Independent Ecommerce Settlement Verification · United States
Most ecommerce books carry a gap nobody has independently verified.
The settlement chain between an ecommerce platform and the bank account is undocumented in most professional engagements. Integrations confirm the sync. Platforms confirm the payout. Neither confirms what the bank actually received across every channel, nor why any difference exists.
LFG reconstructs that chain from raw source exports and the bank statement, independent of the accounting ledger and integration layer. All major ecommerce platforms, online marketplaces and payment service providers are reconciled simultaneously, and the result is a structured evidence bundle that a reviewing professional can open, interrogate, and file.
Currently accepting engagements from qualifying firms in the United States.
Bank statement composition: 6 platforms identified
Platform-related costs
Exception register — isolated and categorized
Shopify match status (360 payouts)
The certainty gap that every multi-channel merchant carries, and most professionals inherit
Ecommerce platforms typically batch gross sales, deduct fees, net refunds and deposit a single consolidated figure into the bank days later. Every platform and marketplace settles on its own schedule with its own fee structure and timing. The amount that arrives in the bank almost never matches any figure in the platform's reporting.
Standard integrations push data into the ledger but cannot verify whether the net deposit ties back to the underlying transactions. The accounting software says one thing, the integration layer says another, and each platform's own reporting says something different again. Clearing accounts accumulate unexplained differences across every revenue channel simultaneously.
The problem is not that money is missing. The problem is that certainty is missing.
Until it is reconstructed independently from the source data, it cannot be established at all.
We produce the multi-platform settlement evidence bundle so you can close the books with documented certainty and bill the engagement accordingly.
We reconstruct the settlement chain from raw source exports and the bank statement, independent of the ledger and integration layer, and deliver a structured evidence bundle your working papers can carry.
Independent reconstruction from raw source data
We reconstruct the settlement chain from raw source exports for every platform the merchant uses, against the bank statement. We do not connect to any platform, to the bank, or to the accounting software. The result is not influenced by existing ledger errors, broken integrations, or misconfigured sync tools.
The Settlement Verification Evidence Pack
Each engagement produces a structured evidence bundle containing:
- Bank statement composition analysis. Every transaction in the bank statement classified by source platform before reconciliation begins. All major ecommerce platforms, online marketplaces and payment service providers identified and quantified in a single pass. Deposits for platforms where no source export was provided are documented but remain unreconciled.
- Platform-by-platform reconciliation with match status scoring. Each platform's payouts matched against corresponding bank deposits. Every match is an exact amount match and is assigned a status: CLEARED (no further review ordinarily required), REVIEW (professional attention recommended), or INVESTIGATE (investigation required). Items that cannot be matched are isolated in the exception register, never forced.
- Exception isolation with categorized reasons. Unmatched payouts, unmatched deposits, timing anomalies, negative net periods and incomplete statuses are separated by platform, categorized by reason, and assigned recommended actions.
- Fee and reserve decomposition. Platform fees, refunds, chargebacks, dispute reversals, reserve holds and releases, and gateway deductions documented by component type across each platform.
- Working paper schedules. XLSX schedules including multi-platform matched, multi-platform exceptions, bank statement composition, and payout composition. Designed for the reviewing professional to open, filter, and interrogate directly.
- Manager review memo. A one-page summary for the reviewing partner or manager, pre-digesting the key findings, match status distribution, and items requiring attention. Designed for efficient sign-off without reading the full evidence pack.
- Engagement understanding. A scope document covering purpose, materials required, deliverables, responsibilities, limitations, and professional statements. Provided before processing begins.
- Run manifest. A provenance record documenting engine version, source file references and cryptographic hashes, validation outcomes, and a complete output artifact register. Enables independent verification that the source data processed is identical to what was originally received.
Whether the result confirms the settlement chain is sound or isolates specific exceptions, you receive documented certainty rather than spreadsheet guesswork.
Why firms trust this process
The evidence pack methodology, deliverable structure, and professional statements are designed with reference to over 70 professional, regulatory, and technical standards, including AICPA SSFS No. 1, AT-C 215, AU-C documentation and evidence standards, AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, Federal Rule of Evidence 702, ASC 606 and ASC 305, IRS Circular 230, and FTC GLBA Safeguards Rule. A detailed standards framework document is available on request.
When to request a settlement verification
- The merchant sells on multiple platforms and nobody has reconciled all settlement streams against the bank in one place.
- A dispute or investigation requires independent reconstruction of the settlement chain across one or more ecommerce platforms.
- A transaction or due diligence process requires verified settlement data across the merchant's entire revenue stack.
- A new client's books are behind and clearing accounts carry months of unreconciled activity across multiple platforms.
