When you connect a third-party marketplace like TikTok Shop to Shopify, it can create unexpected payment gateways in ConnectBooks — and cause reconciliation headaches. This article explains why it happens and what to do about it.
How ConnectBooks handles Shopify gateways
ConnectBooks reconciles your Shopify payouts by payment gateway. For example, if customers pay via credit card, PayPal, or Shop Pay, each one gets its own gateway settlement in ConnectBooks. This makes it easy to match each payout to the right bank deposit.
This works well for a standard Shopify store. The problem starts when third-party marketplaces sync their orders into Shopify.
What happens when TikTok is connected to Shopify
When a customer buys something on TikTok, they might check out using Apple Pay, PayPal, or Venmo. If TikTok is connected to Shopify via an integration app, it pushes those orders into Shopify — including the payment method the customer used. Shopify then creates a gateway for that payment method, and ConnectBooks pulls it in.
So you end up with an Apple Pay gateway, a Venmo gateway, or a PayPal gateway in ConnectBooks — even though none of those customers paid you directly. They paid TikTok.
TikTok works like Amazon. It doesn't matter how the customer paid — TikTok collects all the money and sends you a single settlement deposit. The individual payment method is irrelevant for your books. ConnectBooks reconciles TikTok payouts through TikTok settlement reports, not through Shopify gateways.
The PayPal problem
PayPal is where this gets most confusing, because PayPal can legitimately appear in two very different contexts:
Shopify order paid via PayPal → the customer paid you directly through your Shopify store, and the money lands in your PayPal account
TikTok order paid via PayPal → the customer paid TikTok using PayPal, the money goes to TikTok, and you receive it as part of your TikTok settlement
When TikTok syncs those orders into Shopify with a "PayPal" gateway, ConnectBooks can't tell them apart. Both show up in the same PayPal gateway group, and your reconciliation breaks.
Why ConnectBooks and QuickBooks may not match
If you disabled certain gateways in ConnectBooks to stop importing TikTok orders, those orders were never exported to QuickBooks — but they still exist in ConnectBooks. That gap causes a mismatch between the two systems.
The fix: if you don't want those orders in QuickBooks, they need to be fully removed from ConnectBooks, not just excluded from export. Excluding an order stops it from syncing but leaves it sitting in ConnectBooks, where it will continue to cause discrepancies.
How to resolve this
Handle TikTok orders through your TikTok settlements in ConnectBooks, not through Shopify gateways. If a gateway originates from TikTok, turn it off in ConnectBooks to avoid double-counting.
Clean up orphaned gateway groups. If a gateway group exists in ConnectBooks but was never exported to QuickBooks, ask support to delete it, and turn it off.
Check your PayPal group for mixed orders. If you have TikTok connected to Shopify, your PayPal gateway group may contain both Shopify and TikTok orders. Contact support if you need help separating them.
Going forward: gateways off by default
ConnectBooks will no longer automatically activate every gateway pulled from Shopify. New gateways will be off by default, so third-party marketplace payment methods won't automatically create gateway groups. If you need a specific gateway turned on, contact our support team.