A Stripe payout is one bank line made up of several days' client payments, with Stripe's fees, refunds and disputes already taken off. To apply it automatically, attach the matter and bill reference to every payment, import Stripe's itemised payout reconciliation report each afternoon, and post each receipt at gross to its matter, with the fees posted separately through a clearing account. A provider that pays out gross and invoices its fee separately takes the fee-splitting step out altogether.
In this article
The short version
- A Stripe payout is net of fees, refunds and disputes and normally holds payments from three business days earlier, so it matches no single day's receipts.
- For law firms the lump sum mixes bill payments and money on account, which must be allocated promptly under rule 4.2 of the SRA Accounts Rules.
- Post each transaction from Stripe's itemised payout reconciliation report at gross through a clearing account, with fees to a separate expense code.
- Automation depends on attaching matter and bill references to every payment, keeping automatic payouts on and importing the report in the afternoon.
- Adfin pays out in full every weekday with its fee invoiced separately, so the bank credit equals the payments inside it.
Why the payout never matches the day's receipts
The bank statement shows £4,565.30 from Stripe. A client rings to say they paid £1,800 on Thursday, a fee earner wants to know whether the £2,500 on account has arrived, and neither figure appears anywhere on the statement.
Stripe pays out money once it becomes available, normally three business days after the payment on a UK account, so Tuesday's payout holds last Thursday's card payments. The payout is also net: each payment arrives less its processing fee, and refunds and disputes come off the same balance. The accounts team gets one credit and has to rebuild everything inside it.
For a law firm the lump sum also mixes kinds of money. Stripe allows one payout bank account per currency on each account, so bill payments and money on account arrive together in the same line. Money on account is client money until you bill for it, and a mixed receipt has to be allocated promptly to the right account under rule 4.2 of the SRA Accounts Rules. How your firm handles that with any card provider is a question to settle with your COFA before you automate anything.
How to split a payout back into client payments
Work from Stripe's itemised payout reconciliation report, which lists every transaction inside a payout, with the gross amount, the fee, the net amount, the payout ID and any references you attached when the payment was taken. The net column for one payout ID adds up to the bank line.
Post it through a clearing account. Each receipt goes in at gross, fees and refunds come out, and the bank credit clears it. When the clearing account is back to zero, the payout is fully applied, and anything left over is an error you find the same day.
Taking the £4,565.30 payout from above (fees are illustrative):
| Transaction | Matter | Type | Gross | Fee | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card payment | 2210 | Bill B-10412 | £1,800.00 | £27.20 | £1,772.80 |
| Card payment | 2231 | On account | £2,500.00 | £37.70 | £2,462.30 |
| Card payment | 2187 | Bill B-10409 | £640.00 | £9.80 | £630.20 |
| Refund | 2150 | Overpayment returned | -£300.00 | £0.00 | -£300.00 |
Post the three receipts at gross to their matters, post the £300 refund against matter 2150, post £74.70 to a card fees expense code, and clear the lot against the £4,565.30 bank credit. Each client's ledger then shows exactly what that client paid.
How to make the matching automatic
The report is only as useful as the references in it. A payment taken through a generic link shows up as an amount and a card holder's name, which a person can trace but a rule can't post. Set up the automation in this order:
- Put references on every payment. When each payment request is created, attach the matter number, the bill number (or blank), and whether it's a bill payment or money on account.
- Keep automatic daily payouts switched on. The payout reconciliation report only works with automatic payouts, and instant payouts can't be tied back to the transactions inside them.
- Import the report in the afternoon. A day's data is normally ready by midday the next day, so a morning import will often be incomplete.
- Match on matter, bill and gross amount. Lines that match post themselves and the rest go to an exceptions queue.
Your team's time then goes on that queue: missing references, one payment covering two bills, part payments, and payments against bills that have since been credited. If your billing system creates the Stripe payment for you, check which references it passes through.
How gross settlement shortens the routine
The fee line only exists because the fee is taken before the money arrives. Adfin pays out every weekday at the full amount clients paid and sends its fee as a separate invoice, so the bank credit equals the sum of the payments inside it. Card payments arrive two working days after the client pays, and pay by bank the same day. Adfin also matches each payment to its invoice, including part payments, overpayments and payments with a missing reference, and syncs both ways with Xero and QuickBooks. There's no fee to strip out of each payout, and the fee invoice is posted once through the purchase ledger.
Most of the exceptions queue starts with a payment that arrived without its reference. If unpaid bills are chased with a payment link that already carries the matter and bill number, the payment that follows matches on arrival. Adfin's Customer Agents can send those reminders over email, SMS or WhatsApp on a schedule your firm sets, with your team approving what goes out.
Common questions
Why doesn't my Stripe payout match yesterday's payments? Stripe pays out funds once they become available, normally three business days after capture on a UK account, and deducts fees, refunds and disputes first. The payout reconciliation report shows which transactions each payout contains.
Which Stripe report should I reconcile from? The itemised payout reconciliation report, with automatic payouts switched on. It gives gross, fee and net for every transaction, plus the payout ID and your references.
Should receipts be posted at gross or net? At gross, so each client ledger shows the full amount the client paid. Post the provider's fees separately and let a clearing account take the difference.
Can one Stripe account pay out to two different bank accounts? Not in the same currency. Stripe allows one payout bank account per currency on each account, so a second GBP destination means a second Stripe account.
What happens when a refund or chargeback exceeds the day's takings? Stripe deducts it from your balance, and if the balance goes negative it can debit the linked bank account. Post each one against the matter it relates to and check with your COFA which account that debit could reach.
Does gross settlement remove the need to reconcile? No. You still match every receipt to its matter and bill and reconcile your bank and ledgers, but the bank credit equals the payments and the fee arrives as its own invoice.
Sources
- Stripe - Receive payouts (accurate as of September 2026) https://docs.stripe.com/payouts
- Stripe - Balances and settlement time (accurate as of September 2026) https://docs.stripe.com/payments/balances
- Stripe - Payout reconciliation report (accurate as of September 2026) https://docs.stripe.com/reports/payout-reconciliation
- Stripe - Can I add more than one bank account for payouts? (accurate as of September 2026) https://support.stripe.com/questions/can-i-add-more-than-one-bank-account-for-payouts
- SRA - SRA Accounts Rules (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/accounts-rules/
- Adfin - Pricing (accurate as of September 2026) https://www.adfin.com/pricing
