How to Record Amazon Settlements in QuickBooks Online, With a Journal Entry Example
Short answer: record each Amazon settlement in QuickBooks Online as one journal entry. Credit sales and reimbursements, debit fees, refunds, ads and reserves, and debit your bank for the payout. Then match the bank deposit to that journal instead of adding it as income.
Every two weeks Amazon pays you, and the deposit never matches your sales. That's because Amazon takes out its fees, refunds, taxes, ads and reserves before it sends the money. If you record that deposit as revenue in QuickBooks Online, your sales are understated, your fees vanish, and your margins are wrong.
The fix is to record each Amazon settlement as one journal entry that breaks the payout into its parts. Below is a real example that balances to the cent, then the short version of doing it by hand. At the end you'll see how to automate it.
Key takeaways
- Record the settlement, not the deposit. One Amazon settlement = one journal entry in QuickBooks Online.
- Sales go to income, fees to expenses, refunds to a contra-income account, and the payout to your bank account.
- The journal total must equal the bank deposit exactly. Then you match it in the bank feed instead of adding a new deposit.
- Watch for reserves, negative balances, month-end splits and sales tax Amazon collects for you.
Watch: an Amazon settlement posted to QuickBooks in 6 minutes
The video uses a fictional demo company and sample data.
Why your Amazon deposit doesn't match your sales
Amazon doesn't pay you per order. It collects all your activity for a settlement period (usually 14 days), subtracts everything it's owed, and deposits what's left.
Here's a typical two-week US settlement for a small FBA seller:
| What happened | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product sales | $18,400.00 |
| Shipping charged to customers | $312.40 |
| Promotions and coupons | −$486.20 |
| Refunds to customers | −$742.53 |
| Amazon referral fees | −$2,760.00 |
| FBA fulfillment fees | −$1,985.60 |
| FBA storage fees | −$214.35 |
| Seller subscription | −$39.99 |
| Sponsored Products ads (deducted from balance) | −$620.00 |
| FBA inventory reimbursement | $86.24 |
| Sales tax collected by Amazon | $1,288.00 |
| Sales tax remitted by Amazon | −$1,288.00 |
| Previous reserve released | $1,150.00 |
| New reserve held | −$1,240.00 |
| Deposited to your bank | $11,859.97 |
You sold $18,400 of product, but $11,859.97 arrived in the bank. If you book $11,859.97 as sales, you understate revenue by more than $6,500 and hide $5,619.94 of Amazon fees and ads. Your profit might be close to right, but your income statement, your margins and any sales-tax or 1099-K comparison won't be.
How to record it by hand
Download the Closed settlement from Seller Central (Reports → Payments → All Statements, Flat File V2). Group the lines by type. The summary total is your bank deposit, and the journal must equal it.
In QuickBooks, go to + New → Journal entry and use the settlement end date. Credit what Amazon added, debit what Amazon took, and debit your bank for the payout. Attach the file. When the deposit shows in Bank transactions, choose Match. Don't click Add, or the money is recorded twice.
Create these accounts once, or reuse ones you already have:
- Amazon Sales (income): product sales and shipping charged
- Amazon Refunds (contra income): refunded principal and shipping. Amazon also returns most of the referral fee, so record that reduction in selling fees too
- Amazon Promotions (contra income or expense): coupons and rebates
- Amazon Selling Fees (expense): referral fees and the subscription
- Amazon FBA Fees (expense): fulfillment, storage, and removal
- Amazon Advertising (expense): Sponsored Products taken from your balance
- Amazon Reimbursements (other income): lost or damaged inventory
- Sales tax collected by Amazon (liability): tax collected and remitted, which should net to zero
- Amazon Reserve (other current asset): money held and released. It is still yours, not a fee
- Bank: the payout. If you would rather not post to the bank, use an Amazon Clearing asset account and transfer the deposit out of it
For real margin, add a second journal: debit cost of goods sold and credit inventory for units sold times unit cost, minus refunded units. Split a settlement that crosses month-end. If the settlement is negative, credit the card Amazon charges instead of debiting the bank. Record each marketplace in its own currency.
