How do I reconcile Stripe payouts in QuickBooks?

NinjaHQ sends what you sold to a QuickBooks account called Stripe Clearing. Stripe then pays out to your bank a few days later, minus its fees. QuickBooks does not connect to Stripe by itself, so you set up one routine, once.

Before you begin

• QuickBooks is connected and your online account is Stripe Clearing: How do I connect QuickBooks Online?.
• Your Stripe payouts go to a bank account you can link in QuickBooks.

Steps

The QuickBooks page keeps these steps open under Reconciling Stripe payouts (recommended setup).

1. In QuickBooks, link the bank account Stripe pays out to (Banking or Transactions > Bank transactions > Link account). Each Stripe payout then shows in the bank feed.
2. Add an expense account for the fees, such as "Merchant fees" or "Stripe fees" (Accounting > Chart of accounts > New, type Expenses).
3. When a payout shows in the bank feed, open it, choose Categorize, then Split: one line to Stripe Clearing for the payout's gross amount, and one line to Merchant fees for Stripe's fee as a minus amount, so the lines add up to the deposit. Both numbers are in your Stripe Dashboard under Balances > Payouts, on the payout. A bank rule can fill the accounts in each time.
4. Once a month, check that the Stripe Clearing balance in QuickBooks equals the money Stripe has not paid out yet (the balance in your Stripe Dashboard).

What you'll see

After each split, Stripe Clearing goes down by the gross amount and your fees show as an expense. The balance left in Stripe Clearing is what Stripe still owes you.

Front desk money does not go through Stripe Clearing. It goes to Undeposited Funds, until you deposit the cash and card slips.

Troubleshooting

Stripe Clearing keeps growing. Payouts are not being split. Find the payouts in the bank feed and categorize them as above.

Stripe Clearing is lower than expected. A refund or a dispute may have reduced a payout. Check the payout detail in Stripe.

Not sure which accounts to use. Your accountant can tell you. NinjaHQ's "Create ... for me" buttons choose sensible ones you can rename in QuickBooks later.