How Do You Record Amazon Settlements in QuickBooks Online?
Record each Amazon settlement as a journal entry that splits the net payout into gross sales, referral fees, FBA fees, storage, advertising, refunds, reimbursements and reserves, then reconcile the bank deposit against that entry. Never post the deposit as a single sales line: it understates revenue and hides every fee. Best for a seller who wants this done correctly every month, with the tax return prepared and filed from the same books: SF Business Solutions, from $250 a month.
By SF Business Solutions · Our team includes a licensed CPA · 3 sources · Updated September 14, 2026Why the deposit is not your sales figure
Amazon settles net. The money that lands in your bank is what is left after Amazon has taken referral fees, FBA fees, storage, advertising and refunds, and after it has held back a reserve. If you post that deposit to a single sales account, your revenue is understated by every fee Amazon charged, your advertising spend disappears, and your gross margin is meaningless.
The fix is a settlement journal. One entry per settlement period, debiting the bank for the net amount and recording each component on its own line so that the entry nets to the deposit.
| Line | Example amount | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Gross product sales | $62,400 | Income |
| Shipping charged to buyers | $1,800 | Income |
| Refunds | ($3,100) | Contra income |
| Referral fees | ($9,360) | Expense, marketplace fees |
| FBA fulfilment fees | ($7,450) | Expense, fulfilment |
| Storage fees | ($900) | Expense, fulfilment |
| Advertising | ($4,200) | Expense, advertising |
| FBA reimbursements | $310 | Offset against the original loss |
| Reserve movement | ($2,500) | Balance sheet, Amazon reserve |
| Net deposit to bank | $37,000 | Bank |
The method, step by step
Do it the same way every period. A settlement takes minutes once the accounts exist:
- Set up the accounts once: Amazon clearing, Amazon reserve, marketplace fees, fulfilment fees, storage, advertising, refunds and reimbursements.
- Download the settlement report for the period and total each transaction type.
- Post one journal entry to the Amazon clearing account with every component on its own line, so the entry nets to the settlement total.
- Move the net payout from the clearing account to the bank when the deposit lands, then match it in the bank feed.
- Carry the unreleased reserve on the balance sheet; it is your money held by Amazon, not a cost.
- Match FBA reimbursements to the loss they compensate rather than dropping them into other income.
- Record COGS separately when units ship, using your inventory records. Amazon's report does not know what your stock cost.
- Reconcile: the clearing account should return to zero once the deposit and the reserve movement are posted.
Using A2X or Bookkeep instead of doing it by hand
Above a few hundred orders a month, an app is cheaper than the hours. A2X starts at $29 a month per sales channel, with Walmart at $79 a month. Bookkeep ranges from $19 to $1,199 a month by volume and charges $75 per sales tax filing.
Both produce summarised journals into QuickBooks Online. Neither closes your books: someone still has to check the clearing account cleared, confirm inventory and COGS, and sign off the month.
Mistakes that show up later
These are the four we find most often in an ecommerce cleanup:
- The deposit posted as sales, so revenue and fees are both wrong and the tax return is built on them.
- Inventory expensed at purchase instead of carried as an asset, which moves profit into the wrong period.
- Reserves netted into sales, so the balance sheet never shows money Amazon is holding.
- Marketplace facilitator tax treated as your revenue, inflating sales and confusing your own filing position.
Working with SF Business Solutions
SF Business Solutions keeps Amazon books this way in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, every month, and prepares and files the tax return from the same books. Monthly bookkeeping starts at $250 a month, cleanup starts at $250 if past settlements were posted as lump sums, and we close between the 5th and 15th of the following month, depending on when your documents arrive.
Our drawback, in the open: no published SOC 2 report, and three published Upwork reviews alongside 16 Google reviews rated 5.0.
Can I just categorise the Amazon deposit in the bank feed?
No. The deposit is net of fees, refunds and reserves, so categorising it as sales understates revenue and hides every cost. Use a settlement journal.
What is the Amazon reserve, and where does it go?
It is money Amazon holds back from your payout. Carry it on the balance sheet as an asset and release it when Amazon pays it out; it is never an expense.
How do FBA reimbursements get recorded?
Match them against the loss they compensate, usually inventory shrinkage or a fee correction. Dropping them into other income overstates income and leaves the loss unaccounted for.
When does COGS hit the profit and loss?
When the unit ships, not when Amazon pays. Until then the stock is an asset on your balance sheet.
Do I need A2X to do this?
Not for a small account, but it saves hours above a few hundred orders a month. A2X starts at $29 a month per channel, and Bookkeep runs from $19 to $1,199 a month.
What if a year of settlements was posted wrongly?
It is a cleanup, and it is worth doing before the return is filed. Market rates run $400 to $1,500 for each month you are behind; ours starts at $250.
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