If you’ve noticed that your Amazon sales don’t appear in your accounting software immediately after a customer places an order, you’re encountering Amazon’s deferred transaction system\u2014part of how their payment system works for all sellers. This guide explains why Amazon holds payments temporarily, how this affects transaction timing in Synder, and what to expect from deferred transactions. Here are the main points we\u2019ll cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amazon’s deferred transactions are sales where Amazon temporarily holds your sales funds and schedules them for payout at a future settlement date. Even though a customer has purchased your product and paid Amazon, you won’t receive those funds (or see them in Synder) until Amazon “releases” the transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think of it as Amazon holding your money in escrow until certain conditions are met, rather than paying you immediately when the sale occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amazon expanded this system significantly in November 2024 to balance seller cash flow with consumer protection. There are two main reasons your transactions might be deferred:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Synder imports your Amazon transactions, you’ll see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means there will be a gap between when you record the sale and when you record receiving the money, which accurately reflects your actual cash flow. This gap is referred to as \u201cthe reserved period\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of October 2024, both FBA and Merchant Fulfilled orders are subject to deferred transactions. For standard orders, you can expect to see payments appear 1\u20132 weeks after the original sale date. For Amazon business orders, the delay is typically longer\u2014around 4\u20136 weeks after the sale.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Synder can only import transactions that Amazon has “released” as Amazon doesn’t make deferred transactions available through their API or settlement reports until they’re ready to be released on a payout date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While you wait for transactions to appear in Synder, you can check their status directly in Amazon:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here you’ll see a list of pending sales with their expected release dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s completely normal to see a delay between when a sale happens and when it shows up in your accounting software. Here\u2019s what to expect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since Amazon controls when payments are released, it\u2019s helpful to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Why you don’t see recent sales immediately<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to view your deferred transactions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Managing cash flow expectations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Important notes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n