To audit marketplace payouts, define the period, collect the seller agreement, settlement, order, return and bank reports, then reconcile sales to settlements. Recompute a sample of commissions and fees against the rate card, check returns and deductions, match payouts to bank credits, and log every exception with an owner, amount and claim deadline.
Set the scope and collect the right documents
An internal audit asks one question: did we receive what the agreement says we should? Fix the period (a month or quarter), the marketplaces and the legal entity first. Then collect:
- The signed seller agreement, current rate card and any amendments, with effective dates
- Settlement or payout reports for the period
- Order, return and cancellation reports
- Bank statements with UTR or reference numbers
- Credit notes, debit notes and tax statements issued by the marketplace
- Your ledger accounts for marketplace receivable, commission, shipping fees and returns
Do not rely on memory for rates. Fees change, so confirm the latest terms in your seller portal and agreement.
Reconcile sales to settlements first
Start with a period-level roll-forward before touching individual orders. It tells you quickly whether there is a gap at all.
- Opening receivable from the marketplace
- Add: sales invoiced in the period
- Less: returns and cancellations
- Less: commission, fees and other charges
- Less: tax deducted or collected by the marketplace, as shown in its statements
- Equals: expected payout
Compare the result with payouts received plus the closing receivable. Any difference is your audit target.
Then match at order level using order ID or item ID. Flag orders that are delivered but not settled, settled but missing in your books, settled twice, or settled in a different period from the one you booked.
Test commissions and fees against agreed terms
Checking every line manually is rarely practical. Review all high-value orders and every unusual fee type, then add a random sample of the rest. For each sampled line, recompute the charge from your rate card and compare it with the settlement report.
- Category mapping: is the SKU charged under the category your agreement specifies?
- Price band or slab: was the correct band applied to the selling price?
- Effective dates: did a revised rate apply before its start date?
- Shipping and weight charges: do declared and charged weights match?
- Other charges: are advertising, fixed or penalty charges supported by the agreement or a signed-off campaign?
Record the source of every rate you use (clause, rate card version, date). If a fee is not in the agreement, treat it as an exception until the marketplace explains it.
Review returns, deductions and recovery cases
Returns are where money leaks most quietly. Compare the return report with your warehouse receipts and with credits in the settlement.
- Returned goods received by you but not credited back
- Return or reverse-logistics fees charged on orders that should not attract them under your terms
- Lost or damaged shipments with no compensation claimed
- Penalties or deductions with no supporting reason code
Check the claim or dispute window in your agreement and note the deadline against each case. Open cases should carry an owner, date raised, amount and status. Ageing this list monthly stops claims expiring unnoticed.
Match payouts to bank and tax records
Match every payout in the settlement report to a bank credit using the UTR or reference. Check that the amount agrees, the date falls in the right period, and no payout is split or combined without explanation. Pay attention to cut-off: a payout received on 1 April for March sales belongs in the March receivable, not March cash.
Also compare tax amounts the marketplace deducted or collected with the tax statements and returns available to you (for example your GST and income tax records). Rates and treatment depend on current law and your facts, so confirm them with your tax adviser rather than assuming.
Record findings and make the audit repeatable
Keep one exceptions log with these columns: marketplace, period, order or reference, issue type, amount, evidence, owner, claim deadline and status. Add a root cause (rate mismatch, missing return credit, timing, booking error) so you can fix the source, not only the invoice.
Run the audit monthly, with a deeper sample each quarter. Teams that outgrow spreadsheets often automate this step; MarketplaceMetrics by Fundle reconciles marketplace sales and settlements, checks commissions and fees against agreed terms, and tracks returns and recovery cases. Myntra Excel reports are reviewed today, and other marketplaces are in scope discussion.
Whatever tool you use, have someone outside the booking team review the log and sign it off.
Worked example
Illustrative example only. All figures are made up to show the method, not real rates or results.
| Line | Amount (₹, illustrative) |
|---|---|
| Gross sales invoiced | 5,00,000 |
| Less: returns | 80,000 |
| Net sales | 4,20,000 |
| Less: commission charged (per settlement report) | 63,000 |
| Less: shipping fees | 21,000 |
| Less: tax deducted (per statement) | 4,000 |
| Expected payout | 3,32,000 |
| Bank credit received | 3,32,000 |
The payout ties to the bank, so a basic check passes. Now the sample test: recomputing commission from the rate card in the agreement gives ₹58,800 against ₹63,000 charged, a difference of ₹4,200. The return report also shows three returned items worth ₹6,000 received at your warehouse with no credit in the settlement. Potential recovery: ₹10,200, subject to the agreement and the claim window. Log both items with evidence, owner and deadline.
Questions and answers
How often should finance teams audit marketplace payouts?
Reconcile monthly as part of close, and do a deeper sampled audit each quarter. High-volume brands may reconcile weekly because claim windows in agreements can be short. Check your seller agreement for exact dispute deadlines and set your cadence around them.
What documents do I need to audit marketplace settlements?
You need the seller agreement and rate card, settlement and payout reports, order and return reports, bank statements, credit and debit notes, tax statements from the marketplace, and your ledger. Without the agreed terms, you can only check arithmetic, not correctness.
Should I check every order or use a sample?
Use both. Review all high-value orders and unusual fee types in full, then sample the remainder randomly. Period-level reconciliation covers the whole population, while recomputing fees is done on the sample. Widen the sample if you find repeated errors.
Who should own the payout audit, finance or ecommerce?
Finance should own the audit and sign-off for independence, while ecommerce or category teams supply context on campaigns, pricing and returns. Recovery claims need both: finance quantifies the amount and ecommerce raises the case on the marketplace portal.