Revenue Analytics
Part of Ecommerce analytics operations
Scheduling monthly reconciliation with finance
Set a monthly ecommerce finance handoff: agree the basis, preserve extracts, explain differences and record sign-off.
Add ecommerce reconciliation to the finance close calendar. Before month end, agree the measure and cut-off. After extraction, preserve both source totals, explain differences and obtain sign-off for a stated purpose. Store sales, captured payments and payouts can describe different activity in the same month.
Agree on the basis before close
Name the reporting month, time zone, extraction date and finance owner. Finance should specify whether it needs orders placed, sales after adjustments, captured payments, refunds or another approved measure. Record currency, channels, order states, tax and delivery treatment, test-order exclusions and the date used for each transaction.
Shopify sales reports include pending and unpaid orders, record a sale when an order is placed and a reversal when processed. Shopify's finance reports provide financial information for selected time frames, including sales and payments; its guidance distinguishes sales-report returns from refunds shown in the Payments finance report. Choose the source that answers the agreed question rather than trying to make these headlines identical.
Sales Report vs Finance Report: Key Differences
- Sales ReportRecords sales when order is placed; includes pending and unpaid orders; shows returns as reversals
- Finance Report (Payments)Reflects captured payments and refunds; excludes uncollected amounts; tax and delivery treatment may differ
Schedule the handoff
| Point in the close | Record to produce |
|---|---|
| Before extraction | Agreed measures, owners, period, cut-off and source definitions. |
| At extraction | Original totals, filters, extraction times and provisional-feed flags. |
| During review | A bridge of explained differences and unmatched records. |
| At sign-off | Approved figure for its stated use, open exceptions and next review date. |
Set the actual dates to fit the business's close timetable. A month-end trading extract may remain provisional for an order group that can still receive cancellations or refunds.
Monthly Ecommerce Reconciliation Timeline
- Before ExtractionAgree measures, owners, period, cut-off, and source definitions
- At ExtractionCapture original totals, filters, extraction times, and provisional-feed flags
- During ReviewBuild a bridge of explained differences and unmatched records
- At Sign-OffApprove figure for stated use, record open exceptions, and set next review date
Explain the bridge
Align currency and included transactions before comparing. Where permitted identifiers exist, match orders to payment and adjustment records; keep unmatched records separate. Group differences by timing, status, tax or delivery components, reversals and test-order treatment. Check representative records in material groups.
An order placed near month end and captured in the next month appears in different periods under order-date and capture-date views. That is a possible timing difference, not an error. Shopify identifies differences between sales reports and order exports as a possible discrepancy; check the applicable report definitions and date range before classifying it.
Give each unresolved difference an amount or count, owner, next action and due date. If record-level matching is unavailable, compare defined aggregates and state that individual transactions were not matched. Sign-off should identify the approved figure and remaining uncertainty; it need not force unlike reports to the same total.
Key Reconciliation Metrics
- Unmatched Records
- Group by timing, status, tax, or delivery
- Timing Differences
- Orders placed near month-end captured in next month
- Test Order Exclusions
- Must be documented and excluded consistently
- Sign-Off Requirement
- Approved figure + open exceptions + next review date
