Marketplace Integration

Guide 51: Marketplace Integration

Import and reconcile settlement data from Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, and eBay

Overview

If you sell on online marketplaces, your bank deposits are lump-sum payouts that combine sales, fees, refunds, and taxes. OtterLedger's Marketplace Integration breaks these deposits into individual line items so you can track profitability, categorize fees for tax time, and reconcile with your bank.

Why You Need This

A marketplace deposit hides dozens of individual transactions: product sales, referral fees, fulfillment charges, advertising costs, refunds, and taxes. Without breaking these down, you can't answer basic questions:

• How much did marketplace fees actually cost me this month?
• Which platform is most profitable after fees?
• What are my Schedule C deductions from marketplace fees?

OtterLedger solves this by importing your settlement files and categorizing every line item.

Supported Marketplaces:

• Amazon Seller Central (CSV/TSV import)
• Shopify (CSV import)
• Etsy (CSV import)
• eBay (CSV import)

Getting Started

Step 1: Connect a Marketplace

1. Click Marketplace in the sidebar
2. Click Add Marketplace
3. Follow the 4-step wizard:
   • Platform — Choose your marketplace and enter your store name
   • Account Mapping — Map fee types to OtterLedger categories (or let OtterLedger create dedicated accounts)
   • Tax & Clearing — Configure sales tax handling and clearing account
   • Test Drive — Import a sample settlement file to verify everything works

Step 2: Import a Settlement

1. From the Marketplace dashboard, click Import Settlement
2. Select your marketplace account
3. Browse for your settlement file (TSV for Amazon, CSV for others):
   • Amazon: Download the Settlement Report (TSV) from Seller Central > Reports > Payments
   • Shopify: Download the Payout CSV from Settings > Payments > View payouts
   • Etsy: Download from Shop Manager > Finances > Payment account > Download CSV
   • eBay: Download from Seller Hub > Payments > All transactions > Download report
4. Review the preview — verify line count, gross sales, fees, and net payout
5. Click Import

Step 3: Review Unmapped Fees

After import, some fee types may not have category mappings yet.

1. Check the unmapped fees badge on the dashboard
2. Click to open the Review Queue
3. For each unmapped fee group:
   • Select a category from the dropdown
   • Check "Remember this rule" to auto-map this fee type in future imports
   • Click Categorize

Step 4: Reconcile with Bank Deposit

1. Open the settlement detail view
2. Click Match to Bank Deposit
3. OtterLedger suggests matching transactions from your bank feed
4. Select the correct deposit (penny variance is shown if not exact)
5. Click Match — the settlement is now reconciled

Settlement File Formats

Amazon

• Download from Seller Central > Reports > Payments > Date Range Reports
• Select "Flat File V2" format (TSV)
• One file per settlement period (typically bi-weekly)

Shopify

• Download from Settings > Payments > View payouts > Export
• CSV format with one row per transaction
• Grouped by payout date automatically

Etsy

• Download from Shop Manager > Finances > Payment account > Download CSV
• CSV format grouped by month

eBay

• Download from Seller Hub > Payments > All transactions > Download report
• CSV format grouped by payout ID

Clearing Accounts

OtterLedger creates a clearing account for each marketplace (e.g., "Amazon Clearing"). This is an internal account that:

• Receives settlement line items during import
• Gets zeroed out when matched to a bank deposit
• Helps you verify that every dollar is accounted for

Clearing accounts are hidden from your main Accounts list but visible in Marketplace views.

Fee Mapping

OtterLedger ships with default mappings for common marketplace fees:

You can customize these mappings or create your own rules. Rules support:

• Exact match — fee description must match exactly
• Contains — fee description contains the keyword
• Regex — pattern matching for complex fee names

Profitability Reports

Go to Marketplace > Profitability to see:

• Gross Sales — total revenue before fees
• Fee Breakdown — referral, fulfillment, advertising, etc.
• Refunds — returned merchandise
• Net Revenue — what you actually earned
• Effective Fee Rate — total fees as a percentage of gross sales

Filter by date range, platform, or individual marketplace account.

Schedule C Integration

Marketplace fees automatically map to Schedule C lines for tax reporting:

Tips

• Import regularly — import each settlement as it arrives to keep your books current
• Check the clearing account — if the balance isn't zero, a settlement hasn't been matched to a bank deposit yet
• Use "Remember Rule" — after categorizing a new fee type once, enable the rule so future imports are automatic
• Review the fee waterfall — the profitability report shows exactly where your money goes

Limitations

• Amazon API integration is not available (requires $1,400/yr developer fee) — use CSV/TSV exports instead
• Etsy groups settlements by month (no per-payout granularity)
• Multi-currency settlements are imported in the original currency — no automatic conversion

See also: Banking & Bank Feeds (guide-09) | Reconciliation (guide-10) | Schedule C Report (guide-18) | Amazon Integration (guide-43)