- Bank deposits do not tie cleanly to platform payouts and the professional team cannot explain the gap.
- Fees, refunds, reserves or gateway routing appear to be inflating clearing account balances.
- The integration reports that everything synced, but the bank statement tells a different story.
Our offers
About Ledger Forensics Group
Approximately $6.5 trillion flows through ecommerce platforms annually. Ecommerce platforms and online marketplaces each record gross sales, deduct fees, process refunds and batch the net result into payouts that land in the merchant's bank days later, on different schedules, in different amounts, with different reporting formats.
No tool on the market independently verifies whether those payouts reconcile to cash received across the complete revenue stack. Integration tools post data into the ledger. When the ledger drifts from cash reality, the accountant is left reconciling three conflicting sources manually: the platform, the integration layer and the bank.
Ledger Forensics Group was built to close that gap. We take the raw platform exports and the bank statement, reconstruct the settlement chain for every channel provided, and return a structured evidence pack that documents what matched, categorizes what did not, and leaves nothing unresolved.
We work as a specialist subcontractor, instructed by accounting firms, forensic practitioners, litigation support specialists, and due diligence teams. We do not access the accounting software. We do not provide audit opinions or legal conclusions. We provide the settlement evidence so the instructing professional can act with certainty.
The people behind the process
Former member of the International Valuations team at CBRE Paris (€13bn+ valued annually) and cross-border Capital Markets at JLL, advising institutional investors, HNWI, UHNWI and sovereign wealth funds. Chartered Surveyor (MRICS), former RICS Assessor of Professional Competence, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS). Holds a master's degree from the University of Reading and a BA (Hons) from the University of Brighton.
Academic paper on computational truth preservation in high-stakes regulatory environments currently under peer review, in association with the University of Oxford. The verification architecture is the subject of a patent application under examination in Singapore, represented by Marks & Clerk LLP.
Frequently asked questions
Understanding the Service
Which platforms do you cover?
Dedicated reconciliation modules are available for the following platforms. If the merchant sells on a platform not listed here, let us know and we will confirm what we can support for your engagement. Our bank statement composition analysis also identifies additional platforms in the bank data, even where no source export has been provided.
| Platform | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify | ✓ | |
| Amazon | ✓ | |
| eBay | ✓ | |
| Etsy | ✓ | |
| TikTok Shop | ✓ | |
| WooCommerce | ✓ | Settlement data comes from the payment gateway layer (typically Stripe). WooPayments CSV exports supported. Bank reference IDs only available from December 2024 and not retroactive. |
| Walmart Marketplace | ✓ | International sellers face 21-day payment holds. 180-day data retention only. |
| BigCommerce | ✓ | BigCommerce Payments launched March 2026. BigCommerce itself has no native settlement or payout reports. Settlement data comes entirely from the gateway layer. |
What is the bank statement composition analysis?
Before we reconcile platform data, we classify every transaction in the bank statement by source. Every credit and every debit is categorized by source platform covering Shopify, PayPal, Etsy, Amazon, Stripe and others, including both revenue deposits and platform-related costs flowing through the account. Everything that does not match a known platform pattern is classified as non-platform activity.
This means the instructing firm sees a complete picture of what is flowing through the account before any reconciliation begins: which platforms are active, how much is moving through each one, and where platform-related costs are being deducted alongside the revenue deposits.
Platforms for which no source exports have been provided are still identified and quantified in the bank data: deposit counts, totals and the classification basis are all documented. This shows the instructing firm exactly what remains unreconciled and whether additional source exports should be obtained.
The composition analysis is included as standard in every engagement.
What do the match status levels mean?
Every matched payout is assigned a match status based on the strength of the match. In every case, the amount is an exact match. The system does not estimate, round, or force partial matches.
CLEARED: Exact amount matched, expected settlement window, unique one-to-one match, payout status confirmed. No further review ordinarily required for the limited purpose of confirming the payout-to-deposit linkage.
REVIEW: Exact amount matched, but either the timing fell outside the expected window or multiple candidates existed and the match was resolved by date proximity. Professional review recommended.
INVESTIGATE: Exact amount matched, but with significant date distance or a non-standard payout status. Investigation required.
Items that do not match at any level are not forced. They are removed from the matching pool entirely and isolated in the exception register with a categorized reason and a recommended action.
In validated cases, between 93% and 95% of payouts resolve at CLEARED. The system is designed to never produce a false positive at CLEARED. When in doubt, the item is downgraded or isolated, never promoted.
Is this a sync tool or integration?
