Clearing Account
Definition
A temporary account that holds sales, fees and refunds from a platform like Amazon or Shopify until the payout lands in the bank. When reconciled, it should net to zero.
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Formula
Gross Sales − Fees − Refunds − Reserves = Payout DepositedA clearing account lets you record a platform's full activity, every sale, fee and refund, and then match it to the single net deposit that hits your bank. It is the backbone of accurate marketplace bookkeeping.
Tools like A2X and ConnectBooks post the detail into it automatically. Watch for: a clearing balance that grows month after month, which means payouts, reserves or adjustments are not being matched correctly.
Example
Shopify records $10,000 in sales and $320 in fees in the clearing account, the $9,680 payout clears it, and the balance returns to zero.