Quick Answer
Amazon payouts are net amounts — your gross sales minus fees, refunds, and GST/HST. Proper Amazon bookkeeping requires reconciling each payout to the underlying gross sales, booking fees as expenses, and tracking inventory separately for accurate COGS.
Amazon seller bookkeeping is more complex than most e-commerce platforms because Amazon's payout structure combines sales from multiple order types, fees, refunds, and adjustments in a single bi-weekly or monthly deposit.
Understanding Amazon's Settlement Reports
Every 14 days, Amazon settles your account and deposits the net balance. The settlement report shows:
- Product sales (gross)
- Shipping credits (if you charge for shipping)
- Amazon referral fees (negative)
- FBA fulfilment fees (negative)
- FBA storage fees (negative)
- Refunds issued (negative)
- GST/HST collected (separate from revenue)
- Advertising charges (negative)
- Transfer to bank account
How to Reconcile Amazon Settlements
- Download the settlement report from Seller Central → Reports → Payments → All Statements
- Separate gross product sales from GST/HST collected
- Book each fee type to the appropriate expense account
- Record refunds as a reduction to revenue (debit sales, credit accounts receivable)
- Verify the net settlement amount matches your bank deposit
Tracking COGS for Amazon FBA
Cost of Goods Sold is often the largest deduction for Amazon sellers. To calculate it accurately:
- Track every purchase order with unit cost and quantity
- Record units received into inventory at cost
- For each unit sold, move cost from inventory to COGS
- At year-end, physically count or verify your FBA inventory balance
FBA Inventory Adjustments
Amazon occasionally loses, damages, or disposes of your FBA inventory. Amazon reimburses you for lost or damaged items — these reimbursements are taxable income, not inventory replacement. Track them separately and don't confuse them with actual sales revenue.
Professional Amazon Bookkeeping in Canada
MaxRefund reconciles your Amazon seller account monthly, tracks your COGS, and keeps your books CRA-ready — so you're never scrambling at year-end.
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