Use the provider’s balance-transaction type and originating source, then match the top-up to the actual bank movement. Stripe describes a top-up as bank funds added to the balance, so that credit should be identified separately from customer payment receipts. Keep a later topup_reversal linked to the original credit as its own event. A positive balance entry or a matching amount alone does not establish a customer sale.
For: A research-only merchant reviewing a payment-history summary that may include bank-funded balance additions as customer payments.
Find the balance entry behind the reported receipt
Start with the row that was included in the customer-receipts total. Record its provider account reference, balance-transaction reference, currency, amount and date, along with the report or export that supplied it. This preserves the connection between the summary you are reviewing and the underlying movement.
Stripe’s balance-transaction documentation distinguishes the type of movement from its source: the type describes what happened to the balance, and the source identifies the originating object. Stripe recommends reporting_category for grouping. Keep these fields together where available; a grouping label is not a substitute for the source reference when you need to trace one credit.
If the source identifies a top-up, the balance increase is documented as added bank funds. Do not search for a customer order simply to give every positive row a sales explanation. If your report omits the source, retrieve the related provider record before deciding what the credit represents. Another provider’s terminology needs that provider’s own definitions.
Trace the added funds back to the bank
Locate the bank movement associated with the top-up, using the actual transfer reference and available provider details. Compare currency, amount, direction and dates. Preserve the bank posting date and provider balance credit date separately; matching the origin does not require relabeling one date as the other. Keep full bank details in their authorized storage, not in the worksheet.
A corresponding bank debit and provider credit describe the two records of the funding movement. Listing them side by side helps establish origin; adding both amounts as customer receipts would count funding records as sales. A shared amount without a usable reference is only a candidate match. If several movements could explain the entry, leave the linkage unresolved and identify the reference the bank or provider must clarify.
The top-up’s source establishes why funds entered the provider balance. It does not, by itself, establish the business’s broader accounting treatment, the origin of money before it reached the bank account, or tax recognition. Keep this trace focused on distinguishing provider funding from customer payments.
Preserve a later reversal without inventing a refund
Stripe defines topup_reversal as reversing an initially successful top-up credit. If that event appears, record its own reference, amount and date and connect it to the original top-up through the provider evidence. Do not delete the earlier credit from the history or classify the later debit as a customer refund solely because it reduces the balance.
If the reversal lands outside the period used for the receipts summary, preserve both dates and explain which period contains each event. Netting entries across periods can hide why the original summary changed. If no linked reversal is found, state the records and period checked; do not infer that the credit can never reverse or that any future funding action is necessary.
Correct the summary and keep the evidence trail
For a summary explicitly intended to show customer payment receipts, move the confirmed top-up out of that category and retain it in a separate funding record. Keep the original export, the affected summary row and the supporting references so the correction can be followed. Confirm genuine customer receipts from their own payment records; do not reduce unrelated sales to force a reconciliation.
When the source is missing or the bank linkage remains ambiguous, mark the entry unresolved and identify exactly what evidence is missing. The person responsible for the accounts determines any accounting entry or tax treatment. A technical Stripe label does not decide that treatment.
For a scoped Prism processing consultation, describe the report, the suspected funding entry and the question you need organized for the provider. Confirm any reconciliation assistance, responsibilities, fees and terms before work. The public form asks for the website, research-only products and question; omit bank statements, card details, passwords and customer records. Email follow-up does not constitute a processing application or provider approval.
Top-up origin trace
Complete from real provider and bank records for a named account and period. Keep amounts with their currencies and dates. A confirmed top-up is a funding item in this receipts comparison; an unmatched bank entry remains unresolved. Store only non-sensitive references here.
Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.
Top-up origin trace. The last column is for temporary notes.
Trace item
Evidence to use
Decision it supports
Your reference or finding
Summary row and reporting period
Evidence to useOriginal report name, date basis, account reference and included row.
Decision it supportsIdentify exactly where funding was counted as customer receipts.
Top-up reference
Evidence to useBalance-transaction type, source and reporting category, where supplied.
Decision it supportsEstablish whether the provider identifies the credit as a top-up.
Originating bank movement
Evidence to useActual transfer reference, currency, amount and bank posting date.
Decision it supportsMatch the funding origin without relying only on an equal amount.
Balance credit date
Evidence to useProvider credit date and amount with currency, kept beside the bank date.
Decision it supportsPreserve distinct recorded dates instead of forcing both systems into one event date.
Later reversal if any
Evidence to useLinked topup_reversal reference, amount, currency and date.
Decision it supportsRetain the reversal as a separate funding event, not a customer refund.
Separate customer payment records
Evidence to usePayment references supporting actual receipts within the chosen report scope.
Decision it supportsExclude confirmed funding from this category without changing genuine payment evidence.
Correction or missing evidence
Evidence to useRevised summary reference or precise unresolved linkage assigned to an owner.
Decision it supportsKeep an auditable classification change without asserting accounting or tax treatment.
These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.
Limits
Stripe’s movement labels apply to Stripe records and do not define another provider’s ledger.
This trace distinguishes funding from customer receipts; it does not determine revenue recognition, tax liability, fees or future reversal timing.
Keep full bank details, card numbers, customer records and credentials out of the worksheet and public consultation form.
Stripe balance transaction types — checked 2026-09-29. Type describes the balance movement and source its originating object; reporting_category is recommended for grouping. A top-up adds bank funds and topup_reversal reverses an initially successful credit. These labels do not establish tax or revenue recognition.
Prism solutions — checked 2026-09-21. Prism’s published support includes processing preparation, storefront review and provider website questions. Scope, fees and terms precede work; eligibility and account terms belong to the provider.
Prism contact — checked 2026-09-21. The form asks for the website, products and question and excludes card details, passwords and customer records. Follow-up is by email; an inquiry is not a booking, purchase or processing application.
Discuss my processing options
Want to talk through your own processing situation?