Shopify payout close guide
Export the evidence needed for a Shopify payout close
A clean intake is more than two downloads. Freeze one store-month, keep the original exports unchanged, and record the independent controls that will expose a missing or mis-scoped row.
Reviewed September 17, 2026
Define one store-month first
Choose the store label, calendar reporting month, and IANA timezone before exporting. The timezone matters at month boundaries; the local store label is only an internal identifier and should remain consistent through review and purchase recovery.
- Confirm the store uses Shopify Payments and CAD for the supported activity.
- Choose the month and the store’s operating timezone.
- Confirm the source scope excludes unsupported gateways and currencies.
- Confirm the same activity has not already been entered in the ledger.
Preserve the two source CSVs
Download the Balance transactions CSV and Orders CSV from the reviewed Shopify administration views. Keep the originals intact. Renaming a file for your workpaper system is harmless, but changing cells before analysis removes the ability to explain what came from Shopify.
- Keep the source export in approved local storage.
- Do not paste rows into a new workbook or alter headings.
- Check that both files cover the intended store and reporting period.
- Treat an empty, truncated, or differently shaped export as a source problem, not something to repair by guessing.
Record controls separately
The current product asks you to transcribe reviewed activity totals, payout details, and bank evidence because Shopify’s public merchant documentation does not define a separate payout-summary CSV contract for this workflow. These are declarations with visible evidence labels, not hidden inputs.
- Record starting balance, gross activity, fees, payouts, ending balance, and opening/closing transit.
- For each payout, record date, status, amount, evidence label, and transfer reference where available.
- For each bank receipt, record observed date, exact amount, reference, and evidence label.
Keep a recoverable handoff
The generated package contains the client-ready review PDF, QBO draft, review workbook, instructions, and integrity manifest. Keep the package with the source evidence according to your firm’s policy. Purchase recovery can restore paid authority for the same store-month; it cannot restore CSVs, controls, mappings, or a package that existed only in the browser.