How Setttle works

From old books to settled books

Bring your books over, keep them current, and step in only when Setttle needs a decision. A real double-entry ledger stays the source of truth the whole way through.

Two ways in

Start where your books actually are

Most people arrive with books already in progress. Both paths lead to an opening position you can review.

Bring in existing books
Import a Wave accounting export, review the opening position, and compare it with a dated trial balance. Read the Wave switching guide for the open items that need a separate check.
Start fresh
For a new company with nothing to migrate. Set a base currency, add a chart of accounts, and begin with your first invoice or bill.

The path

Four steps, in order

Each step reaches a state you can check. The numbered markers are a real sequence — you do not clear decisions before the bank is connected.

  1. 01

    Bring your books over

    trial balance matches

    Import a Wave accounting export, or start from opening balances. Setttle checks source rows, account mappings, tax, and FX, then shows the proposed opening position and what still needs a decision. Compare it with an independent dated trial balance before relying on it.

  2. 02

    Connect the bank at the cutover

    cutover reviewed

    Choose where imported history ends and the bank feed begins. Review any overlap or gap at that boundary so a transaction is not counted twice. A sync failure stays visible instead of quietly disappearing.

  3. 03

    Clear the decisions

    3 need a decision

    Bank activity is matched against the ledger, and confirmed mappings can prefill routine coding for review. Genuine ambiguity stays visible — an unmatched fact, a missing receipt, an unclear match — each with its evidence and one primary action.

  4. 04

    Stay current

    caught up through mar 31

    Setttle keeps working as new bank activity arrives, so the distance between today and your last verified date stays small. When something needs you, it appears in the same place everything else does.

Who does what

Setttle handles routine work. You make the calls.

The product contract is simple: handle what Setttle knows, ask when judgment is required, and keep every result traceable.

Setttle handles

  • Matching bank activity to the ledger
  • Coding transactions from mappings you confirmed
  • Recording invoice and bill payments against the right accounts
  • Preparing balanced journal entries for review
  • Keeping sent invoices and approved bills open until they settle
  • Tracking coverage for every connected bank account

Needs your decision

  • An unmatched bank fact with no obvious counterpart
  • A receipt, invoice, or bill that is missing or ambiguous
  • An import or sync exception that affects a period
  • A one-off transaction with no confirmed pattern
  • Anything an agent drafted and you have not reviewed

The readiness rule

Caught up through a date — not “roughly current”

Setttle only claims a date when every active bank account has proven coverage through it, every bank fact is matched or explicitly excluded, dated documents are posted or linked, and no failed import or sync affects the period.

Legitimately open sent invoices and approved unpaid bills do not block it — that money is simply not settled yet. Unreviewed drafts do.

Boundaries

What Setttle is not

Being clear about the edges is part of trusting the middle.

Not payroll
Setttle does not run payroll or remit source deductions. Record payroll as journal entries and reconcile the bank activity like anything else.
Not inventory or point of sale
Setttle is built for service businesses that invoice clients. Inventory, cost of goods, and POS are outside the product.
Not direct CRA filing
Setttle produces ledger-based tax schedules for filing review. It does not file returns on your behalf or replace a tax professional.
No silent posting
Model suggestions remain drafts for review. Permitted posting actions still have to pass the same authorization and accounting rules as the web app. Posted history remains in the books unless the owner deletes the entire company after an export.

Questions worth asking

Can I move existing books into Setttle?

Yes. Setttle accepts a Wave accounting export or a reviewed opening-balance import. A Wave export does not establish every open invoice, bill, or native foreign-currency amount on its own. See the Wave guide.

How does Setttle know the books are caught up?

It checks bank coverage, matched or excluded bank facts, dated source documents, and blocking import or sync exceptions. An unresolved item keeps the affected date from being presented as complete.

Does Setttle file Canadian tax returns?

No. It produces tax schedules from the books for your review. Filing decisions and submission remain with you or your accountant.

Get your books settled

Bring your books over and see the decisions list for yourself.

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