eBay payout and fee reconciliation for accounting and ERP

One of the most expensive mistakes in eBay integrations is confusing the order with the cash-in. The price the customer pays is not what lands in the seller's account: in between there are fees, refunds, credits, adjustments and timing differences. To connect eBay with ERP and accounting you need the eBay Finances API.

Why an order is not a cash-in

Between the order value and the net payout several factors come into play:

• fees on the sale and on the total value (final value fee);
• refunds, full or partial, to the buyer;
• credits and adjustments applied by eBay;
• timing: the sale and the credit do not coincide.

Importing only orders therefore tells half the story. Accounting needs the full financial flow.

The Finances API model

Concept	Meaning
Transaction	A single movement: sale, fee, refund, credit
Payout	The net credit to the seller's account
Transfer	Amounts the seller owes to eBay

The key calls are getTransactions to read movements and getPayouts for credits; each payout is made of the period's transactions.

The reconciliation logic

Reconciling means rebuilding, for each payout, the set of transactions that compose it and linking them to orders:

1. import transactions with incremental polling by date;
2. link each transaction to its order via orderId;
3. group transactions by payoutId;
4. verify that the sum of transactions matches the payout;
5. record differences as anomalies to investigate.

From eBay to ERP and accounting

Once reconciled, the data must reach where it is needed: accounting entries, fees recorded as cost, refunds handled as credit notes. Keep a mapping table between eBay transaction types and accounting accounts/reasons, so the export stays consistent and repeatable.

Architecture on Azure

On Microsoft Azure a typical pipeline uses a scheduled Function to poll transactions, a database to store movements, payouts and reconciliation status, and a worker that produces entries towards the ERP or a file for accounting. Idempotency on transactionId and payoutId prevents double posting.

Common mistakes

• exporting orders as cash-ins, ignoring fees and refunds;
• not reconciling the sum of transactions against the payout;
• losing movements due to polling windows without overlap;
• posting the same transaction twice for lack of idempotency.

Conclusion

The Finances API closes the loop of an eBay integration: it links orders, fees and payouts and makes accurate accounting possible. Without reconciliation, the numbers will never add up. Official documentation: eBay Finances API — Overview.