Learn to reconcile your payout deposits with financial reports – Cash Report, Payout Summary, and Payout Detail exports – matching the Record ID/Payout ID across exports. The Sales report, also called the Cash/Sales Report with the accrual filter, operates on accrual accounting. Due to this, reconciling the Payouts Report with the Sales Report is not recommended, as it's likely the reports will not reconcile.

Achieving accurate reconciliation requires a thorough understanding of the varied sources and time contexts of the data. Therefore, attempting reconciliation by pulling data from the Cash/Sales report within the same date range as the payout is unlikely to be successful. Additionally, it's crucial to note that the payout fee charged is based on the previous day's payout totals.

When using the Cash Report export, as demonstrated in the example below, it's crucial to understand that reconciliation means comparing different sets of records to make sure they align. The data needed for reconciliation originates from multiple reports and different time periods, leading to variations that can not be directly matched.

Locate the Record ID in the Payout Summary, ensuring it aligns with both the Cash Report Payout ID and the Payout Detail Report Payout ID.

Analyze and break down the Payout by examining components such as Record ID, Payout ID, and additional details for a comprehensive understanding.

The payout fee is calculated as .25% of the previous day's net deposit plus an additional 25 cents. The payout fee is calculated based on the net deposit from the previous day, not on the same day as the transaction. This deliberate delay allows the system enough time to finalize and reconcile transactions before applying fees. The processing time introduces a consistent and predictable calculation approach, ensuring accuracy in fee assessments.

Daily fluctuations in transaction volumes and amounts can make it challenging to manage and predict fees accurately if calculated on the same day. By utilizing the previous day's net deposit as the basis for fees, the system aims for more stability and predictability in fee calculations. This approach mitigates the risks associated with varying transaction volumes throughout the day. The intentional delay in calculating payout fees provides a more reliable and controlled environment for accurate financial reconciliation.

Consider the following example, which highlights why adopting this approach is considered best practice:

On a given day (Day 1), customers make various credit card payments. However, instead of applying fees immediately on Day 1, the system waits until the next day (Day 2) to calculate fees based on the net deposit from Day 1.

Here are some examples...

Day 1 (Transaction Date): Customers make credit card payments totaling $1,000.

Nightly Processing (End of Day 1 to Start of Day 2): The system reviews and finalizes transactions, ensuring accuracy.

Day 2 (Fee Calculation Date): The system calculates fees based on the net deposit from Day 1, which might be $980 after deducting transaction fees.

The Merchant Fee, also known as a payment fee or transaction fee, is a cost collected by Stripe for processing payments. For online payments or when you manually enter card details (keyed), and for transactions involving stored cards, the fee is 2.9% of the transaction amount plus an additional 30 cents. For in-person payments using a card reader (Terminal), the fee is 2.7% of the transaction amount plus an extra 5 cents.

Example: If someone pays you $10 online, the Merchant Fee would be 2.9% of $10 (which is $0.29) plus an extra 30 cents, totaling $0.29 + $0.30 = $0.59.

For in-person payments using a card reader (Terminal), the fee is 2.7% of the transaction amount plus an extra 5 cents.

Example: If you process a $20 payment in person, the Merchant Fee would be 2.7% of $20 (which is $0.54) plus an extra 5 cents, totaling $0.54 + $0.05 = $0.59.

You do not want to try and match this report to the Sales report for multiple reasons. The Sales report displays the redemption of a gift card and the Payouts report will show the purchase of a gift card as long as it was purchased with a credit card. The Sales report uses amortization, which is a different accounting basis than what is used in the Payouts report. Also, if you pull the Sales or Cash report for the same date range as the Payouts report, you will get different totals for your processes payments for the day. The reason being is that the Payouts report for the same day will most likely batch payments from different days.

The discrepancy between the total payout fee and the expected 0.25% + 25¢ for the same-day payout can be attributed to the fact that the payout fee is calculated based on the net deposit from the previous day, not on the same day as the transaction. This intentional delay allows the system sufficient time to finalize and reconcile transactions before applying fees, ensuring a consistent and predictable calculation approach.