Why do financial events sometimes appear days after the order date?

It is common for financial events in MerchantSpring reports to appear several days after the original order date. This happens because Amazon processes financial transactions in stages before publishing them through its financial APIs.

MerchantSpring retrieves these financial events directly from Amazon, so the timing of the events reflects Amazon’s internal accounting process.

How Amazon Processes Financial Events

A typical Amazon transaction may follow this sequence:

1. Customer places an order
2. Amazon confirms and processes the order
3. The order ships
4. Amazon applies fees and charges
5. Amazon posts financial events to the account

The final step—when Amazon posts the financial event—is when the data becomes available through the API.

MerchantSpring records the event using this posted date.

Types of Financial Events That May Be Delayed

Examples include:

• Referral fees
• Fulfilment fees
• Refund transactions
• Promotional rebates
• Adjustments or reimbursements

Some of these events may appear days or even weeks after the original sale.

Why MerchantSpring Uses the Posted Date

Using Amazon’s posted financial date ensures that MerchantSpring’s reporting aligns with Amazon’s finalized accounting records.

This approach helps ensure:

• Accurate profit reporting
• Correct settlement reconciliation
• Consistent financial tracking over time

Notes: 

• Financial events often lag behind order dates.
• Refunds and adjustments may appear much later than the original transaction.
• This timing reflects Amazon’s internal accounting process, not a reporting error.

Over time, all related financial events will be incorporated into reports as Amazon publishes them.