Summary
This guide explains how to connect return events to payout records in Amazon's Finances API and to inventory records. Caigeek's service method ties those records together into a reconciliation that shows whether each return event has a released refund transaction and an inventory record.
Three records describe the refund path
Amazon's documentation for the Finances API v2024-06-19 describes financial transactions as retrievable for a specified order or date range, with filtering by marketplace. The SP-API seller use-case documentation separately lists return reports retrievable by return date and the Finances API, TRANSACTION_UPDATE notifications, and the V2 settlement report for finance and settlement work.
The reconciliation therefore uses three client-provided inputs: the return report, the financial transactions linked to the payment, and the inventory movement record. Each source remains identifiable in the output so an exception can be traced back to the Amazon report or the client's warehouse record.
How Amazon links a payment to released transactions
Amazon's official payment tutorial for the Finances API describes the matching process. Identify the payment's FinancialEventGroupId, retrieve the transactions, select transactions whose transactionStatus is RELEASED, and match the relatedIdentifiers entry where EVENT_GROUP_ID equals the same payment group ID.
This creates a documented path from the Amazon payment group to the released transactions that compose it. The return report remains a separate input, so the service schedule records the matched return event, payment group, released transaction, and inventory reference rather than treating a settlement total as the complete answer.
What IFRS 15 requires for a right of return
IFRS 15 paragraphs B21-B25 state that a sale with a right of return reflects revenue for the consideration the seller expects to be entitled to, a refund liability, and a separate asset for the right to recover products from customers. The standard also requires the refund liability and the recovery asset to be updated at each reporting period.
The marketplace reconciliation supplies evidence for those distinct records. The released financial transaction supports the payment-side trace, while the return and inventory records support the separate product-recovery trace. The schedule does not infer a platform rule, reserve formula, release deadline, tax result, or fee that is absent from the source data.
An exception-led reconstruction
The first layer is extraction. The team pulls Amazon return reports by return date, retrieves financial transactions using the FinancialEventGroupId and RELEASED filter, and exports inventory movement data. Each record is stored with its own identifiers.
The second layer is matching. The team links the return event to the released refund transaction and to the inventory record. Where one of those records is absent, the schedule flags the gap instead of assigning an unsupported cause or outcome.
The accounting layer then keeps the evidence used for the IFRS 15 refund liability and recovery asset visible. The output shows which Amazon source, payment group, released transaction, and inventory reference supports each matched line and which lines remain exceptions.
What Caigeek does with the records
Caigeek takes client-provided marketplace return reports, settlement or Finances API transaction records, and inventory movement records. It returns one reconciliation schedule connecting each return event to its released transaction and inventory reference, with unmatched records surfaced as exceptions.
The deliverable keeps source identifiers and the reporting-period status visible. It gives the client's finance team an evidence file for reviewing the refund liability and recovery asset without claiming that another marketplace exposes Amazon's fields or follows Amazon's documented process.
FAQ
What does RELEASED mean in Amazon payment matching?
Amazon's Finances API use-case guide instructs users to select transactions whose transactionStatus is RELEASED when matching transactions to a payment's FinancialEventGroupId.
How does IFRS 15 treat a sale with a right of return?
IFRS 15 paragraphs B21-B25 require revenue for consideration expected to be entitled to, a refund liability, and a separate asset for the right to recover returned products, with the liability and asset updated at each reporting period.
What records does Caigeek request for this reconciliation?
Caigeek requests marketplace return reports, financial transaction exports or authorized access, and inventory movement records, then returns a matched schedule with exceptions surfaced.
Sources
- Amazon Selling Partner API — Finances API v2024-06-19 Use Case Guide
- Amazon Selling Partner API — SP-API Seller Use Cases
- IFRS Foundation — IFRS 15, paragraphs B21-B25
This article is general information, not accounting, tax, or legal advice for a specific business. Check current platform documentation and applicable professional guidance before acting.