How Do You Reconcile Marketplace Payouts? Step by Step

Marketplace payout (hakediş) reconciliation is the work of matching the amount the marketplace deposits into your bank account, line by line, against your orders, the invoices you issued, returns and the deductions the marketplace made, so you can explain where every cent came from. Without reconciliation, underpaid orders, duplicate deductions or sales with no invoice surface months later, when they are harder to fix. In this guide, you will find a step-by-step method you can apply on marketplaces such as Trendyol, Hepsiburada, n11 and Amazon, the most common causes of discrepancies and a monthly checklist.

What is a payout, and what items make it up?

A payout is the amount the marketplace pays you after deducting its own receivables and statutory deductions from the sale price it collected from the customer. Every item is backed by a document; the core of reconciliation is matching each line of the payout report with these documents.

The VAT on the invoices the marketplace issues to you is deductible input VAT, and the amounts are usually offset against the payout. We showed how to record these invoices in our article on accounting entries for marketplace commission invoices.

Which documents should you collect for reconciliation?

Before you start, gather the following lists for the same period in a single working file:

• Order list: Order and package number, order and delivery date, status, amount and discounts. In Trendyol order data, the seller discount comes in the lineSellerDiscount field and the discount funded by Trendyol in the lineTyDiscount field.
• Sales invoice list: Invoice number, date, amount and the related order number.
• Returns and cancellations list: Reason for the return, the date the return reached your warehouse and the return document issued.
• Payout or current account report: The payment details downloaded from the marketplace panel.
• Invoices the marketplace issues to you: From your inbox if you are an e-Fatura taxpayer; otherwise from the panel.
• Bank statement: Payments received from the marketplace, with their descriptions and dates.

The key to matching is the order number. If you make a habit of writing the order number in the note of every invoice, matching invoices to orders becomes much easier.

How should you set up the reconciliation file?

Instead of reconciling from scratch every month, set up a single working file with the same columns for each marketplace. Open one row per order and fill in these columns:

This structure shows the full trail of an order, from sale to payment, in a single row. Cells left empty at month-end are exactly the items you need to check.

Step-by-step marketplace payout reconciliation

1. Match orders to invoices

Every delivered order must have a sales invoice, and the invoice amount must equal the amount the customer paid. Split the unmatched rows into three groups:

• Order without an invoice: The invoice must be issued no later than 7 days after delivery of the goods; if the deadline has passed, talk to your certified public accountant (mali müşavir) right away. For details, see our article on how many days you have to issue an invoice.
• Invoice without an order: This is usually an invoice issued twice for the same order; act quickly, because the cancellation window is limited.
• Different amount: Usually caused by the discount or coupon amount being reflected differently on the invoice.

2. Separate returns and cancellations

An order canceled before it is handed to the carrier never enters the payout. A return received after delivery, on the other hand, is usually deducted from the next payout. Check that there is a return document for every return: for a return from a consumer, an expense voucher is issued or the return section of the e-Arşiv invoice is used. If both parties are e-Fatura taxpayers, the buyer issues an e-Fatura of type IADE; otherwise, the return invoice is issued as an e-Arşiv invoice. For details, see our article on expense vouchers for consumer returns.

3. Compare deductions with the marketplace's invoices

The commission, shipping, service fee and advertising totals in the payout report must equal the total of the invoices the marketplace issued to you for the same period. If a deduction has no invoice, your expense documentation is incomplete and you cannot deduct its VAT; request the invoice from the marketplace. If the commission rate looks different from the one in your contract, check the product's category and the campaign terms for the period.

4. Recalculate the withholding tax

E-commerce withholding tax is 1% of the product sale price excluding VAT; commission, shipping and service fees are not deducted from the tax base. Compare the withholding line in the payout with your own calculation. No withholding applies to sales where the price is collected outside the marketplace, for example through cash on delivery. Record the withheld amount in account 193 Prepaid Taxes and Funds; for the tax base, offsetting and refunds, see our e-commerce withholding tax guide.

5. Compare the expected payout with the bank transaction

Combine the results of the previous steps in a single formula:

Marketplaces don't pay order by order; they pay in batches on set days. So match the bank transaction not to a single order but to the marketplace's payment period or payment number.

6. Explain and close the differences

Tie every difference to a cause. Write the items you know will close with the next payment on an "open items" list and track them. Send unexplained differences, together with the order number and amount, to the marketplace's seller support channel; note the response and the outcome on the same list.

Example: reconciling one payment period

The figures below are illustrative; they assume that all products carry 20% VAT and that the marketplace's invoices are offset against the payout.

In this example, the difference comes from an order delivered on the last day of the period, with a net effect of 240.00 TL, being carried over to the next payment. This line moves to the next period as an open item; if it doesn't close with the next payment, you raise it with the marketplace. Note that the withholding tax is calculated on net sales excluding VAT and that the commission is not deducted.

Common causes of discrepancies

There is no explicit Turkish Revenue Administration (GİB) regulation on how a discount funded by the marketplace should be reflected on the customer invoice; agree on your approach with your certified public accountant. For the invoices you need to issue to the marketplace, see our marketplace invoicing guide.

Payment deadline: what is the legal limit?

Under Additional Article 1 of Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce, if the marketplace does not pay the seller the sale price within 5 business days from the date the amount comes under the marketplace's control and the order reaches the buyer, this is deemed an unfair commercial practice.

Each platform's own payment days and payment-term rules are set out in its seller agreements and may change. In your reconciliation file, also track the time between the delivery date and the payment date as a column; this lets you document delays.

How the payout is reflected in your accounting

Reconciliation is not just a check; it is also the basis for your accounting entries. Sales invoices are debited to the marketplace's current account (120 Buyers), and the invoices the marketplace issues to you are credited to account 320 Suppliers. When the payment arrives, the bank, the withholding tax (193) and the offset of the marketplace's invoices are closed in a single entry. If an unexplained difference remains after reconciliation, it also stays open in the current account; at month-end, check that both sides have been zeroed out.

Monthly checklist

1. For each marketplace, download the payout report, the order list and the bank statement for the same period.
2. Match every delivered order to its invoice; complete any missing invoice the same day.
3. Separate returns and cancellations, and check that a document was issued for every return.
4. Compare the total of the marketplace's invoices with the deductions in the payout; request any missing invoices.
5. Recalculate the withholding tax on the sale price excluding VAT and record it in account 193.
6. Check the invoices you need to issue for coupons and discounts funded by the marketplace.
7. Compare the expected payout with the bank transaction and write any differences on the open items list.
8. Confirm that the previous month's open items have closed; follow up on those that haven't through a support ticket.

If you sell on more than one marketplace, apply this checklist separately for each channel; channel totals should only come together in the month-end summary. To measure profitability by channel, you can also use our marketplace profit calculation guide. Confirm your recording structure and your method for closing differences with your certified public accountant.