Refunds in this period relate to earlier sales

Define what the history field measures

Copy the wording of the request before calculating a number. Processing activity during a date range and the later refund history of payments originally taken during that range describe different sets of events. A request for gross payment volume also differs from one for a net activity figure. If the request leaves that distinction open, preserve both dates in your working record and ask which basis the provider requires.

Record the period boundaries, account, legal entity, currency and the date field used by the source report. Keep the report’s time reference visible where stated. Do not convert an unstated cutoff into an assumed calendar month. The purpose is a traceable answer to this request, not a universal definition of revenue.

Preserve the ledger event and connect it to the earlier payment

Stripe’s balance report covers a selected period in the settlement currency and offers itemized transactions. Its gross, fee and net components describe the report’s balance activity. The report does not associate payouts with payment transactions, so a bank deposit is not the missing original-payment link.

A card refund has its own Stripe balance transaction. Preserve that event alongside the original payment instead of replacing the payment with a reduced figure. Stripe describes the balance-transaction type as the movement and the source as the originating object; reporting_category is its recommended grouping field. Use those distinctions to identify actual refund movements rather than classifying every debit as a refund.

For each refund, follow the reference available in the provider’s records to the refund and original payment. Record the payment date from that payment record. Equal amounts or nearby dates are not a reliable substitute for the link. If a file does not expose enough information, mark the original reference unresolved and retain the refund in the activity record; do not invent the original sale month.

Build the bridge without counting a refund twice

Group the verified refund events into three sets: original payment inside the requested period, original payment before the period, and original payment not yet matched. Retain individual refund references, amounts, currencies and statuses underneath each set. Multiple partial refunds can point to one payment; they remain separate refund events and do not create extra original sales.

Within the same account, currency and chosen refund-event scope, the amounts in those three sets should account for the refund total you are explaining. If they do not, keep the unmatched difference visible and locate the omitted, repeated or differently classified records. Do not add a balancing amount. If the report uses signed amounts, preserve that convention and state it in the bridge.

A history view organized by original payment date must also say which refund observation period it covers. A current-period refund export cannot establish that a payment has never been refunded outside that export’s dates. Conversely, refunds of earlier payments can be genuine current balance activity without belonging to the current period’s original-payment group. Keep both facts rather than choosing the more flattering presentation.

Submit the defined figure with its timing explanation

When the provider specifies an event-period basis, use the events and inclusion rules it requests and attach a separate explanation of refunds tied to earlier payments. When it requests a view tied to original sales, group by the verified original dates and disclose the refund observation cutoff. Neither presentation requires changing a provider-issued statement. Keep the original export and label the bridge as your preparation worksheet.

If the definition is still unresolved, identify the available gross payment figure, refund event figure and timing split separately without presenting a guessed net figure as the answer. The remaining question is which definition the requester wants, or which refund lacks an original reference. A Prism processing consultation can help organize that description; confirm scope, fees and terms before work. The provider decides what evidence satisfies its request.

Cross-period refund bridge

Complete this privately for one requested account, period and currency. Repeat the event rows for each actual refund. The dated refund record stays intact; the bridge explains its link to an original payment and does not amend a statement.

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.

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.