Shopify Payments does not pay out each order on its own. The money for many orders reaches the bank account together, less fees and refunds. The bank line therefore never matches a single invoice, and that is where most reconciliations get stuck. This guide shows how to book a Shopify Payments payout so each invoice is paid, the fees stand on their own, and the bank matches to the øre.
What a payout is made of
A Shopify Payments payout is the sum of everything that happened on your balance since the last payout:
- Payments from customers, one per order.
- Refunds, which are deducted.
- Fees on each payment.
- Chargebacks, when a customer has disputed a payment, and any reversal when you win.
- Adjustments and reserves, which Shopify makes now and then.
In the Shopify admin you find each payout under Finance → Payouts. Open a payout to see the transactions it is made of and export them.
The principle: a clearing account
The safe way to book payouts is through a clearing account, a balance account such as "Shopify Payments receivable". It stands for the money Shopify holds for you:
- Each customer payment goes into the account and closes the customer's invoice.
- Refunds, fees and chargebacks go out.
- The payout itself moves the rest to the bank.
When everything for a payout is booked, the clearing account stands at zero. If it does not, something is missing, and you know exactly which payout to look at.
By hand
- Create the balance account "Shopify Payments receivable" in the chart of accounts, if you do not have it.
- Open the payout in Shopify and find the orders its payments belong to.
- In the daybook, book a customer payment for each payment: debit the clearing account, credit the customer, with the invoice number, so the invoice is settled.
- Book the fees: debit a fee account, credit the clearing account.
- Book refunds and chargebacks against the same customer or an account for disputes.
- Book the payout: debit the bank, credit the clearing account, dated the day the money reached the bank.
- Check that the clearing account stands at zero for the payout.
Example
A payout of DKK 2,388.04 covers three orders that are already invoices in e-conomic:
| Entry | Debit | Credit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment, order 1042 | Shopify Payments receivable | Debtor (invoice 1042) | 851.10 |
| Payment, order 1043 | Shopify Payments receivable | Debtor (invoice 1043) | 1,249.00 |
| Payment, order 1046 | Shopify Payments receivable | Debtor (invoice 1046) | 329.00 |
| Fees | Fees | Shopify Payments receivable | 41.06 |
| Payout | Bank | Shopify Payments receivable | 2,388.04 |
Into the clearing account: 851.10 + 1,249.00 + 329.00 = 2,429.10. Out: 41.06 + 2,388.04 = 2,429.10. The account stands at zero, the three invoices are paid, and the bank line matches.
When the orders are not invoices
If you do not invoice every order in e-conomic, the payout is the sale itself. Then the sales for each day are booked on a revenue account with VAT, dated the day the sale happened, with refunds and fees on their own. The clearing account works the same way. What matters is that a sale is counted once: either on the invoice or on the payout, never both.
Fees, VAT and currency
- Fees on payments are a financial service, usually without VAT. Book them on a fee account, so you can see what payments cost.
- Several currencies: If Shopify Payments pays out in euro to a euro account, book the payout in euro on its own bank and clearing account, at the National Bank's rate of the day.
- Dates: A payment belongs to the day it happened, the payout to the day it reached the bank. That matters at month end and at the end of a VAT period.
Questions about Shopify Payments in e-conomic
Why is there a reserve on my payout?
Shopify can hold part of the balance back as security, for a new shop or after many chargebacks, say. The reserve is still your money. Book it on an account for other movements, so the clearing account still comes to zero, and book the release in the same place.
What if a payment has no invoice yet?
Then wait to book the payout until the invoice is booked, or book the payment on an account for unsettled payments that you clear up afterwards. Do not book it as sales.
Common mistakes
- The payout booked straight as revenue. Revenue comes out too low by the fees, VAT is wrong, and the invoices still stand unpaid.
- Fees deducted from sales. Fees are an expense, not a discount to the customer.
- One payment on a "collective debtor". You then cannot see which customers have paid, and reminders go to customers who have.
- Rounding differences hidden in the fees. A difference should be seen and explained, not tucked away.
Automatically with 2app
2app fetches each Shopify Payments payout with the connection you already have to the shop, and puts the entries in a daybook in e-conomic. Each payment closes the invoice for its order, the fees are booked as fees, and payouts in several currencies each go to their own bank account. A payout that does not add up to the øre is stopped and shown, never booked with a difference. You book the daybook yourselves. If your orders are not invoices yet, Shopify to e-conomic makes them so.