Reconcile platform-reported income, store sales and bank receipts in mainland China
Explain differences between platform-reported income and bank receipts using entity, period, refunds, fees and settlement evidence.
Start with the entity, period and definition behind each number. Then explain refunds, fees and settlement timing with supporting records. Platform-reported income, a store's sales report and bank receipts need not be equal. Explaining the difference does not, by itself, complete the accounting or tax-filing review.
This guide is for mainland China ecommerce businesses and the finance professionals reviewing their records. Its purpose is to produce an actionable reconciliation, not to calculate a particular business's tax liability.
Understand the reported measure first
State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 15 of 2025 distinguishes gross income, refunds and net income for platform reporting. Gross income includes consideration and VAT, before platform commissions and similar fees. Net income subtracts refunds; it is not profit after all expenses. See the official announcement in Chinese.
Platform reporting is an information-reporting requirement. The merchant still needs to assess its own accounting and tax filings. The institutional framework is State Council Order No. 810. These sources were checked on 27 October 2026; actual treatment depends on the applicable rules and business facts at the time.
Establish a common reconciliation scope
Do not subtract bank receipts from an unexplained “sales” total and label the balance unreported income. Establish these facts first:
- Entity: identify the registered store operator, the business carrying out the transaction and the bank-account holder. Retain collection agreements and onward-payment records where another party collects funds.
- Period: distinguish order creation, payment, completion, refund, settlement and bank-posting dates. Reports filtered on different dates are not directly comparable.
- Source: retain the export date, filters, field definitions and record coverage. A quarterly total cannot simply be compared with one month's withdrawals.
- Amount: identify VAT treatment, prior deductions for refunds or fees, discounts, subsidies, non-sales funds and currencies. Column names alone are insufficient.
Keep the original exports before preparing the reconciliation. Information supplied by a platform about its reporting and a merchant's own reconstruction must be labeled separately. A reconstruction is not evidence of what the platform actually submitted.
Reconcile orders, fees and settlements separately
Use order and refund records to explain the operating report, then settlement records to explain bank receipts. Each adjustment needs a source; an unexplained balancing entry is not a resolution.
| Difference | Records to inspect | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Refunds and cancellations | Original orders, completed refunds and processing dates | Deducting a refund twice from an already-net amount, or treating an unpaid cancellation as a refund |
| Commissions and service fees | Platform statements, charge details and supporting documents | Reducing reported income to the net withdrawal amount just because fees were withheld |
| Unsettled and cross-period funds | Opening and closing unsettled balances, withdrawal batches | Missing current-period funds still awaiting payment or prior-period funds received now |
| Deposits and other non-sales funds | Funding-account movements and payment descriptions | Treating returned deposits, top-ups or loans as sales |
| Different entities or currencies | Contracts, account ownership, original-currency and exchange records | Treating collections for another entity, onward transfers or FX differences as store sales differences |
Not every store has every item. If one transaction involves several causes, map their relationship so the same difference is not counted under both refunds and settlement timing.
A simplified bridge to bank receipts
Assume one entity, one store and only RMB transactions for the review period. Detailed records support gross income of RMB 120,000 and refunds of RMB 18,000, giving reporting net income of RMB 102,000. The following fees and settlement items are verified and do not overlap. There are no deposits, subsidies, other receipts or payments, or further opening and closing differences. The example uses a consistent VAT-inclusive cash-reconciliation basis; it is not a profit or tax calculation.
| Reconciliation item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Reporting net income | RMB 102,000 |
| Less current fees withheld | RMB 6,000 |
| Less current funds not yet received | RMB 8,000 |
| Add prior-period funds received now | RMB 5,000 |
| Expected bank receipts | RMB 93,000 |
102,000 − 6,000 − 8,000 + 5,000 = RMB 93,000. Under these assumptions, bank receipts are lower for explained reasons; neither total should be forced to match the other. If actual receipts still differ, investigate the unmatched records. Neither RMB 93,000 nor RMB 102,000, nor their difference, can simply be treated as taxable profit or additional tax due.
What remains after the cash bridge balances?
Cash reconciliation is one layer. Accounting records, invoices and tax filings need their own assessment of entity, period and amount under the merchant's applicable rules. A withheld fee does not establish that every condition for an expense deduction or input-VAT credit is satisfied. A bank receipt does not automatically establish a current-period sale either.
For each difference, record the original source, explanation, evidence gap and person responsible for following up. Distinguish a confirmed reporting error, an error in the merchant's records and a legitimate difference in definitions. Verify the issue with the relevant party rather than changing the raw export to make it balance. A responsible finance professional should assess any filing correction or cross-period treatment against the specific rules.
Turn the review into a workable next step
Prepare a material index identifying the entity and period, with orders and refunds, settlement charges, bank records and unmatched items. Keep those records within the business's authorized material access; do not post raw statements or identity information in public comments.
For transaction matching, continue with the receivables and bank-reconciliation guide. To see how business facts can structure a tax question, read the CaiGeek tax-consulting and compliance example. It illustrates a working approach, not a completed review of your company. To discuss a suitable product or service arrangement, use the official contact page and describe the entity, period and unresolved issue.
Written with AI assistance. Examples illustrate analysis methods; apply them using business records and relevant conditions.
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