Questions
Everything people ask before uploading
If the answer you need is not here, the methodology page explains how every check works, and the security page states exactly what happens to your file.
What file do I upload?
A Shopify Payments payout export, or an Amazon settlement report. In Shopify that is Settings, then Payments, then View payouts, then View Transactions, then Export, choosing the date range and the CSV type. For Amazon it is the Flat File V2 settlement report. In legacy Seller Central, go to the All Statements page of the Payments report, then click Download Flat File V2 in the Actions column for the settlement period. In new Seller Central, go to Finance Report. Amazon's help does not name the format of the download there, and PayoutCheck reads only Flat File V2. Downloads are not available for the current settlement period. These steps are from Amazon's help for selling in the United States, and menus differ by Seller Central version. Upload the file exactly as it downloaded, without opening it in a spreadsheet first.
Do I need an account?
No. There is nothing to sign up for and no password to choose. You upload a file, you get a link to your audit, and that link is how you get back to it.
What do I get for free?
The whole audit. Every transaction is read and classified, your gross sales, fees, refunds and net payout are added up, the file is reconciled against the payout total it declares, and you are told how many potential discrepancies were found, how many more things are worth a look, and what kind each one is. None of that is behind the payment.
What does the $19 report add?
The part that takes work to act on: the amount each finding involves, what it means in plain language, the exact rows from your own file quoted as evidence, what to do about it, and the report as a CSV file and as a page you can save as a PDF.
Do I pay before I see anything?
No. The audit runs on your file first and the results are yours to read before you are asked for anything. Paying does not run more analysis; the analysis is already finished. It opens the detail.
Is it a subscription?
No, and neither way of paying is. A single report is one payment for one settlement file. The 3-Month Pass is one payment that opens up to 5 full reports a day for 90 days, and then simply stops - nothing renews, nothing is charged again, and there is nothing to cancel.
What is the 3-Month Pass?
One payment that opens the full report on up to 5 audits a day for 90 days. It suits somebody reconciling several stores or several months at once. It is not a subscription: it does not renew, it cannot be cancelled because there is nothing running, and when the 90 days are up it stops working and nothing is charged. You get a code when you buy it, and that code is how you use it on any device.
Does PayoutCheck connect to my store?
No. It never touches your Shopify or Amazon account, asks for no API key and installs no app. The audit runs on the file you hand it and nothing else.
What happens to my file?
It is encrypted the moment it arrives, before anything reads it, and destroyed within 25 hours of the audit finishing. It is never sold, and it is not sent to anyone but our hosting provider, which stores it. We use it to run your audit. We keep only a small log about it, such as its size, a fingerprint of it (a SHA-256 hash) and how many findings there were, never the contents. You can delete it, and the whole audit with it, from the audit page at any time. Backups of the server can still hold a copy for a limited time; the data retention page explains how long.
How long do you keep my results?
A free check is deleted within 25 hours of the audit finishing. If you buy the full report, it is kept for 3 days after you pay, so you can download the PDF or CSV. A report opened with a 3-Month Pass is kept until the pass ends, and at least 3 days. The results include a copy of every row of your file, with its original text (less any Customer First Name and Customer Last Name columns, which are dropped as the file is read), because that is what the report quotes as evidence; it is kept and deleted with them. You can delete any of it sooner from the audit page. Backups of the server can still hold a copy for a limited time; the data retention page explains how long.
Do you see my card?
No. Checkout runs through Dodo Payments, who are the merchant of record and handle the card details on their own pages. PayoutCheck is told that a payment succeeded, for how much, a payment reference and the buyer's email. The email is erased 120 days after payment.
What if my payout turns out to be correct?
Then the report says so, and you have an answer you did not have before. You can see that for free, and there is no reason to pay for the detail on a file that reconciles.
Is a finding proof I was overcharged?
No. A finding is a place to look. PayoutCheck reports what the rows in your file say and what does not add up in them; whether a platform owes you money is between you and the platform. This is an analysis tool, not accounting or legal advice.