Stripe accounting: every payout booked and matched to the bank
Install Accountable's read-only Stripe App and approve it on Stripe's own screen. Each charge is booked at its gross amount on its day, fees as an expense and refunds against revenue. So $399 of sales, $12.47 of fees and a $49 refund pay out $337.53, matched to one deposit.
Updated · 4 min read · By the Accountable team
$337.53 lands; $399 of sales booked
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury Checking | $337.53 | |
| Payment Processing Fees | $12.47 | |
| Refunds and Discounts | $49.00 | |
| Subscription Revenue | $399.00 | |
| Balanced | $399.00 | $399.00 |
The net effect of the charge, fee, refund and payout rows; Stripe clearing ends at $0.00. Fees at 2.9% plus 30 cents, checked Sep 30, 2026.
The short version
- Stripe connects when you install Accountable's Stripe App and approve read-only access in Stripe, free on every plan, including Free.
- Every permission the app asks for is read-only, so it can't refund, pay out or change anything in Stripe.
- Charges post at their gross amount on the charge day, so a charge on Saturday, January 30, 2027 that pays out on Tuesday, February 2 is January revenue.
- Stripe's fees are an expense, and refunds and disputes come off revenue, so revenue, cost and cash each show the right number.
- A Stripe clearing account holds what Stripe owes you, and each payout moves it to the bank deposit it matches.
- A payout still in transit is waiting in Stripe and is still your cash.
What comes over from Stripe
- Each charge, at its gross amount, on the day the customer paid.
- Stripe's fee on each charge, as an expense on the same day.
- Refunds, disputes and dispute fees, each on the day it happened.
- Each payout, matched to the deposit in your bank.
- Jan202730SatJanuary revenue bookedThe fee is booked the same day
- Jan202731SunMoney in Stripe clearingWaiting in Stripe, still your cash
- Feb20272TuePayout matched to bankTwo business days later
One payout with a refund nets to zero in clearing
Stripe's standard US card price is 2.9% plus 30 cents for a domestic card. Three customers pay $100, $250 and $49, and the $49 customer asks for a refund before the payout. Stripe does not return the fee on a partial refund, so the $1.72 fee on that charge stays.
| What Stripe reports | Amount | How it is booked |
|---|---|---|
| Charges | $399.00 | Revenue at the gross amount, into Stripe clearing |
| Stripe fees | $12.47 | Expense, out of Stripe clearing |
| Refund | $49.00 | Comes off revenue, out of Stripe clearing |
| Payout | $337.53 | Moves from Stripe clearing to the bank, matched to the deposit |
The check is $399.00 minus $12.47 minus $49.00 minus $337.53, which is $0.00: the clearing account is empty and the bank line matches the payout and nothing else. The accounting behind each line is in How to account for Stripe payouts.
Connect Stripe by installing the Stripe App
Step 1: In Accountable, open Connections, press Connect an account, pick Stripe payments and press Connect.
Step 2: Stripe opens and asks you to install Accountable's Stripe App. The screen lists each permission it asks for, and all of them are read-only.
Step 3: Approve the install. Stripe sends you back to Accountable, which starts posting payouts.
The app's permissions are all read-only: Payouts (each payout to match to its bank deposit), Balance (what Stripe holds for you), Balance transaction sources (each charge, fee and refund inside a payout), Charges and refunds (gross sales, refunds and who paid), Disputes (chargebacks against revenue), Account details (the account's name and currency, to label the connection), Invoices (plan periods, and the sales tax kept out of revenue), Credit notes (credits that reduce revenue still to recognize), Checkout Sessions (the sales tax on Checkout and Payment Links payments), Payment intents (the rate Stripe settled a payment in another currency at). The step-by-step help article is Connect Stripe payments.
To add another Stripe account, press Add another Stripe payments account and approve the install for that account. To cut access, uninstall Accountable in Stripe under Settings › Installed apps, or press Disconnect in Accountable. Accounts connected earlier with a restricted key keep syncing.
Annual plans spread over the months they cover
A charge for a year of software is cash in the month it arrives, but revenue over twelve months. You create a Revenue schedule for the payment under Accounting › Schedules, and Accountable offers one when it spots an annual payment. The schedule moves the payment to Deferred revenue and posts each month's share at month-end. A $12,000 annual plan becomes $1,000 a month on the accrual view, and the cash view stays as the money moved.
The same Stripe feed serves both the cash and the accrual view. The worked entries are in Deferred revenue for SaaS.
- $12,000 paid through StripeMoved to Deferred revenueMonth 1
- $1,000 earned$11,000 still deferredEnd of month 1
- $1,000 posts each month-endMonths 2 to 11
- All $12,000 earnedDeferred revenue back to $0End of month 12
One Revenue schedule under Accounting › Schedules. The cash view still shows the $12,000 in the month it arrived.
Refunds, disputes and closed months have fixed rules
- A dispute pulls the disputed amount and a $15 dispute fee from your Stripe balance at once, according to Stripe's pricing page; Accountable books each part on the day Stripe does.
- A payout that lands in a closed month is held whole and posts on the first open day, saying so, instead of reopening the month.
- Replaying a payout changes nothing, so a repeated sync never books the same money twice.
Questions founders ask
Is connecting Stripe free?
Yes. Stripe payments connect on every plan, including Free, and do not count toward the bank-link limit.
Can Accountable refund or pay out from my Stripe account?
No. Every permission the Stripe App asks for is read-only, so it can't refund, pay out or change anything in Stripe.
How does Accountable get access to my Stripe account?
Through Stripe's own OAuth install. Stripe shows the app's read-only permissions on its install screen, you approve them, and Stripe gives Accountable access to exactly that data. You see the app under Settings › Installed apps in Stripe and can uninstall it any time to cut access.
Is revenue booked when the charge happens or when the payout arrives?
On the charge day. A charge on January 30 that pays out on February 2 is January revenue, and the payout moves the cash from Stripe clearing to the bank in February.
Can I connect more than one Stripe account?
Yes. Press Add another Stripe payments account in Connections. Each Stripe account posts to the company you connect it to.
Connect Stripe and match every payout to the bank
Start free with one company. Stripe connects through a read-only Stripe App you approve in Stripe, and each payout, fee and refund is booked and matched for you.
Start freeSources, checked October 1, 2026: