How it runs for retail stores
If the ledger records deposits as sales, revenue is understated, fees are invisible and the sales-tax base is wrong. A LedgerBPO accountant runs our ReconBot workflow per processor and store: import the payout report, match it to the deposit, post fees and disputes on their own lines and log every exception with a cause.
What is payment processor reconciliation?
Payment processor reconciliation is the work of proving that the money a processor or marketplace deposits equals your gross sales less its fees, refunds, chargebacks, reserves and adjustments for the same settlement period. Each payout is broken into its parts and posted so revenue, fees and sales tax are correct and the bank deposit matches to the cent.
What we handle for retail stores
- Shopify Payments, Stripe, Square and Clover payout reports matched to deposits
- Interchange, monthly fees, chargebacks and reserves posted separately
- Amex and buy-now-pay-later settlements reconciled on their own cycles
- Refunds tied back to the original sale and tax reversed
- Exception log in ReconBot with an owner and resolution date per item
The KPI that matters here
Every processor payout matched to a deposit within 2 business days of arrival.
Retail compliance notes
Sales tax collection and remittance
Sales tax collected at the register belongs to the state and, in many places, to a city or county too, each with its own rate and filing frequency. We reconcile the tax collected in your POS to the liability in the ledger every month and prepare the workings for each jurisdiction. Your registered preparer or your Avalara or TaxJar subscription files the return; we prepare, we do not file.
Economic nexus for online sales
Since the Wayfair decision in 2018, a store selling online can owe sales tax in states where it has no premises once it passes that state's threshold, commonly $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions. We track sales by ship-to state from Shopify or your marketplace reports and flag when a threshold is near so you and your advisor can register in time.
Inventory shrinkage and counts
Shrink from theft, damage, miscounts and vendor errors reduces gross margin and, if unrecorded, overstates both inventory on the balance sheet and profit. We book count adjustments when you supply cycle or full counts, separate known write-offs such as damaged goods from unexplained variance, and report shrink as a percentage of sales each period.
Gift cards and unclaimed property
Gift-card sales are recorded as a liability and released to revenue on redemption, with breakage recognized only under the method your CPA sets. Several states treat unredeemed balances as unclaimed property after a dormancy period. We keep a card-level liability schedule so the annual unclaimed-property review is a report, not a reconstruction.
Retail software we work in
- Shopify
- Square
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Avalara
- TaxJar
- Dext
- Lightspeed
- Clover
- All 50 platforms
More for retail stores
Other services for retail
Payment processor reconciliation in other industries
Frequently asked questions
Why should I reconcile gross to net instead of booking deposits?
Because deposits arrive after fees, refunds, chargebacks and reserves, so booking them as sales understates revenue and hides what card acceptance costs, which is typically 1.5% to 3.5% of each sale. Gross-to-net reconciliation also keeps the sales-tax base equal to what the register reported, which matters if the state compares your return to your POS.
Can you reconcile several processors for the same store?
Yes, each processor and each buy-now-pay-later provider has its own clearing account per store. Shopify Payments, Stripe, Square, Clover, PayPal, Afterpay and Klarna payouts are matched to their own reports and deposits, with fees posted by provider. Monthly, the bank reconciliation service for retail stores confirms every clearing account nets to zero.
How do you handle chargebacks and rolling reserves?
A chargeback is recorded as a reversal of the sale plus a fee and tracked until the dispute is won or lost, with the deadline noted so you can respond in time. A rolling reserve held by the processor is booked as a receivable from the processor, not as lost revenue, and released when the processor pays it out.
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