old advances and odd balances, with your CA.
Twenty minutes a week on this list does more for cash flow than a long review at year-end, when the money is harder to recover.
How Auditer helps
Auditer’s receivables and payables views show ageing, an overdue-only filter and call or WhatsApp buttons for each party, and payment reminders go out by rule. Inventory watchlists list aged items, fast and slow movers, the expiry schedule and negative stock. GSTR-2B is matched with your purchase vouchers, showing suppliers who have not filed and the ITC at risk in rupees. Cash, bank, cash register and day book dashboards, with AI insights that narrate the month, help you spot changes early; see Dashboards and reports.
This article is general information, not tax advice. GST rules change; check the GST portal or your tax professional before acting.