Month-End Closing Checklist for Multi-Marketplace Brands

1. Fix the cut-off and collect every report

Most close delays come from missing files, not difficult accounting. Decide once whether you cut off on order date, delivery date or settlement date, write it down, and apply it to every marketplace. Mixing bases across channels is a common source of mismatches.

Collect these for each marketplace:

• Sales or order report for the month
• Returns and cancellations report
• Settlement or payout statements with bank credit dates
• Commission, fee and charge breakup
• Tax collected-at-source statements, where applicable
• Ad, storage and logistics invoices
• Your current seller agreement and rate card

2. Reconcile sales and returns by marketplace

Build one summary per marketplace: gross sales, cancellations, returns, net sales. Tie the gross sales figure to what you have booked in your books or ERP. Differences usually come from orders crossing the month boundary, returns booked in a later month, or cancelled orders still showing as sales.

1. Total orders and value by status (delivered, returned, cancelled, in transit).
2. Compare with your ledger revenue for the channel.
3. List order-level differences and tag each as timing, error or unknown.
4. Post corrections or accruals for timing items.

3. Match settlements to bank credits

Settlement statements show what the marketplace says it paid. Your bank statement shows what arrived. Match each payout to a bank credit by reference number and amount, then check that the statement ties back to the orders it covers.

• Payouts in the statement but not in the bank: raise with the marketplace.
• Bank credits with no statement: request the missing report.
• Orders delivered but not yet settled: carry as receivable, with expected settlement timing.

The receivable from each marketplace at month-end should be explainable line by line, not just as a balancing figure.

4. Check commissions and fees against agreed terms

Do not assume deductions are correct because they appear in a settlement report. Compare charges with your seller agreement, rate card and any written commercial changes. Fee structures differ by marketplace, category and period, so confirm the latest terms with your account manager or in the seller portal rather than relying on memory.

Sample or fully test:

• Commission by category and price band
• Fixed, shipping, collection or fulfilment fees
• Penalties, chargebacks and adjustments
• Promotional or ad deductions you did not approve

Record each overcharge with order reference, amount and the clause it breaches. This becomes your claim file.

5. Track returns, claims and recoveries

Returns are where cash silently leaks: items returned damaged, wrong items received, returns not credited, or lost-in-transit claims past their window. Claim windows are set by each marketplace, so check the current policy and diarise deadlines.

1. List returns initiated but not received or not credited.
2. List claims raised, with date, amount and status.
3. Flag claims nearing a deadline.
4. Decide whether to accrue expected recoveries or hold them off the books until confirmed, as per your accounting policy.

A tool such as MarketplaceMetrics by Fundle can keep these cases in one place, with fee checks against agreed terms, instead of scattered spreadsheets.

6. Review tax data, post journals and sign off

Marketplace reports carry tax-related deductions and collections. Agree these with your GST returns and the statements available on the GST portal, and confirm the treatment of TCS, TDS and any other deductions with your tax adviser. Do not rely on a rate quoted in a blog; use your agreement, the statement and current law.

• Post journals for fees, returns, accruals and adjustments.
• Reconcile marketplace receivable and clearing accounts to zero or to a listed balance.
• Prepare an open-items list with owner and due date.
• Get reviewer sign-off and store the reports used.