Guides

Stripe payouts, explained to the cent

• Why your Stripe payout doesn't match your sales (and how to check it)

  Your Stripe payout is smaller than the sales it should cover. Here are the five reasons, in order of how often they happen, and a two-minute way to check which one it is.

• QuickBooks' Stripe connector imports payouts, not fees. Here is what that does to your books

  Intuit's free Stripe connector brings each payout into QuickBooks as one deposit. Fees, refunds and disputes never appear. Your revenue is understated by exactly your Stripe fees, every month.

• Stripe payout breakdown: what every line inside a payout means

  A Stripe payout is the sum of its balance transactions: charges, fees, refunds, disputes, adjustments, reserves and transfers. Here is what each one is and which ones should worry you.

• Why a Stripe refund comes out of a later payout

  A refund on the 30th shows up as a deduction on the payout of the 2nd. That is Stripe's design, not a mistake, and it is the most common reason a payout looks short.

• How a Stripe dispute hits your payout, and how to record it in your books

  A chargeback takes the disputed amount and a $15 fee out of your next payout the day it opens, and a second $15 if you fight it. Here is what each line is, what comes back if you win, and how to book it.

• A customer's card expires before their next Stripe renewal. What happens, and what to do

  Stripe updates many expiring cards on its own and can email the rest a month ahead. Here is what each piece covers, which customers still fall through, and how to find them before the renewal fails.

• Stripe debited your bank account. Why your balance went negative, and how to book it

  A refund or dispute landed after the money had already been paid out, so Stripe pulled the difference back from your bank. Here is why that happens, what the negative payout line means, how long you have, and how to record it so your books still match Stripe.

• Stripe says the payout is Paid, but the money isn't in your bank. What each payout status means, and what to do

  A Stripe payout shows Pending, In transit or Paid and nothing has reached your bank. Here is what each status actually means, how long to wait, what a failed payout does to your balance, why a changed bank account doesn't help a payout already on its way, and how to keep your books straight while you wait.

• How to reconcile Stripe payouts in Xero: what Xero matches on its own, and what it can't

  Xero can match a Stripe payout to the invoices and fees inside it, but only for invoices paid through Xero, on an automatic payout schedule, with one Stripe account per organisation. Here is what Xero records, when the match fails, and the clearing-account method that works for a SaaS business billing through Stripe Checkout.

• Stripe fee calculator

  What Stripe deducts before each payout, and the number your books are missing.