Patent ID: 8103561

Claim:
A computer implemented method for reconciling financial transactions using matching rules, the method comprising: enabling a user, by generating and displaying a user interface on a computer, to define how different types of financial items are grouped, the grouped financial items selected from one of a financial statement associated with a first account with a first financial institution and financial data recorded by a customer of the first financial institution, wherein the enabling comprises selecting one or more grouping attributes that determine whether the financial items can be grouped together; enabling the user, by generating and displaying the user interface on the computer, to set matching criteria for matching financial items of the financial statement with financial items of the customer recorded financial data, wherein the matching criteria comprise a one-to-one, a one-to-many, a many-to-one, or a many-to-many criteria for matching financial statement items with customer items; setting up a matching rule comprising the grouping attributes and the matching Criteria; receiving reconciliation rules at the computer, the reconciliation rules comprising tolerances for the matching criteria and a sequence of the matching rules; and reconciling the financial statement items with the customer items based on the matching rules and the reconciliation rules.