Why the payout in your bank is not your sales figure
Published on Published
A payout settles payment activity after items such as refunds and fees. Record the underlying activity, then match the transfer to the bank deposit.
Download the checklist · text file
Use both the sales and payout reports
Start with the sales records and the payment processor’s transaction detail. The sales date, payout date and bank arrival date may differ. Compare the same currency and check which transactions belong to each payout before treating a difference as an error.
A processor clearing account can hold payment activity until it settles to the bank. Its remaining balance needs an explanation, such as unsettled transactions or funds held by the processor. The bank transfer clears that balance; it should not record the same sale again.
A fictional payout reconciliation
| Activity | Amount |
|---|---|
| Customer payments | 1,000.00 |
| Customer refunds | −100.00 |
| Processor fees | −30.00 |
| Net payout to bank | 870.00 |
In this simplified example, recording the CAD 870 deposit as sales hides the refunds and fees. The underlying records explain CAD 1,000 of customer payments, CAD 100 of refunds and CAD 30 of fees. The fee is fictional, not a published Shopify or Stripe rate. Actual tax, disputes, reserves and currency conversion need separate treatment.
Check these differences before changing the books
Keep tax separate from the settlement calculation
A net payout does not determine which sales taxes applied to the original transactions. Keep the tax detail from your sales records and confirm how your accounting integration maps it. Check a sample payout all the way from the sales report to the ledger and bank statement before relying on an automated rule.
Why is my Shopify payout smaller than my sales?
A payout is what is left after refunds, processing fees, chargebacks and any amount the processor is holding, and it covers a settlement window rather than a calendar day. Recording the deposit as sales hides all of that and understates both revenue and expenses.
Can I just record the deposit as revenue?
No. It misstates revenue, omits the fees you are entitled to deduct as an expense, and loses the sales-tax detail. It also makes the payout impossible to trace back to the orders it settles when a figure is later questioned.
What is a clearing account for?
It holds payment activity between the sale and the money arriving in the bank. Sales and fees post to it; the bank transfer clears it. A balance left in it should be explainable as unsettled transactions or funds the processor is holding — not as an unexplained residue.
Does the payout tell me how much GST or PST I collected?
No. A net payout figure does not determine which taxes applied to the underlying sales. The tax detail comes from the sales records, and how your integration maps it should be checked against one payout end to end before you rely on it.
Read the BC GST and PST overview
When the clearing account will not reconcile
Tell us which platform you use, the accounting software and the periods affected. We can review the setup and quote any cleanup before adding ongoing bookkeeping. Keep customer-level payment data out of the public enquiry form.
Want this handled for you
This is the work we do for clients every month. Tell us what you sell and where your books stand, and a written plan and a fixed monthly price follow within one business day.