How Bookalyze works: the path your money takes
Orders tell you what sold; settlements and payouts tell you what you were paid. Here's what comes in from each marketplace, what posts to your books and when, and why every payout passes through a clearing account on its way to your bank.
Orders aren't money yet
Orders arrive from Amazon, Walmart, Noon and eBay every half hour, with their items, refunds and claims. They're for running the business: searching, invoicing buyers, asking for reviews, counting units for cost of goods sold. Orders never post to your books. The marketplace's own money report does.
| Marketplace | What posts | Into |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Each settlement, as one entry | Your clearing account (e.g. Amazon Clearing) |
| Walmart | Each settlement, as one entry | A Walmart balance account |
| Noon | Each country's month, as one entry | A Noon balance account |
| eBay | Each site's month, as one entry | An eBay balance account |
Why a clearing account
A settlement holds sales, refunds, fees, advertising, tax and amounts held back, and ends with what the marketplace pays you. The entry puts each group on its own account and the payout on the clearing account: money that's yours but not in the bank yet.
When the payout lands, Bookalyze finds the deposit in your bank and matches it: the deposit moves to the clearing account, which goes back to zero. Your sales are counted once, from the settlement, and the deposit isn't counted as income a second time.
Tip: If you used to categorise marketplace deposits as sales (the way many people do in Wave), matching moves them for you. That's the double counting the clearing account removes.
What runs on its own
- Every half hour: orders from every connected marketplace.
- Every day: settlements and marketplace money, Wise bank lines, exchange rates.
- If you switch it on: new settlements and months posted automatically, and deposits with exactly one exact match matched for you.
- Every hour: automatic review requests, if you use them.
- Every month, by you: cost of goods sold, once the month is over.
What you should see
What you should see
- Commerce → Settlements lists your settlements as Ready to post, then In books
- After matching, the clearing account's balance is close to zero (only payouts still on their way)
- Home's Needs your attention lists anything waiting on you
Read next
Your first week: from sign-up to the first matched payout
A checklist that gets a selling business fully set up: company, bank, marketplaces, posting, the first matched payout, and stock.
Read the guideHow payouts post to your books
Choose an account for each kind of money (sales, refunds, fees, ads, tax, held back) and a clearing or balance account for the payout, pick the day posting starts, then post by hand or automatically. The same idea for Amazon, Walmart, Noon and eBay.
Read the guideMatch each payout to its bank deposit
Matching pairs a marketplace payout with the deposit in your bank and moves that deposit to the clearing or balance account, so your sales are counted once. Works in any bank account and any currency.
Read the guide