Revenue Recognition in AskBiz

AskBiz recognises revenue at the point of order placement for eCommerce channels — the moment a customer places and pays for an order, that amount is counted as revenue for that date. This is consistent with accrual accounting principles and with how most eCommerce platforms (Shopify, Amazon, Etsy) record revenue. It differs from cash accounting (which recognises revenue when cash arrives in your bank) and from some accounting software configurations that use invoice date or delivery date.

Three common causes of differences: Timing (orders placed via Shopify on Monday settle in your bank on Wednesday or Thursday — a gap of 2–3 days appears between AskBiz revenue and bank deposits), Fees (AskBiz reports gross revenue before platform fees; your bank receives the net amount after fees are deducted — the difference is the platform's fee), and Refunds (AskBiz deducts refunds in the period they occur; your bank may show refunds debited days after the order date). These differences are normal and explainable — they do not indicate a problem with your data.

For businesses with subscription products or annual prepayments: the amount received upfront is deferred revenue — you have received cash but have not yet delivered the full service. Accounting standards (IFRS 15, UK GAAP) require deferring this revenue and recognising it monthly as the service is delivered. AskBiz handles subscription revenue recognition automatically when Stripe Billing or Chargebee is connected — monthly recognised revenue is shown separately from cash collected. For manual subscription tracking, upload a monthly recognition schedule via CSV.

For clean reconciliation: use the same recognition basis in both systems (both accrual or both cash), ensure your accounting software has the same fee deductions configured as AskBiz, and reconcile at the monthly level rather than the transaction level (minor timing differences smooth out over a month). The most efficient approach is to use AskBiz for trading analytics and your accounting software for the authoritative financial record — they serve different purposes and need not match exactly at the transaction level.