The marketplace
seller's glossary.

A US information return that marketplaces and payment processors file when a seller's gross payments cross the reporting threshold. It reports payment volume, not profit, and can include refunds, fees and sales tax.

How the 1099-K meets your payouts→

Recording revenue when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred, even when cash moves later. Marketplace sales, fees and refunds often cross period boundaries.

Cash or accrual: reading payouts either way→

Ad spend divided by ad-attributed sales. It measures advertising efficiency and belongs in your margin math, but it is not a marketplace fee line.

Check break-even ACoS→

An Amazon FBA fee charged on units stored beyond certain age thresholds. It is a holding cost, so it changes the real cost of slow-moving stock.

Amazon Standard Identification Number: the catalog ID for a product. One ASIN can be offered by several sellers, so it identifies the item rather than your inventory.

Amazon to QuickBooks setup→

The part of a marketplace balance that can be paid out now. It excludes funds still on hold or reserved for later obligations.

Matching the entries in your books to the lines on a bank statement. For marketplace sellers, the key match is usually one payout total to one bank deposit.

When a deposit matches no payout→

Amazon's sales-velocity rank for a product within a category. It is a relative position, not a count of units or revenue.

The default Add to Cart offer on an Amazon product page. Most sales go through it, and several sellers can compete for it on the same ASIN.

Recording revenue when cash is received and expenses when they are paid. Simple for small sellers, but it can split a sale and its payout across periods.

Cash or accrual: reading payouts either way→

A card payment reversed by the customer's bank, or a deduction a retailer takes from a vendor payment. A seller chargeback reverses a sale; a vendor chargeback is usually a deduction from revenue.

Chargebacks in your books→

The organized list of accounts a business uses for income, expenses, assets and liabilities. Marketplace sellers need clear sales, refund, fee, tax and clearing accounts.

A chart of accounts for marketplace sellers→

A holding account that collects marketplace sales, refunds, fees and tax before the net payout is matched to the bank. It keeps gross activity out of the bank line.

Build a payout entry→

The cost of the units actually sold in a period. It excludes unsold inventory and is subtracted from revenue to get gross profit.

COGS for marketplace sellers→

Selling through your own site or store rather than a marketplace. You usually own payment processing and fulfillment costs, and the payout cadence is yours.

A payment sent to a seller from a marketplace balance. It may also be called a payout, transfer or settlement payment.

A system where every transaction affects at least two accounts with equal debits and credits. It is what lets a payout entry balance and a trial balance mean something.

Selling products that a supplier ships directly to the customer. You carry less inventory, but you still own the sale, the fees and the customer service.

Amazon stores, picks, packs and ships your inventory for a fee. FBA activity appears in settlements as fulfillment, storage and other service fees.

Amazon to QuickBooks setup→

You store and ship orders yourself. The marketplace still charges a referral fee, but fulfillment and shipping costs sit with you.

An inventory costing method that assumes the oldest units are sold first. It changes COGS when supplier prices move.

Fulfillment Network SKU: the barcode Amazon uses to identify your units in its warehouses. It is not the same as your ASIN or your internal SKU.

A per-unit charge for picking, packing and shipping an order. On Amazon it is an FBA fee; on other channels it may be a fulfillment or shipping charge.

Revenue minus COGS, divided by revenue. It measures product profitability before operating expenses and advertising, not the cash a payout delivers.

Total sales before refunds, discounts, fees and sales tax. It is usually larger than net sales and larger still than the payout.

Funds a marketplace keeps back temporarily, often for new sellers, disputes or risk checks. A hold delays a payout without changing the underlying sale.

When each marketplace pays you→

How many times inventory is sold and replaced over a period. Faster turnover usually means less cash tied up in stock.

Amazon's score, from 0 to 1,000, for how efficiently a seller manages FBA inventory. A low score can limit storage and inbound capacity.

A recorded transaction with debits and credits that balance. A payout entry typically records sales, refunds, fees, tax and the bank deposit.

Build a payout entry→

The true cost of a unit once it reaches your warehouse: supplier price plus freight, insurance, duty, brokerage and prep.

Calculate landed cost→

The collection of accounts where transactions are recorded. The general ledger is the source for the financial statements.

A platform that brings buyers and sellers together and processes the sale, such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy or Walmart. It usually collects the money and pays the seller later.