No. We do not connect to any third-party platforms, to the bank, or to the accounting software. We work from the raw source files independently. The result cannot be influenced or contaminated by existing ledger errors or integration misconfigurations.
We already use A2X (or Link My Books, or Synder). How is this different?
These tools automate the posting of platform transactions into your accounting software. They solve the daily sync problem. We solve a different problem: when the sync has produced data in the ledger but the clearing account still will not tie to the bank, when historical books need reconstruction from scratch, or when the case requires independent evidence from raw source data that no integration has touched.
Many of the firms that instruct us use A2X or similar tools for their daily workflow. They instruct us for the cases those tools cannot resolve.
What currencies do you support?
The system supports 30 currencies: GBP, USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, NZD, JPY, CNY, HKD, SGD, CHF, SEK, NOK, DKK, PLN, CZK, ZAR, BRL, MXN, INR, KRW, THB, MYR, IDR, PHP, TWD, AED, SAR, ILS and TRY.
The evidence pack and working paper schedules render in the currency of the engagement. We work with settled amounts in the payout currency as reported by the platform and the bank. Multi-currency settlement analysis — where a merchant receives payouts in more than one currency — is available on request.
How It Works
Do you need access to QuickBooks or Xero?
No. The settlement verification works from raw platform exports and the bank statement only. No accounting software access is requested or required.
Do I need to provide exports from every platform the merchant uses?
We need the source export from every platform you want reconciled. The bank statement and at least one platform export are the minimum requirements. For a multi-channel merchant, the more platform exports you provide, the more complete the picture.
Our bank statement composition analysis classifies every transaction by source regardless of which exports are provided, so even before reconciliation begins, you can see exactly which platforms are active in the account and how much is flowing through each one. Platforms where no source export is provided are documented with deposit counts and totals, but remain unreconciled until the relevant export is obtained.
If exports are not available at the point of instruction, they can be added in a follow-up engagement.
Which banks do you support?
We support major US bank exports in CSV and XLSX formats. If we have not processed a specific bank format before, we build support as part of the engagement.
How long does it take?
Turnaround depends on case complexity and file quality. Most eligible cases are delivered within 48 hours of receiving complete, validated source files. We confirm expected timing at the point of engagement.
Quality and Accuracy
How do you ensure accuracy and quality?
Every engagement runs a rigorous multi-stage validation pipeline covering input integrity, platform classification, settlement reconstruction, deterministic matching and exception categorization before a single result is published.
Every match is tested against multiple parameters before a status is assigned: exact amount to the cent, date proximity against defined settlement window thresholds, one-to-one uniqueness and payout status confirmation. No rounding, no estimation, no partial matches. The bank classification includes safeguards to ensure unusual or high-value transactions are reviewed before delivery. Items that do not match any known platform pattern are classified as non-platform activity and documented in the bank statement composition.
The full methodology is disclosed as part of the evidence pack: procedures performed, matching rules applied, exception categories and their definitions, coverage qualification logic and all limitations. Every input file is registered with a cryptographic hash (SHA256) at intake. Every run produces a versioned manifest recording engine version, source file references, hashes, validation outcomes and output artifacts. The same source files processed through the same engine version will always produce the same result.
In validated cases, between 93% and 95% of payouts resolve at CLEARED. The system is designed to never produce a false positive at CLEARED. In the unlikely event that a parameter is uncertain, the item is downgraded or isolated and clearly specified in the evidence bundle.
Note: The methodology described here and disclosed in the deliverables represents the evidentiary output layer. The underlying verification architecture is a proprietary codebase developed and wholly owned by Ledger Forensics Group. It is not licensed, not open-source, and not dependent on any third-party reconciliation platform.
What happens when a payout does not match a bank deposit?
It is categorized by reason: timing gap, amount not found in bank data, failed payout, negative net period, or incomplete status. Each unmatched item is assigned a recommended action. The exception register documents every unmatched item so the instructing firm knows exactly what requires attention and why.
Is this an audit or expert report?
No. This is a specialist settlement verification, not an audit, attestation, or expert report. We do not provide an audit opinion or any form of assurance.
We operate as a specialist subcontractor, instructed by the firm, not by the merchant. We do not access, rely upon, or post entries to the client's accounting system. The verification is performed entirely from raw source exports and the bank statement, structurally independent of the ledger and integration layer. This separation means the output cannot be influenced by existing accounting errors, broken integrations, or the practices of the parties involved.
The evidence pack is designed against AICPA SSFS No. 1 forensic services expectations, structured so that a practitioner with no prior connection to the engagement can review and file the work without rewriting it. The instructing professional retains full responsibility for all conclusions, materiality judgments, accounting treatment and downstream use.
