Marketplace and ecommerce accounts
Marketplace payout reconciliation
A payout matching your bank doesn’t prove your sales and fees are right. Reconcile the payout to the bank and the platform balance to its statement.
To reconcile a marketplace payout, start with the settlement report. Opening balance + sales − refunds − fees − payouts = closing balance. That should agree to the platform’s statement. Then match each payout to a bank receipt by reference and amount. Record sales and fees gross, and treat the payout as a transfer, not income.
Use the right report for each job
Scroll across the table to read every column.
| Report | Tells you |
|---|---|
| Order report | What customers bought |
| Settlement or payout report | Sales, fees, refunds, reserves and the payout |
| Bank statement | That the money arrived |
Check the date range and row count in each export. If a period is missing, request it; don’t fill the gap with the bank total.
Reconcile the platform balance
Scroll across the table to read every column.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Opening balance | £240 |
| Sales | £5,000 |
| Refunds | −£200 |
| Fees | −£150 |
| Payouts sent | −£4,500 |
| Closing balance | £390 |
Reserves are part of the balance, not a fee. Money that has left the platform but not reached your bank is in transit. Match it next period and don’t move the sale to suit.
Worked Amazon example: a reserve clearing through a later payout.
Don’t double count
Before importing anything, check what an integration (A2X, Link My Books or a native connector) already posts. Adding a settlement total as a new sale on top doubles it. A reissued fee invoice or credit note corrects the earlier one; it isn’t an extra cost.
Daily marketplace reconciliation checklist
- Download yesterday’s settlement or transaction report for each seller account.
- Check that the new payouts appear in the bank under their reference.
- Flag payouts sent but not received, and receipts with no matching payout.
- Log refunds, chargebacks and reserve changes.
- Note anything unexplained, with an owner and next step.
At month end, reconcile the closing platform balance and carry open items forward.
When it doesn’t balance
- Missing pages, accounts or settlement files.
- A later report that corrects an earlier one.
- Duplicate imports, or fees and refunds posted twice.
- Payouts in transit, or amounts still held.
- Currency: reconcile each currency before conversion.
Old differences that affect past accounts need accounting reconstruction. See the anonymised ecommerce case study, or get help with an ongoing reconciliation.
VAT tax point vs settlement date
The marketplace payout date is not automatically the VAT tax point. For goods, the tax point is usually the earlier of invoice or despatch/availability under the normal rules; for continuous services it is the earlier of invoice or payment for that period. Reconcile settlements for cash and fees, but book VAT from the underlying supply dates in the order or invoice data.
Keep the seller report HMRC already has
Where the platform reports you under the UK digital platform rules, keep the seller copy alongside your settlement files. HMRC already has a calendar-year view; your working papers need to explain tax-year and VAT-period figures from the same source data.
Common questions
A bank receipt has no payout reference. What now?
Match it by date and exact amount against the settlement report. Check whether several payouts were combined or one was split. If nothing matches, ask the marketplace for the settlement ID and log it as open until then.
Should I record the payout as sales?
No. Record sales and fees gross from the settlement report. The payout is a transfer from the platform to your bank.
Help with payout reconciliation
Tell us the channels, seller accounts, currencies and periods involved, and which reports are missing. We can assess a recurring reconciliation scope or a separate historical investigation.
Opens a short enquiry form. Nothing is sent until you press Send enquiry.
Related service: Ecommerce accounting and bookkeeping