By hand, plan on 30 to 60 minutes per settlement, about 26 times a year in one marketplace.
Your options: manual, spreadsheet or an integration app
QuickBooks Online doesn't turn a settlement into a summarized journal entry for you. You have four ways to get Amazon into your books:
| Method | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Manual journal (this guide) | Very small stores, or learning how it works | 30–60 minutes per settlement; easy to miss a line |
| Spreadsheet template | Sellers comfortable with pivot tables | Breaks when Amazon adds new line types; still manual posting |
| QuickBooks Amazon Connector (built in, free) | Low-volume US sellers who want each order in QuickBooks | Records every order separately, so thousands of transactions to review. What it misses |
| Integration app (A2X, Link My Books, Taxomate, Webgility, Synder, Vtory) | Anyone who wants it done every settlement without thinking | Most charge monthly by order volume, so the price rises as you grow. Check what's included for COGS and multiple marketplaces |
Comparing apps? See how Vtory compares with A2X, including annual cost at your order volume.
Whatever you choose, the result in QuickBooks should be income, fees, and refunds in separate accounts, with a total that equals the deposit.
Automate it with Vtory
Vtory does exactly the steps above, every settlement:
- Connects to Amazon Seller Central and downloads every settlement report automatically. It archives the original file so you can download it anytime.
- Maps every Amazon line to your QuickBooks accounts. Sensible defaults are created for you; change any of them, globally or per marketplace.
- Posts the journal to QuickBooks Online. The total equals the deposit, so you just match it in the bank feed.
- Sends a separate COGS journal from your product costs. Add costs one by one or by spreadsheet upload.
- Splits settlements by month if you want, and handles reserves and multiple currencies.
- Lets you review before posting, or turn on automatic posting once you trust your setup. Delete and repost any journal when your mappings or costs change.
One plan: $195 per year. No order limits and no volume tiers, so the price doesn't go up when your store grows. Start free with a few recent settlements, no credit card required. 14-day money-back guarantee on the paid plan.
Not sure how to map your accounts? I'll set it up with you on a free call, and we'll post your first settlement together. Book a setup call
Frequently asked questions
Should I record Amazon sales from the settlement report or from each order?
From the settlement report. It contains every order, fee, refund and adjustment for the period, and it ties to the bank deposit. Recording individual orders creates thousands of transactions and still leaves fees and adjustments to reconcile.
What date should the Amazon journal entry use?
Most sellers use the settlement end date. Some accountants prefer the deposit date. Pick one and use it every time. If a settlement crosses month-end and you need accurate monthly numbers, split it into one journal per month.
Do I need an Amazon clearing account in QuickBooks Online?
No. You can post the journal straight to the bank account where Amazon deposits and match it in the bank feed. A clearing account is useful if deposits and settlements don't line up one-to-one, or if your accountant prefers it.
How do I record Amazon fees in QuickBooks?
As expense lines in the settlement journal: referral fees and the subscription under selling fees, and fulfillment, storage and removal fees under FBA fees. Don't net them against sales. You want to see them on your income statement.
How do I handle sales tax Amazon collects?
In US marketplace-facilitator states, Amazon collects and pays the tax for you. Post the collected and remitted lines to the same liability account so they net to zero. It shouldn't appear as income.
What happens if my Amazon settlement is negative?
Amazon charges the card on file. Record the journal the same way, but credit your credit card account instead of debiting the bank.
Does this work for Amazon Canada and Mexico?
Yes. Each marketplace has its own settlements in its own currency (CAD, MXN). Record each one separately in its settlement currency.
Vtory connects Amazon Seller Central to QuickBooks Online. It does not give tax or accounting advice; check account choices with your accountant.