---
title: "Source check: Excel reports that tie back to the books"
description: "AI can design a management-accounts layout. It must not type the numbers. Here is how a locked pack and a Source check sheet keep every delivery reconciled to Xero, QuickBooks, or Stripe."
canonical: "https://www.ilka.co/blog/source-check-reconciled-excel-reports-2026"
last_updated: "2026-09-27"
---

# Source check: Excel reports that tie back to the books

AI can design a management-accounts layout. It must not type the numbers. Here is how a locked pack and a Source check sheet keep every delivery reconciled to Xero, QuickBooks, or Stripe.

Author: Ilka Team  
Published: 2026-09-27  
Category: Reporting

Fractional CFOs get asked the same question every month: *do these numbers match the books?* A workbook that looks finished and is off by one pasted row is worse than a late file. That is the failure mode of "let the model fill in the P&L."

Ilka splits the job. **AI designs the layout once.** **Code copies the figures** on every later delivery. A **Source check** sheet in the workbook proves the totals.

## What "the AI must not type the numbers" means

On the first design pass, the model sees column headers and a few sample rows. It proposes which columns to keep, how to group them, which totals to show, and whether a chart belongs. You review that proposal against the client's real data and lock it.

After lock:

- Each scheduled run reads Xero, QuickBooks, Stripe, Google Sheets, or Airtable again
- Amounts are copied and totalled in code, not regenerated by a language model
- The workbook is a normal `.xlsx` the client can filter, annotate, and forward

If a column the layout depends on is missing, the delivery **stops** and tells you. It does not invent a substitute figure.

## What the Source check sheet shows

The last sheet recomputes each locked total with Excel formulas and compares it with the source total for that run. The difference column should read `0.00`.

That is the page you open before a client call, and the page a reviewer can open without trusting a narrative. It is also why a pack can go to a client portal: the file carries its own tie-out.

## Where this fits in a monthly close

1. Books are closed in Xero or QuickBooks (Ilka does not post journals)
2. The scheduled pack runs on the day you chose — often the 5th
3. You open Source check. If it ties, you send the portal link or leave delivery pointed at the client
4. Next month the **layout is the same**. Only the figures move

Stripe payout packs work the same way: gross, fees, and net on the summary are checked against the balance transactions pulled for that run. See [Stripe payout reports](/blog/automate-stripe-payout-reports-to-excel-2026).

## What this is not

- Not a replacement for the ledger, and not a tool that writes adjusting entries
- Not a live BI dashboard. Clients who want to explore stay in their BI tool; Ilka is the file they still ask for
- Not a one-off "generate a spreadsheet from a prompt" with no source. Sample data is for setup. Client packs run from a connected source

## Related resources

- [Xero to Excel on a schedule](/blog/automate-xero-to-excel-on-a-schedule-2026)
- [QuickBooks to Excel on a schedule](/blog/automate-quickbooks-to-excel-on-a-schedule-2026)
- [Monthly close use case](/use-cases/smb-finance-monthly-close)
- [For fractional CFOs](/for-fractional-cfos)

## Get started

[Set up a pack](/generate/reports) on sample data, then connect one client and read the Source check sheet before you schedule anyone else.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](https://www.ilka.co/sitemap.md) for all pages.

HTML: https://www.ilka.co/blog/source-check-reconciled-excel-reports-2026  
Markdown: https://www.ilka.co/blog/source-check-reconciled-excel-reports-2026.md