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Understanding Shopify Pending Payments

When using Bookkeep to automate your Shopify accounting, you may come across "Pending Payments" recorded in your Shopify journal entries. This article explains what pending payments typically represent and how Bookkeep ensures accurate financial tracking. Below is an example of a scenario where pending payments would appear on this date:

Shopify dashboard

In the image above, no payments were captured for this date; therefore, pending payments would be recorded.

What Are Shopify Pending Payments?​

Bookkeep captures pending payments when payments are not present for a order that occurred on a particular date. This can happen for various reasons, as discussed below:

Unpaid Orders​

An order is placed but paid at a later time. This causes an initial debit to the pending payments since the accounts receivable balance has increased.

Repayment of Unpaid Orders​

When a previously placed order is paid, the repayment is captured on the payment date. This causes a credit to the pending payments line since the accounts receivable balance has decreased.

Pending Refunds​

The refund has been initiated, but the associated transaction linked to the refund has not been completed. Once the refund transaction is completed, Bookkeep will capture this as a reversal of the initial pending amount.

Imported Orders Without Imported Payments​

An order is imported into Shopify without its associated payment details. In these cases, while the order has likely been paid, Shopify does not contain the payment data, making the order appear unpaid.

Orders Marked Paid​

An unpaid order may be marked as paid and would appear under the pending payment line. Bookkeep typically encounters this in scenarios where items were given away (e.g., gift cards for a promotional giveaway). In these cases, Bookkeep has a specific subcategory under pending payments to indicate orders marked as paid without any actual payments. See below for example:

Pending payment subcategory

For some customers, this subcategory "Orders marked paid" could represent an expense for promotional giveaways. However, it could also indicate an operational issue where store personnel are incorrectly marking unpaid orders as paid.

Bookkeep Handles Pending Payments​

Bookkeep is designed to automate your Shopify accounting, ensuring transactions are correctly categorized and recorded in your accounting software. Here’s how we handle pending payments:

Payments are Recognized Once Finalized​

Bookkeep does not record pending payments as true payments until they are fully captured. This prevents incorrect payment recognition and ensures your books match actual cash flow.

Tracking Payment Status​

Our system syncs Shopify payment data daily, updating transactions once a pending payment becomes finalized. This ensures:

  • Transactions are recorded only when the payments are captured
  • Refunds and adjustments are handled correctly
  • Payment discrepancies are flagged for review

For any issues related to pending payments in your Shopify accounting, please contact us at [email protected] for assistance!