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Why don't my PayPal sales receipts add up to the same amount as my bank transfer from PayPal, and how do I match them in QuickBooks Online?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
April 19, 2025
4 replies
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So in the PayPal tab theres a bunch of sales receipts which is when the customer uses PayPal to buy a product on my shopify site.

When I select all of those which are ‘received’ it totals $XX

However when I go to the chase bank tab and select all the money received (which should be bundled payments) from PayPal it’s only $ZZ. The money regularly gets transferred to the bank account (bundled not individually) so I’m not sure how this doesn’t match.

My initial thought was to exclude all the PayPal tab money received sales receipt and only record it in coming in the chase bank tab but its not matching up.

QuickBooks Online

Best answer by sofiamdc-2341

The total of your PayPal sales receipts and the amount that hits your bank account don't match because PayPal deducts its fees before sending the transfer. Your sales receipts record the full gross sale amount, but the bank transfer is the net amount after fees, so the two totals will always differ by the sum of PayPal's transaction fees for that period. This is expected behavior, not an error.

How to record and match PayPal deposits correctly

The cleanest way to handle this is with a bank deposit that includes the fees as a negative line item:

Go to +Create, then Bank Deposit.
Select the bank account where the PayPal transfer landed.
In the Select the payments included in this deposit section, check the individual sales receipts that belong to this batch transfer.
In the Add funds to this deposit section, add a new line:

Payee: PayPal (or your payment processor)
Account: the expense account you use for PayPal fees (such as PayPal Fees or Merchant Fees)
Amount: enter the total fees as a negative number (for example, -15.42)

Confirm the deposit total now matches the bank transfer amount.
Select Save and close.
Go to All apps > Accounting > Bank transactions, find the PayPal transfer in the For Review tab, and match it to the bank deposit you just created.

Why this works

The gross sales receipts record your income accurately. The fee line in the deposit records the cost of accepting PayPal as an expense. The net deposit total then matches what the bank shows, keeping your reconciliation clean.

Your accountant can confirm which expense account is right for your setup, especially if you use both the older PayPal integration and the newer PayPal Connector.

If you have further questions about reconciling your PayPal or Shopify transactions, we're happy to help.

Check out:

Bryan_M

QuickBooks Team

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, @criesner. I'll share some information that can help you achieve your goal.

If the Sales receipt is set to automatically match, it will automatically link with the deposit transactions that have the same dates and amounts, which could be why you can’t see them.

However, if this isn't the case, you can refer to the reasons below to see why they're not matching:

Check that the transaction hasn't been reconciled yet.
Confirm that the transaction was made using the correct bank account.
Ensure the transaction hasn't already been matched with another transaction from the bank.
If it is a deposit or payment received, ensure it is not on the Undeposited.

Additionally, you can visit this article to match transactions in QBO manually: Use the find match tool to manually match transactions in QuickBooks.

Once resolved, you can now begin to reconcile your all transactions.

Moreover, for thorough guidance and managing your app and bank transactions in QuickBooks, you can reach the QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted.

Never hesitate to return here if you have additional questions about matching sales receipts and deposit transactions. We'll be willing to assist you. Have a good day.

C

criesnerAuthor

the problem is the money comes in as lets say $10 but then once a month it bulk transfers from paypal to bank account so lets say $100. when i add up all the $10 from paypal in quickbooks that total doesnt match the $100 transfer in quickbooks bank

Clark_B

QuickBooks Team

The discrepancy between your added PayPal Sales Receipts and your downloaded bank transactions is due to the Sales Receipts already accounted for the PayPal fees, @criesner. Let's delve deeper into why your total doesn't line up with the $100 transfer.

First, could you clarify whether you are using the older version connected to PayPal or the newer PayPal Connector? It's important to note that the discrepancy in totals is due to the PayPal fees being included. These fees are added to the batch deposit, and you won't see the fees separately in the transaction list.

Additionally, these fees will be categorized into a PayPal Fees account. Therefore, when you total the Sales Receipts, you're seeing only the gross amount because the fees have already been included in the compound deposit/batch deposit under the Add funds to this deposit section.

Moreover, I recommend checking whether the deposit along with the PayPal fees, is recorded. If not, you'll have to download your PayPal bank statement and create a Bank Deposit record. Then, scroll down to the Add funds to this deposit section, enter the fees as a negative amount, and select the expense account dedicated to tracking PayPal fees. Once done, you can match the created bank deposit to your downloaded transactions.

For visual reference:

After everything looks good, check this article to help you reconcile your accounts so they always match your bank and credit card statements: Reconcile an account in QBO.

Stay in touch if there's anything else I can help you with matching your bank transfers. I'll be right here to provide the information that you need.

sofiamdc-2341

Answer

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