Understanding D2C accounting periods
Updated
by terrible*
D2C accounting periods
Understanding D2C Accounting Periods. Why does my balance not match my total sales?
D2C (direct-to-consumer / online store) revenue runs on a two-month cycle. Here's exactly how it works:
The timeline, step by step
- A customer places an order — this is the order date, and it appears in your sales data immediately
- The order is fulfilled and shipped — this can happen days or weeks after the order date, especially during busy periods or for pre-orders
- Your fulfilment partner sends us a statement — we receive this roughly two weeks after the end of the month in which orders shipped
- We process and reconcile the revenue — this happens mid-month, once we've received and verified the fulfilment data
- Your balance updates in portal* — this is when you'll see the revenue reflected
In practice: an order placed in January is likely shipped in January, reported to us in mid-February, and will appear in your portal* balance in early March.
A few things worth knowing
- Order date ≠ ship date ≠ payment date. These are three separate moments in the process
- Pre-order campaigns follow the same cycle — revenue is processed based on the ship date, not when the customer paid
- We can't speed this up, because we're dependent on fulfilment statements from our warehouse partners, which arrive ~2 weeks after each month closes. We process everything as soon as we receive it
- Your balance is always accurate — it just reflects shipped and reconciled orders, not all orders placed
Any questions? Reach out to us
