A successful checkout is one step in a payment's life. The merchant still needs to know whether money was captured, when it becomes available, what reaches the bank, and how that deposit matches orders, fees, and refunds.
Follow a card payment through its stages
The customer's card issuer, the merchant's acquiring arrangements, the card network, and payment-service providers have different roles. A checkout provider may combine several services under one account, which can make the underlying distinctions hard to see.
- Authorization: the issuer approves a requested transaction and may reserve available funds or credit. Approval is not a deposit in the merchant's bank.
- Capture: the merchant submits an authorized amount for payment. Some checkouts authorize and capture together; others separate the steps.
- Clearing: transaction details are exchanged and payment obligations are calculated.
- Settlement: money moves to discharge those obligations between participating institutions.
- Payout: the provider sends the merchant's available balance to the destination account under the provider's schedule.
- Reconciliation: the business matches transactions and adjustments to its records and bank activity.
A hotel-style hold illustrates why authorization and capture may be separate. An authorization can expire if it is not captured in time, and the permitted window varies by payment method and circumstances. Stripe's authorization-and-capture documentation provides one provider's implementation of these concepts.
Provider terminology needs reading in context. Stripe, for example, uses “settlement timing” for the interval before funds become available in its balance; its payout schedule controls when available money is sent. A daily payout schedule does not eliminate that interval, and the receiving bank may add time. See Stripe's payout and availability explanation. Other contracts can define timing differently.
The payment method changes the process
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| Method | How it starts | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Cards | A card transaction is authorized and submitted through the merchant's processing arrangements. | Capture status, fees, availability, and later dispute exposure. |
| ACH credit | The payer instructs a transfer to the recipient. | Banking-day processing, submission cutoff, and effective date. |
| ACH debit | The recipient initiates a collection under the payer's authorization. | Authorization records, processing status, and possible returns. |
| FedNow instant credit transfer | A participating financial institution sends a credit payment. | Whether both sides support the service and the bank's customer offering. |
ACH uses a network of originating and receiving financial institutions and operators. It supports credits and debits, with processing schedules that differ from a continuously operating instant service. Nacha explains how ACH payments move. A bank-account payment is not necessarily ACH; ask which service is actually being used.
FedNow operates around the clock for participating institutions, with immediate, final interbank settlement of accepted payments. It is a service banks and credit unions use, not a consumer wallet everyone automatically has. A request to return funds is distinct from undoing settlement. The Federal Reserve's FedNow overview and service features (PDF) describe the model.
A wallet is also not a universal settlement method. A payment interface may use different underlying funding sources. For the consumer-facing choices and protection rules of one wallet, see the PayPal guide.
Reconcile a deposit instead of guessing from sales
Invented example: a shop captures three orders for $100, $60, and $40. Assume a fictional fee of 2.5% plus $0.20 per captured order. The $40 order is fully refunded before payout, and this example assumes its original processing fee is retained. These are teaching assumptions, not any provider's quoted prices or refund policy.
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| Order | Captured | Refund | Fee | Net contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example A | $100.00 | $0.00 | $2.70 | $97.30 |
| Example B | $60.00 | $0.00 | $1.70 | $58.30 |
| Example C | $40.00 | $40.00 | $1.20 | −$1.20 |
| Total | $200.00 | $40.00 | $5.60 | $154.40 |
The expected payout is $200 − $40 − $5.60 = $154.40. Booking the deposit alone as sales hides both the refund and the fee. A declined or merely authorized order does not belong in this example's captured-sales total. Download the fictional reconciliation rows (CSV) to inspect the calculation.
Real payout reports can include older refunds, chargebacks, reserves, taxes withheld, conversion, and other adjustments. Match identifiers and currencies as well as amounts. A mismatch may be a timing difference, not missing money. Preserve the transaction-to-payout mapping before grouping everything into a monthly total.
Handle exceptions with the right record
A merchant refund and a cardholder dispute are different processes. A dispute begins when a cardholder challenges a payment through the issuer; the business may need to submit evidence within the processor's case deadlines. Follow the actual case rather than assuming a receipt alone resolves it. Stripe's dispute documentation explains that route.
- Uncertain checkout: locate the original transaction before retrying or collecting again.
- Missing bank deposit: check capture, balance availability, payout status, destination, and the bank's receipt separately.
- Unexpected net amount: compare the payout's included transaction IDs and adjustment lines with the ledger.
- Refund request: verify the original payment and refund status; do not send a second payment simply because an email says the first refund failed.
When choosing a provider, ask for the full fee schedule, refund treatment, dispute charges, reserve provisions, payout definitions, and an example reconciliation export. Test whether the export can connect an order to its payment and eventual payout.
Outsourcing card handling can reduce the systems you operate, but it does not automatically remove merchant responsibilities. Confirm the provider's PCI DSS status and the division of responsibilities with the acquiring relationship. The PCI Security Standards Council's outsourcing guidance explains why a hosted checkout alone is not the whole answer.
AI can help propose categories for unexplained report lines or draft a reconciliation summary from a non-sensitive sample. Keep the original rows, verify totals independently, and require a reviewable match for every proposed adjustment. An invented transaction that makes a total balance is still an accounting error.