Why Doesn’t My Amazon Payout Match My Sales Report?
Your Amazon sales report says one figure. Your bank says another. Your bookkeeping software says a third. Which one is right?
Usually all three are, for the question each one answers. The differences come from timing and from money that has not reached you yet. Once you know where to look, most of the gap can be explained line by line.
1. Settlement periods do not match calendar months
Amazon pays in settlements, usually every two weeks. A settlement can run from 24 September to 8 October, which puts part of it in each month.
If you compare September sales with the payouts received in September, you are comparing different periods. For monthly accounts, the settlement needs to be recorded by its dates, with the part that belongs to the next month carried forward correctly.
2. The money arrives a few days after the settlement ends
The settlement closes, and the transfer reaches your bank a few days later. A settlement ending on 30 September may not be paid until 2 or 3 October. At the month end, that money is owed to you by Amazon, not missing.
3. The reserve
Amazon can hold back part of your balance as a reserve, to cover possible refunds and claims. It shows on the settlement as two lines: the previous reserve released back to you, and the new reserve held.
The reserve is still your money. It is not a fee and should not be recorded as a cost. If it is growing from one settlement to the next, it is worth understanding why, because it directly reduces your cash.
4. Refunds for earlier sales
A customer who bought in August and returned the item in October appears as a refund in October’s settlement. Your October sales look lower than the orders taken in October, and August looks better than it was.
Over a year this evens out, but in a single month it can make results look worse, or better, than they really are.
5. Advertising deducted from the payout
Depending on how your account is set up, advertising can be deducted from your settlement or charged to a card. If it is deducted, it shows as a cost in the settlement. If it is charged to a card, the payout looks larger, and the advertising appears separately on your card statement. Mixing the two can count advertising twice or not at all.
6. Negative balances
If fees, refunds and advertising exceed sales in a period, the balance is negative. Amazon may take the shortfall from a later settlement or charge your card. A negative settlement still needs recording, otherwise costs go missing.
7. Different currencies and marketplaces
Sales on Amazon.de or Amazon.com are settled separately and often in euros or dollars. Each one needs converting at the right rate, and any currency conversion charge recorded as a cost.
A simple way to reconcile
- Start from the settlement, not the sales report. The settlement is what Amazon actually paid.
- Check that the settlement lines add up to its total.
- Match the total to the bank receipt, allowing for the few days’ delay.
- Note the reserve held at the end of the period. It is money owed to you.
- Only then compare with the sales report, and explain the difference by timing, refunds and currency.
Our free settlement checker does the first two steps for you, including the reserve still held. It runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded.
Next: once the payouts reconcile, the figure that decides whether you are actually making money is stock and cost of goods sold.
If the differences in your records cannot be explained, or several months have been recorded only as bank receipts, get in touch. Untangling it once is far quicker than living with it every month.
