A clearing account is a temporary balance sheet account that holds money between two steps, so each step can be recorded at its true amount. A Stripe clearing account holds card and bank payments that Stripe has collected but not yet paid out. Each payment goes in at its full amount, fees and refunds come out, and each payout is recorded as a transfer from clearing to the bank. After a payout, the account should hold only activity Stripe has not paid out yet. QuickBooks Online's Undeposited Funds account works on the same idea for payments waiting to be deposited.
What is a clearing account?
It is a holding account. Money passes through it on the way somewhere else. It sits on the balance sheet, usually as an asset, and should come back to a known balance on a regular schedule. If it doesn't, something was missed.
The reason to use one is that the two steps happen at different times and in different amounts. A customer pays $1,108.33 today. The bank receives a smaller payout a few days later, mixed in with other payments. A clearing account lets you record both truthfully.
How does a Stripe clearing account work?
Four kinds of entry, all through the same account:
- Each payment goes in at its full amount: debit Stripe clearing, credit accounts receivable or income.
- Each fee comes out as an expense: debit processing fees, credit Stripe clearing.
- Each refund or dispute comes out: credit Stripe clearing for the amount returned.
- Each payout is a transfer: debit the bank, credit Stripe clearing.
What does one installment look like?
A worked example: one $1,108.33 card installment on a plan, with a card fee of 2.9% + 30¢, which is $32.44.
| Entry | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Payment received | Stripe clearing $1,108.33 | Accounts receivable $1,108.33 |
| Card fee | Processing fees $32.44 | Stripe clearing $32.44 |
| Payout to the bank | Bank $1,075.89 | Stripe clearing $1,075.89 |
Clearing goes up by $1,108.33 and down by $32.44 and $1,075.89. That leaves $0.00. Revenue shows the full $1,108.33, the fee shows as a cost, and the bank shows what actually arrived. In practice a payout covers many payments at once, so the payout entry is one transfer for the total.
How do you know what is in each payout?
Stripe's payout reconciliation report breaks each automatic payout into its transactions, grouped by reporting category such as charges, refunds and fees, with gross, fee and net amounts. The itemized download lists every transaction in the payout. The report is available when automatic payouts are on. For instant payouts, Stripe says it can't identify which transactions each payout includes, so you reconcile those against your transaction history yourself.
How is this different from Undeposited Funds in QuickBooks?
Undeposited Funds is QuickBooks Online's own holding account. Intuit says it "holds everything before you record a deposit," so several payments can be combined into one deposit that matches the bank. Intuit also shows how to subtract a processing fee inside the deposit, as a negative line posted to a fees account.
A separate Stripe clearing account does the same job for payments collected through Stripe. Which you use is a choice to make with your accountant. Mixing both for the same payments is how amounts get counted twice.
What should the balance be at month end?
It should equal the activity Stripe has not paid out yet. A payment made on the last day or two of the month often pays out in the next month, so it sits in clearing over month end. Compare clearing to Stripe's own ending balance for the period. A gap means a missing fee, refund or payout entry.
Does each location need its own clearing account?
Each set of books needs one for each Stripe account that pays into it. When every entity has its own Stripe account and books, each has its own clearing account and reconciles alone. When several locations share one Stripe account, every payment must carry its location before the payout can be split.
General information, not accounting advice.
- Stripe: Payout reconciliation report
- Stripe: Payouts
- Stripe pricing
- QuickBooks: Record and make bank deposits in QuickBooks Online
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 6, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.