Can the evidence pack be used in legal proceedings?
The evidence pack is not prepared as expert testimony within the meaning of Federal Rule of Evidence 702. However, the methodology is deterministic, the inputs are cryptographically hashed and the output is reproducible. If the engagement purpose changes to dispute or investigation support, the scope can be re-papered to reflect applicable evidential requirements. The instructing professional should obtain advice on disclosure and privilege before distributing the deliverables in the context of proceedings.
Working With Us
Who typically instructs this review?
Verifications are typically instructed by accounting firms, forensic accountants, litigation support specialists, due diligence specialists, M&A brokers and quality of earnings providers. We do not engage directly with the merchant unless instructed to do so by the firm.
For accounting firms managing portfolios of ecommerce clients, the engagement is typically instructed on a per-client basis. Firms with recurring needs can establish a standing instruction arrangement after the first engagement is complete, reducing the scoping overhead for subsequent cases.
For forensic and litigation support practitioners, the engagement is typically case-specific and may be scoped to a particular analysis period or set of platforms relevant to the matter. The evidence pack is structured for inclusion in working paper files and can accompany the practitioner's own report to courts, creditors, or other stakeholders.
For due diligence and quality of earnings teams, the engagement is typically instructed as part of a transaction support workstream. The evidence pack verifies the settlement chain across all revenue channels independently of the target's own records, providing the acquirer's advisers with a source-led view of what actually settled.
How does LFG fit within our firm's workflow?
We provide the verified settlement data that your firm needs to do its work with certainty. For accounting firms, that means a clean reconciliation across every platform channel so the month-end close is based on documented evidence rather than spreadsheet estimates. For forensic and litigation support practitioners, it means an independent reconstruction of the company's revenue position across all channels that can go straight into your working papers. For due diligence and QoE teams, it means verified settlement data across the merchant's full revenue stack that supports your financial analysis.
Your firm instructs us, provides the source files and receives the evidence bundle. We supply disambiguated data for your firm to apply professional judgment, set the materiality thresholds and decide what the findings mean for your client. The evidence pack is structured so the reviewing professional can open it cold and understand the work without a walkthrough.
Can we instruct you on a recurring basis for multiple clients?
Yes. Each client engagement is separately scoped and delivered. Firms with recurring settlement verification needs across their client portfolio can establish a standing instruction arrangement after the first engagement.
What if the review finds nothing wrong?
A report confirming the settlement chain is sound is worth the same as one that identifies exceptions. The fee is for documented certainty, not for the nature of the findings. A clean result means you can file the evidence and close the matter with confidence.
Do we need client consent before sharing their data with you?
We treat every engagement as if it will be reviewed by your firm's compliance team. Source files are transmitted via TLS encryption and received through a controlled intake path. All processing takes place in a controlled, encrypted local environment: no cloud databases, no shared hosting, no third-party processing platforms, no offshore teams, no subcontracting of data handling. Access to source files is restricted to the processing operator only.
Every input file is cryptographically hashed (SHA-256) at registration, so the integrity of the source data can be independently verified at any point. Each processing run produces a formal manifest recording engine version, source file references, validation outcomes and a complete output artifact register.
Raw source exports are purged within 48 hours of evidence pack delivery by default. Retention can be extended by explicit written instruction from the instructing firm, for example where a rerun with extended bank coverage is anticipated. Purge completion is recorded against the case reference. Deliverables are retained separately as engagement outputs and are not subject to the 48-hour purge.
If your firm requires a data handling summary for vendor onboarding, a client authorisation template for your engagement files, or a data processing confirmation for compliance review, these are available on request.
Can I see a sample of the evidence pack before instructing?
Yes. We can provide a demonstration evidence pack showing the full structure: multi-platform reconciliation, bank statement composition, exception register and working paper schedules. Submit the eligibility form and note that you would like to review a sample, or reply to any communication from us.
Getting Started
What happens after I submit the form?
We review your inquiry and confirm eligibility within 2 business days. If the case fits our current verification scope, we will contact you with next steps including file requirements and scheduling.
Arrange a Confidential Discussion
Complete the form below to request an eligibility review. We will confirm whether your engagement falls within our current verification scope and outline next steps within two business days.
How we handle your data
- No accounting software access required. Raw platform exports and bank statement only.
- Files are transmitted via TLS encryption.
- Processing takes place in a controlled, encrypted local environment with no public-facing endpoints. We do not store client data in cloud databases.
- Raw exports are purged within 48 hours of report delivery by default.
- All input files are cryptographically hashed (SHA256) at registration. Every run produces a manifest recording engine version, source file references, hashes, and output artifacts.