Managing split transactions: An easy way to match orders with charges

Managing accounts payable for your organization can be a juggling act, particularly when it comes to reconciling purchase orders, transactions, and receipt of goods. Split charges can make reconciliation feel complex but the right tools can make matching orders and transactions easier and help you simplify the reconciliation process.

What is a split charge?

Split charges occur when a single purchase is divided into multiple charges, typically because the items in the order are shipped separately—a common occurrence when purchasing from Amazon Business, where multiple suppliers may fulfill a single order. These split shipments allow Amazon Business to provide you with quick, efficient delivery of goods but may change the way you identify charges and reconcile orders. Here’s an example of how it works and what tools you can leverage to make reconciliation easier.

1. Your business places an order. When one of your buyers places an order for multiple office supplies, you may expect a single charge when it comes time to reconcile the order.
2. Orders may be shipped separately. Because we help you source items from various suppliers—giving you a range of purchasing options and choices—your order could be divided into multiple shipments.
3. Charges are split. Instead of charging the full amount up front, we may charge your payment method separately for each of your shipments.
4. You need to easily identify multiple charges. As you reconcile orders, you need to match these separate charges with the order (which can be complex if you’re managing a high volume of transactions across multiple locations and departments).

Easily identify unknown charges for faster reconciliation

Now that it's clear how split charges work, how can you ensure reconciliation doesn’t become more complex and time consuming?

Quickly match a few transactions. Using Amazon Business Transactions, you can quickly identify unknown charges for a handful of transactions. 

Identify charges in bulk by customizing your Amazon Business Analytics reports. If you have a lot of charges you need to quickly identify, add Charge Identifier to your Orders and Reconciliation reports in Amazon Business Analytics.

Charge Identifier assigns a unique code to each charge so matching is simple—reducing the time you spend cross-referencing transactions manually. And adding it to your reports takes just minutes.

How to add Charge Identifier to your Reconciliation and Orders reports

1. Visit your Amazon Business Analytics reports.
2. Under the Reports tab, select Orders.
3. Select the Adjust columns tab on the left side of your dashboard.
4. Expand Payment info and select Charge Identifier, then click submit (if you scroll to the right of your Orders report, you'll see Charge Identifier has now been added as a column).
5. Now visit your Reconciliation report and complete the same steps as you did for your Orders report.
6. Match the charges against your card statement transaction IDs. With both Transactions and Charge Identifier, you can easily match the code on your reconciliation reports with the transaction ID on your bank or credit card statement.