How imported payouts go into your books
What Billbook records for each payout, where the GST goes, and why your bank deposit then matches to the cent.
- Sales
- Refunds
- Fees
- Transfer
- Matches your bank
A payout is your sales, less refunds and fees, paid in one amount. So Billbook records each part on its own, the way an accountant would, and the payout itself becomes a transfer to your bank.
What does Billbook record for a payout?
All of it goes through the platform's own clearing account, for example "Shopify balance". It's added the first time you import.
- Sales. One approved invoice for the payout's sales, to a customer named after the platform (like "PayPal sales"), paid into the clearing account.
- Refunds and disputes. One approved credit note for the money taken back, refunded out of the clearing account.
- Fees. Spend money from the clearing account, with the GST the platform charges on them.
- Other adjustments. Spend or receive money, left off your BAS.
- The payout. A transfer from the clearing account to your bank account, on the payout date.
The transfer is exactly what landed in your bank, so the deposit matches in one go when you reconcile.
What's a clearing account?
It holds the money a platform has collected but not paid you yet. You'll find it under Payment clearing accounts on Bank, showing what's Waiting to be paid out. After each payout it should come back to about zero. If it doesn't, a payout or some sales are missing: import a wider date range.
How does Billbook work out the GST?
Square's file says how much GST was in each sale, so Billbook uses that. For Shopify, the orders export gives each order's GST. Without it, or for anything else, Billbook asks whether your prices include GST and takes 1/11 of each sale.
Fees from Shopify, Stripe, Square and Afterpay include GST, so you can claim it back. PayPal's fees don't.
What if a payout covers two months?
GST belongs to when your customer paid, not when the money reached your bank. So Billbook dates each month's sales, refunds and fees in that month, and only the transfer to your bank goes on the payout date. That way each BAS gets the right figures.
What about disputes and money held back?
- Disputes. When a customer disputes a payment, the money taken back goes in like a refund, so your sales and GST go down. The dispute fee goes in with the other fees. If you win, the money coming back counts as a sale again.
- Money held back. If a platform holds some of your money for a while, it moves to a held funds account in your balance sheet (like "Shopify Payments held funds"), and back out when it's released. It's still your money, so your profit and GST don't change.
Can a sale go in twice?
No. Billbook remembers every line it brings in, so overlapping files and repeat imports leave out what's already there.
Can I change what was recorded?
Yes. They're ordinary invoices, credit notes and spend money, so you can open them and fix them the same way as any other. If your fees are treated differently for GST, change the fee entry after the import.
Next
Import payouts from Shopify, Square, PayPal and more
Bring in what your online store and card readers paid you, with the sales, refunds, fees and GST, ready to match your bank.
Bring in your bank transactions, and reconcile them
Add your bank account, import a statement from your internet banking and match every line to your books.
Do your BAS
Prepare your activity statement from your books, check the figures, lodge it with the ATO and record that it's done.
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