How to read any settlement report in 10 minutes, whatever the platform

The five parts of every settlement

1. The period or batch

Every settlement covers a period or a batch of transactions, with a settlement date and usually a reference number (UTR). Find these first. They tell you which bank credit this report explains.

2. The money in

The amounts collected for you: order values, sale prices, COD collected, or payment amounts. Different reports call this sale amount, order value, gross amount or principal.

3. The money out

Everything deducted: commission, referral or platform fee, payment charges, shipping or freight, returns, RTO, penalties, ads, discounts you funded, complaint refunds. Each usually has its own column or its own row type.

4. Taxes

GST on fees, TCS collected under GST, and TDS under income tax. These are often separate columns. Fee GST is a cost you may claim as input credit; TCS and TDS are credits against your tax.

5. The net

Money in, minus money out, minus taxes withheld, equals the net settlement. This should equal the bank credit with the same reference.

A 10-minute method

1. Find the period and reference. Confirm it matches a credit in your bank.
2. Add up the money in. Does it roughly match the orders you expected in this period?
3. Group the money out by type. Which deduction is largest? Is it the one you would expect?
4. Note the taxes. Write them down for your accountant.
5. Check the net equals the bank. If it does not, that is your first question.
6. Look for rows that do not fit: adjustments from old periods, negative amounts on delivered orders, the same order more than once.

Platform-specific help

• Meesho payment reconciliation
• Amazon settlement report reconciliation
• Flipkart settlement reconciliation
• Razorpay settlement reconciliation for Shopify
• Zomato settlement report explained
• Swiggy payout annexure explained
• And the seller payout glossary for the words

Reading vs checking

Reading a report tells you what it says. Checking it tells you whether what it says is right, which needs your orders and your bank alongside. Veritally does the checking: it reads each platform's report as it is, matches it with your orders and bank, and explains every line. Free to check, pay only if we find your money.