As Amazon’s deferred transaction policy has evolved, many sellers are navigating new reporting challenges. To support accurate financial reporting, we’ve developed a manual workaround to help account for deferred transactions until Amazon provides more direct access to this data through their API or settlement reports.
If you’d like to read more about the recent changes to Amazon’s deferred transactions please visit this support article.
Recommended Solution: Manual Reversing Journal Entry
Until Amazon fully integrates deferred transaction data into their system, we recommend using a manual reversing journal entry to manage these transactions effectively. This approach has been used successfully by many customers, especially for managing B2B deferred transactions.
The steps below outline options for both sales reconciliation and COGS reconciliation. These are optional — some sellers may prefer to reconcile sales but not COGS, or vice versa.
Step-by-Step Guide to Manual Reversing Journal Entry for Amazon Deferred Transactions
To implement this workaround, follow these steps:
Download the Amazon Deferred Transactions Report
Start by downloading the Amazon Deferred Transactions Report from Seller Central.
Prepare the Report in Excel or Google Sheets (you can download and use a copy of the A2X template for this)
Open the report in Excel or Google Sheets and copy and paste all data into the A2X template ‘Amazon Deferred Transactions Report’ tab
Select all data within the report and create a pivot table.
In the pivot table, add 'Type' to the rows, and 'Product Sales' through 'Total' to the columns.
Copy and Paste Pivot Data
Copy the entire pivot table and paste as values only into cell A9 of your workbook.
Then, copy these pasted values and use the “Transpose” function (Paste Special → Transpose) to paste them into cell A27 of the Manual Journal Template.
Transfer Data to Manual Journal Template
Use the transposed data to fill in the relevant categories on the Manual Journal Template.
Add the appropriate account codes for each line, referencing the Accounts and Taxes Mapping page as needed.
Set Up a New Current Asset Account
In your accounting software (Xero or QuickBooks Online), create a new current asset account labeled 'Amazon Deferred Payments'.
Prepare the End-of-Month Reversing Journal Entry
The journal entry should now be ready for posting. When entering it into your accounting system, select it as a reversing entry. This will automatically create the second part of the journal (e.g., for November 1), ensuring the deferred transactions are reversed in the following month.
Make a copy of the Amazon Deferred Transactions Report
Copy the Amazon Deferred Transactions Report to a new tab in your worksheet.
Create a new Pivot from the deferred transactions report
Select all the data and create the pivot table on a new worksheet.
In the pivot table, add 'SKU' to the rows, and 'Quantity' values.
Download your unit prices from A2X
Download your cost unit prices csv from A2X and copy and paste the data into a new tab of your reversing entry worksheet.
Lookup the unit prices for COGS
On the Pivot tab in column C, enter in a vlookup formula to lookup the unit prices from the A2X unit prices download export tab.
Calculate total COGS
In column D add a formula to multiply the quantity sold by the unit price. This is your total cogs for the deferred transactions period your are reconciling.
Transfer Data to COGS Journal Template
Copy the overall total for COGS and add it to both the debit and credit lines of the COGS Journal Template.
Add the appropriate account codes for each line, referencing the Cost of Goods Sold Mapping page as needed.
This approach allows for accurate financial reporting, ensuring that deferred transactions are properly accounted for despite Amazon’s current limitations.
Ongoing Developments
We’re actively collaborating with Amazon and will share updates as soon as new information becomes available. In the meantime, this manual process will help bridge the gap in deferred transactions management.
If you have further questions or need guidance on this process, please reach out to our Customer Success team. We appreciate your patience and valuable feedback as we work to enhance our support and adapt to Amazon’s evolving features.