Until recently, Amazon withheld reserve funds as a lump sum under "Account-Level Reserves" in the Payments Dashboard. This made it hard for sellers to know which specific transactions were tied to the withheld funds.
The New System: Deferred Transactions
Now, Amazon labels withheld funds as Deferred Transactions, allowing sellers to see exactly which orders are being held and their expected release dates. While this adds transparency, it has introduced new challenges.
Key Issues for Sellers:
1. Delayed Order Posting in QB.
Orders on Amazon are not marked as “posted” until several days after delivery. Since Amazon uses the posted date as the official financial record, these transactions cannot be imported into QuickBooks until the posting occurs. This delay can impact the timeliness of your financial reporting.
2. Impact on Reports in ConnectBooks.
When generating a report in ConnectBooks using the "Posted Date" filter, you may notice fewer sales than expected. This is because Amazon takes longer to post transactions now. Additionally, promotion and postage fees will only appear once the order is posted.
Workaround for Timely Business Analysis
For sellers needing real-time business insights, ConnectBooks provides a solution:
Run reports by Order Date.
This will display all orders, regardless of their posting status on Amazon.Estimated Fees.
Since Amazon only applies FBA and commission fees once an order is posted, ConnectBooks will show estimated FBA and commission fees for unposted orders. We wont show any additional estimated fees like promotions or postage, since amazon wont provide until the order posts.
This approach allows you to track your performance accurately without waiting for Amazon's delayed posting.
Why This Matters
Old System: Sellers could track overall reserves, even if it wasn’t itemized.
New System: While individual order details are clearer, the delayed posting disrupts both financial tracking and accounting workflows.
Conclusion
The shift to deferred transactions provides more transparency but creates challenges for sellers managing their cash flow and accounting systems. Delayed order posting complicates day-to-day operations, particularly for those syncing data with QuickBooks.