Accurate Stripe bookkeeping – revenue, fees and payouts

Many companies find that the amounts in their bank account do not match what they have invoiced. This is due to Stripe's structure: customers pay through Stripe, which deducts fees and combines customer payments into periodic payouts to your bank account.

This means the bank statement alone is not enough for bookkeeping. Keep sales and any output VAT separate from Stripe fees and payouts to the bank:

• Revenue – the sales amount excluding any VAT and before Stripe fees
• Stripe Fees – the fees Stripe charges on each transaction
• Payouts – the net amount transferred to your bank account

If you have a SaaS business model with subscriptions, correct revenue recognition is essential. If a customer pays for a whole year in advance, the revenue is recognised over the 12-month subscription period - not booked as revenue in the month payment is received.

We set up the structure of your books so that revenue is recognised correctly and automatically. This gives you:

• Accurate monthly profit and loss statements
• Correct MRR and ARR figures
• Credible figures for investors and the board

Many Stripe users receive payments in multiple currencies. This creates a need for correct handling of exchange rate gains and losses in the books. We ensure that your multi-currency transactions are correctly booked and reconciled on an ongoing basis.

The VAT treatment of Stripe payments depends on what you sell, the customer’s status and where the parties are established. Reverse charge can apply to certain B2B sales, but it does not apply to every sale between EU businesses. Consumer sales may require VAT in the customer’s country; One Stop Shop (OSS) is an optional reporting arrangement for eligible sales. See the Danish Tax Agency’s guidance on trade with EU businesses and consumer sales in the EU.

We help you set up correct VAT treatment, so you neither pay too much nor risk compliance issues.

One of the most important controls in Stripe accounting is the ongoing reconciliation. We ensure that:

• All transactions in Stripe are recorded in e-conomic
• The Stripe balance matches the clearing account in your books
• Payouts to the bank are correctly reconciled
• Refunds and disputes are handled

We can set up automatic transfer of Stripe transactions to e-conomic, so that day-to-day bookkeeping takes place without manual entry. It reduces errors, saves time and ensures that your books are always up to date.

This page is relevant if you:

• Run a SaaS business with subscription payments through Stripe
• Have an online store or e-commerce business with Stripe as the payment gateway
• Accept payments in multiple currencies
• Find that your current bookkeeper has difficulty reconciling Stripe
• Want to automate your Stripe accounting

We have extensive experience with Stripe accounting for SaaS and tech companies. Contact us for a no-obligation conversation about how we can help you get your Stripe bookkeeping under control.

Read more: SaaS accounting · E-commerce accounting · Automation and integration · Bookkeeping in e-conomic