Clearing

Clearing is a desktop bank reconciliation application developed by GreenBar Systems. It handles the monthly bank reconciliation step specifically, sitting alongside whatever bookkeeping platform the firm already uses rather than replacing a general ledger, invoicing, or accounts-payable system.

The core workflow has five stages. The bookkeeper loads a bank export and a ledger export — both in CSV or Excel format — and Clearing detects supported layouts automatically. It then proposes candidate matches, attaching a confidence score and the signals behind each suggestion — amount, date, and vendor name — so every accepted match can be defended later. Items that fall outside normal patterns are flagged individually with a plain-English explanation, such as noting that an invoice is several times larger than the vendor's usual amount. The bookkeeper reviews every exception, approving, revising, or rejecting each proposed fix before anything is posted. Over successive closes, Clearing learns how the bookkeeper handles recurring exceptions for each client.

The sign-off step produces an audit trail recording the confidence score and signals behind each match, every preparer action with a timestamp, and who signed off. On the Pro and Firm tiers, a second reviewer must approve the close, and Clearing stores a SHA-256 hash of the match decisions and period balances at sign-off. The hash does not yet cover individual line amounts, dates, or descriptions, so it validates what was decided rather than sealing the entire transaction file. The full trail can be exported to PDF or CSV for a client or auditor.

Clearing is aimed at bookkeepers, small accounting firms, and owner-operators who want to close monthly bank reconciliations without uploading client files to a cloud service — particularly practitioners who handle sensitive client data and prefer, or are required, to keep that data off third-party cloud infrastructure.

The Solo tier covers up to three clients on a single computer, making it suitable for sole practitioners. The Pro tier raises the limit to twenty clients and adds team sign-ins with distinct preparer and reviewer roles. The Firm tier extends capacity to fifty clients and adds centralized audit history and priority support. GreenBar explicitly states it does not claim feature parity with full-service desktop or cloud accounting platforms, so firms seeking a broad accounting suite should look elsewhere.

Clearing runs locally on Windows, Linux, and Macs with Apple silicon. All reconciliation work — bank exports, ledger exports, match decisions, and the final audit trail — stays on the user's machine throughout the process. The Solo tier requires no GreenBar account.

The application contacts greenbarsystems.com to validate the license key and check for updates, but neither call carries financial data. On the Pro and Firm tiers, optional team sync is available to a server the firm hosts; sync shares sign-off records and mapping templates but never client files or transaction rows. Learned exception patterns for each client also remain on the local machine rather than being pooled to any cloud.

Clearing does not offer live two-way synchronization with QuickBooks Online or Xero. Users export files from those platforms, reconcile locally in Clearing, and then make any resulting book adjustments back in their primary accounting system. Three subscription tiers are available: Solo at $199 per year, Pro at $499 per year, and Firm at $899 per year. Every tier carries a 30-day money-back guarantee, and GreenBar states that all tiers include the complete matching tool, with paid tiers adding collaboration and client capacity rather than gating core functionality.

Clearing imports only CSV and Excel files; OFX, QFX, and PDF bank statement formats are not yet supported. Live two-way synchronization with QuickBooks Online or Xero is not available, so any book adjustments must be made manually back in the primary accounting system after reconciling locally.

Each account is single-currency with no multi-currency matching or FX revaluation. There is no group consolidation across entities and no mobile application. The SHA-256 hash stored at sign-off covers match decisions and period balances but does not yet cover individual line amounts, dates, or descriptions, limiting what it can seal. Clearing is a narrow, purpose-built reconciliation tool and does not replace a general ledger, invoicing, or accounts-payable system.