Skip to content
Menu

Results / e-commerce retail

Illustrative example

Five months of netted payouts, corrected in six business days

Five months of netted marketplace payouts and unmatched refunds, corrected in six business days before a monthly close.

Months behind
5
e-commerce retail
Business days
6
From access and statements in hand
Engagement
Cleanup
per month of backlog
Fixed fee
$495
5 months at $99

The situation

An online retailer selling through its own store and one marketplace had five months in QuickBooks Online that could not be trusted. Payouts were recorded as the net deposit, so sales were understated and marketplace fees never appeared as an expense.

Refunds came through as separate deposits with no link to the original sale, and stock that had arrived but was not yet paid for was missing from accounts payable. The business wanted a monthly close, and the months already in the file had to be right first.

Before and after

What was wrong

  • Marketplace payout fees netted against sales instead of recorded separately
  • Customer returns and refunds left unmatched to the original sale
  • Inventory received but not yet paid for was missing from accounts payable

What was handed back

  • Payouts split into gross sales, marketplace fees and refunds
  • Refunds matched to the original sale
  • Inventory received but unpaid recorded in accounts payable
  • Every account reconciled through month five
  • Ready for a monthly close from the following month

Reconciliation

Every account, every month

Each square is one account for one month. On day one the early months had been reconciled and the rest had not.

Day one

Operating checkingBusiness credit cardMarketplace clearingOperating checking, month 1: reconciledBusiness credit card, month 1: reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 1: entered, never reconciledOperating checking, month 2: reconciledBusiness credit card, month 2: entered, never reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 2: entered, never reconciledOperating checking, month 3: entered, never reconciledBusiness credit card, month 3: entered, never reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 3: entered, never reconciledOperating checking, month 4: entered, never reconciledBusiness credit card, month 4: entered, never reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 4: entered, never reconciledOperating checking, month 5: entered, never reconciledBusiness credit card, month 5: entered, never reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 5: entered, never reconciledMonth 1Month 5

Handed back

Operating checkingBusiness credit cardMarketplace clearingOperating checking, month 1: reconciledBusiness credit card, month 1: reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 1: reconciledOperating checking, month 2: reconciledBusiness credit card, month 2: reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 2: reconciledOperating checking, month 3: reconciledBusiness credit card, month 3: reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 3: reconciledOperating checking, month 4: reconciledBusiness credit card, month 4: reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 4: reconciledOperating checking, month 5: reconciledBusiness credit card, month 5: reconciledMarketplace clearing, month 5: reconciledMonth 1Month 5
  • Reconciled to the statement
  • Entered, never reconciled
Show as a table
AccountReconciled, day oneReconciled, handback
Operating checking2 of 55 of 5
Business credit card1 of 55 of 5
Marketplace clearing0 of 55 of 5

Holding accounts

What was parked, and where it went

Undeposited FundsUncategorized IncomeUndeposited Funds: $9,870 on day one, $0 at handbackUncategorized Income: $3,420 on day one, $0 at handback$9,870$3,420$0 at handback ✓$0 at handback ✓
$13,290 sitting in holding accounts on day one. Each was cleared into the account it belonged in, or carried with a written reason.
Show as a table
AccountDay oneHandback
Undeposited Funds$9,870$0
Uncategorized Income$3,420$0

Progress

Uncategorized transactions, to zero

Uncategorized transactions by review period, falling from 210 to 0 across 4 checkpoints.
21095300
Uncategorized transactions remaining, by review period
CheckpointUncategorized
Day 1210
Day 395
Day 530
Day 60, settled

Timeline

Where the 6 business days went

1. Access and payout reports: Day 1 (1 day)2. Split payouts: Days 2 to 3 (2 days)3. Match refunds: Day 4 (1 day)4. Reconcile and payables: Day 5 (1 day)5. Review and summary: Day 6 (1 day)12345Day 1Day 6
  1. 1. Access and payout reportsDay 1
  2. 2. Split payoutsDays 2 to 3
  3. 3. Match refundsDay 4
  4. 4. Reconcile and payablesDay 5
  5. 5. Review and summaryDay 6

Cost

What it cost

$495

5 months of cleanup at $99 per month of backlog. The same rate is on the pricing page, and cleanup sets out the scope.

Next

A file like this one?

The free file review counts the months and says which engagement applies, in writing, before anything is quoted.

Get a free file review

Other examples: Contractor cleanup: 9 months in 8 days · Restaurant catch-up: 24 months in 12 days

Published September 25, 2026