The Problem
Under Amazon's DD+7 rule, an order's payment posts to the settlement up to 7 days after the ship date. By default, ConnectBooks records sales in QuickBooks based on Amazon's settlement posted date, aligning the books with the data Amazon provides.
For orders shipped near the end of a reporting period, this creates a cutoff issue. Revenue earned in the current period is recorded in the following period, understating current period sales and overstating the next.
1. Export Sales to QuickBooks by Ship Date (recommended).
A ConnectBooks setting that exports each sale using the ship date instead of the settlement posted date. No journal entry needed, sales land in the right period automatically.
The tradeoff: you have to wait until every order from the period posts and its settlement closes. The full month may not be closed in QuickBooks until two to three weeks into the next period.
Read the full article: Export Sales to QuickBooks by Ship Date.
2. Reversing Journal Entry at Period End
At period end, post a journal entry that accrues the unposted revenue and matching COGS to a Deferred Revenue account, then reverse it on the first day of the next period. Best for accountants and bookkeepers handling formal month, quarter, or year end closes.
Read the full article: Closing Amazon Books on Time Under DD+7 With a Journal Entry.
3. Export Data to QuickBooks at Ship Time (coming end of August)
A new feature that exports sales to QuickBooks the day an order ships, no waiting for settlements to close. Article coming when it launches.
Which Option Should You Choose?
If you prefer to keep the default settlement based export and only adjust at period end, use the reversing journal entry approach.
If you want a hands off process today and don't mind waiting for settlements to close before sales appear in QuickBooks, enable Export Sales to QuickBooks by Ship Date.
If you want sales reflected in QuickBooks as soon as orders ship, with no waiting and no manual adjustments, the upcoming end of August feature will be the simplest path.
All three approaches produce the same end result, revenue and COGS recognized in the period the sale shipped, without disrupting Amazon settlement reconciliation.