Your sales report shows $4,000 in card payments, but a different amount arrives in your bank account. Before assuming money is missing or fees are higher than expected, check which payments and adjustments the deposit actually includes.
For a retailer, auto repair shop or service business, this starts with a simple question: are you comparing the same activity?
Our Platinum’s Guide to Matching Transfers and Sales walks through the complete reconciliation process. Here are the first things to check when the numbers do not line up.
Start with the payments behind the deposit
Pull up the bank entry and the processor’s supporting transfer or payout report. Identify the payments included, then connect them to your receipts, invoices or repair orders.
Check the location, payment method and reporting period. A register total that includes cash and checks will not be directly comparable to a card-only deposit. At an auto shop, use the payments collected rather than the value of repair orders created.
Check your provider’s cutoff and transfer schedule, too. A calendar-day sales total may include payments assigned to different transfers. Platinum’s guide explains how to check the timing and trace the deposit to its underlying records.
Separate refunds from processing fees
A smaller deposit does not mean the entire difference is processing expense. Look at the actual adjustments listed in your report.
Consider this fictional example with no other adjustments:
| Activity included in the payout | Amount |
|---|---|
| Card payments | $4,000 |
| Refund | -$200 |
| Fees deducted from this payout | -$100 |
| Expected bank deposit | $3,700 |
The $300 difference consists of a $200 refund and $100 in fees. Counting the full difference as processing costs would overstate those costs.
These amounts are illustrative, not Platinum pricing or a customer result. Confirm how your provider bills your account, and do not subtract a refund or fee twice if the report already includes it in a net total.
Follow up on anything you cannot explain
Record the deposit reference, date, expected amount, actual amount and next action. Ask your processor to identify any unfamiliar adjustment or trace a transfer that has not arrived within its expected window.
Keep the supporting records together for your bookkeeper. Avoid adding an unexplained miscellaneous fee simply to make the totals agree.
If the sale or payment is already in your books, check how the bank deposit should match that record. Adding it again as new income can duplicate revenue. The complete Platinum guide covers this bookkeeping check alongside disputes, delayed transfers and different payout methods.
Make clear reporting part of your payment setup
Before changing providers, ask a representative to demonstrate how your team would find a payment, connect it to a deposit and explain a refund. Confirm which reports and exports are available in the setup being proposed.
Use Platinum’s Guide to Matching Transfers and Sales as a practical checklist for that conversation.
If your statements or reporting are difficult to understand, request Platinum Payment Processing’s free merchant analysis. Tell us what is difficult to track and what your business needs from its payment setup.
