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Accounts Payable & Receivable › Invoice Processing

What is the GR/IR (Goods Received/Invoice Received) clearing account and how is it reconciled?

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Answer

GR/IR is a temporary clearing account that captures the timing gap between receiving goods (which credits GR/IR and debits inventory/expense) and receiving the invoice (which debits GR/IR and credits AP). A balanced line nets to zero once both events occur. Reconciling GR/IR surfaces goods received but not invoiced (accrue) and invoiced but not received (investigate).
Goods receipt:   Dr Inventory  Cr GR/IR
Invoice receipt: Dr GR/IR      Cr Accounts Payable
Open GR/IR balance = received-not-invoiced (a payable to accrue).
Real-world example A quarterly GR/IR review flags $40k of receipts with no matching invoice, which are accrued and chased with suppliers.

Common follow-ups: What does a debit GR/IR balance mean? | How often should GR/IR be cleared?