Retail and e-commerce
What the marketplace actually paid you, and why it differs from what you sold
Marketplaces settle net of commission, fees, advertising and returns, weeks after the sale. We reconcile the settlement to the order and report what each channel genuinely contributes once all of it is taken out.
What the marketplace actually paid.
Order → commission, fees, ads, returns → settlement
At a glance
Marketplace settlements are recorded as a net receipt, with the deductions never analysed.
Channel truth
Channel contribution after all deductions.
The economics
Why the numbers are harder here
E-commerce revenue arrives already reduced. A marketplace deducts commission, fulfilment, payment gateway charges, advertising and the cost of returns before remitting, and the deduction detail arrives separately from the money. Unless order, settlement and deduction are reconciled, reported revenue and reported cost are describing different transactions.
Returns compound it. A returned order reverses revenue, may not restore sellable stock, and still carries the forward and reverse shipping cost. A channel that looks strong on gross sales can be the one destroying the margin.
The problem
Where visibility breaks down
- Marketplace settlements are recorded as a net receipt, with the deductions never analysed.
- Returns and undelivered orders are treated as a sales adjustment rather than a cost with a cause.
- Inventory is held across warehouses, marketplaces and stores, and the totals do not agree.
- Advertising spend is measured against gross sales rather than contribution.
- Tax collected at source by marketplaces is not reconciled to the credit actually available.
Where we concentrate
How we focus the engagement
Channel truth
- Settlement reconciled to order, line by line, with every deduction categorised.
- Contribution by channel after commission, fulfilment, advertising and returns.
- Return and undelivered-order cost measured, and attributed to product or channel.
- Discounting and coupon cost visible against the margin it was meant to buy.
- Tax collected at source reconciled to the credit available.
Inventory across channels
- One inventory position across warehouse, marketplace and store.
- Returned stock assessed as sellable or not, rather than assumed.
- Ageing and obsolescence tracked by channel, since they differ.
- Shrinkage quantified rather than absorbed into cost of goods sold.
- Stock reconciled to the books on a cycle that does not wait for year end.
Reporting
Reports worth receiving
- Channel contribution after all deductions.
- Settlement reconciliation with unexplained differences listed.
- Return rate and return cost, by product and channel.
- Inventory position and ageing across all locations.
- Advertising cost against contribution, not against gross sales.
Common questions
Questions we hear in this sector
The marketplace gives us a settlement report. Is that not enough?
It tells you what they paid. It does not tell you whether it matches what you sold. The reconciliation between order and settlement is where short payments, unclaimed returns and fee errors show up, and those are rarely raised by the platform.
We sell on several marketplaces. Can this be consolidated?
Yes. A common structure across channels is the point — otherwise each one is reported in its own terms and they cannot be compared or added.
How often should settlements be reconciled?
On the settlement cycle. A difference found in the current cycle can still be raised with the platform; the same difference found at year end usually cannot.
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