Payout schedules by marketplace→

A marketplace that collects and remits sales tax on behalf of sellers under state rules. Tax collected this way can appear in a payout without being the seller's expense.

Every fee in a payout→

The smallest order a supplier will accept. It affects cash flow, storage costs and how long inventory lasts.

Selling the same products across several marketplaces or your own store. Shared inventory raises the risk of overselling and makes reconciliation harder.

Multi-currency payouts→

The amount actually sent to your bank after sales, refunds, fees, tax and reserve movements. It is not the same as revenue or profit.

Gross sales minus refunds, discounts and allowances. It is closer to revenue than a payout is, but it still leaves out fees and tax.

A connection to a state that can create a sales tax collection obligation, often through physical presence or sales volume. Marketplace-facilitated sales may be handled by the marketplace, but rules vary.

A cost of running the business that is not directly tied to making a product, such as software, payroll or advertising.

Selling more units than you have available, often when stock is shared across channels. It leads to cancellations, refunds and marketplace penalties.

The money a marketplace sends after netting sales, refunds, fees, tax and reserves. A payout is a transfer, not a sale.

Inside a Shopify payout→

Proving that a payout equals its sales and deductions, and that the net amount matches the bank deposit.

Reconcile a payout→

Recording a finalized transaction in the accounting ledger. Reviewing a payout before posting is how mapping errors stay out of the books.

A third-party service that labels, bundles and preps inventory to marketplace requirements before it is shipped to a fulfillment center.

Selling a product manufactured under your own brand rather than reselling another brand's goods. It usually means more control and more upfront cost.

A formal order to a supplier. It is the source document for quantity, agreed price and the cost used in inventory records.

Comparing two records and explaining the difference between them. In marketplace accounting, the usual pair is a payout report and the bank statement.

Unmatched bank deposits→

A marketplace's commission on a sale, often a percentage of the sale price with category-specific rules. It is often one of the largest deductions in a payout.

Every fee in a payout→

Money returned to a customer for a sale. It reduces revenue and may also trigger a fee reversal or a refund administration fee.

The bookkeeping life of a return→

Money a marketplace pays for lost, damaged or mishandled inventory. It can arrive as a separate adjustment rather than a sale.

Book FBA reimbursements→

Funds a marketplace holds back from a payout, often to cover refunds or risk. A reserve is still an asset, not a fee.

Explain an Amazon reserve→

A product sent back by a customer. The refund, return shipping and restocking treatment all affect the net payout.

The bookkeeping life of a return→

Ad-attributed revenue divided by ad spend. It is the inverse of ACoS.

Check break-even ROAS→

A percentage of each payout held for a set period and then released. It is used by some payment providers and marketplaces to cover future refunds or disputes.

A place where you sell: a marketplace, your own store or a social shop. Each channel has its own fees, payout schedule and reports.

Browse integration guides→

Tax collected from customers on taxable sales and remitted to the tax authority. Marketplace-facilitated tax may be collected and remitted by the platform.

A marketplace's periodic statement of sales, refunds, fees, adjustments and the resulting payout. It is the source document for a payout entry.

Analyze an Amazon settlement→

Your internal identifier for a product or variant. It is how you connect a marketplace line to inventory and cost.

A charge for holding inventory in a fulfillment center, often based on volume and time. Long-term storage can add surcharges.

Credit issued to a customer instead of a cash refund. It affects revenue and liability timing, not just the payout amount.

Discounts, gift cards and store credit→

An outside warehouse and fulfillment provider. A 3PL may ship marketplace orders, retail orders or both, so its costs need to be allocated carefully.

A report listing every account balance and checking that total debits equal total credits. It is a checkpoint, not a financial statement.

The revenue and costs of a single unit, including product cost, fees, shipping and ads. It shows whether volume actually makes money.

Compare fees and profit per unit→

Amazon's wholesale portal for selling to Amazon rather than through it. Payments follow purchase orders and deductions, not marketplace payouts.

Amazon's invite-only program that sends enrolled products to reviewers in exchange for honest reviews. It is a launch tool, not a fee line.

Buying branded products in bulk and reselling them, often on marketplaces. Margins depend on negotiated cost, fees and turnover.

Cash tied up in inventory and operations. Slow payouts or long supplier lead times can strain it even when sales are growing.