Record sales when a marketplace or platform deducts its fees

How to record payment processor fees, like Etsy, eBay, Stripe, or SumUp, in Sage Sole Trader.

Marketplaces and payment platforms usually take their fees before they pay you.

Record the full £100 as income, and record the £12 fee as a separate business expense. Don't record only the £88 that reaches your bank.

This keeps your turnover correct. Your turnover is the full value of your sales, not the amount left after fees. The fees are an allowable business expense, so you record them separately to claim them against your tax.

The same method applies any time someone takes a cut before they pay you. This includes a letting agent who deducts fees from your rent.

Before you start

You need two figures from the platform, not only the amount that reaches your bank:

• The total sales, which is the full amount your customers paid
• The total fees the platform charged

Find these figures in the platform's own reports.

Edit the draft transaction

When the net amount appears in your draft transactions from the bank feed:

1. From Transactions, select Draft.
2. Find the draft transaction, select Edit.
3. Change the Amount to the full gross sale value.
4. Categorise the transaction as Turnover.
5. Select Save changes.

Create a transaction for the fee

1. Create a new Money out transaction.
2. Enter the fee amount deducted by the marketplace platform.
3. Categorise the transaction as Bank, credit card, and other finance costs.
4. Save the transaction.

The net effect on your bank balance stays correct. The gross sale minus the fee equals the amount that arrived in your bank account.

Batched payouts

Some providers transfer multiple sales as a single payout. When this happens, add up all the gross sale values and all the fees for that batch. Then follow the same two steps against the single draft transaction.