How do we reconcile payments between Cloud9, Stripe, and our bank account?

Introduction:
Reconciling payments between Cloud 9, Stripe, and your bank account is a critical process to ensure that all transactions are accurately recorded, financial discrepancies are minimized, and your practice's cash flow remains healthy. The guide below details best practices and recommended workflows for payment reconciliation. 

Process description:
The best way to reconcile would be to run a net receipts by date report in Cloud9, a balance change by activity report in Stripe, as well as a payout report in Stripe. Then compare the data from the reports to deposits in the practice's bank account. 

Tips and best practices:

Best Practices for Reconciling Credit Card Charges:

• Gather Essential Records
• Download credit card statements from Stripe
• Download Net Receipts from Cloud 9
• Access bank statements to verify deposits.

Match Transactions

• Compare charges from Stripe with your accounting and bank records.
• Check processing fees to ensure they are correctly deducted.

Resolve Discrepancies

• Investigate missing, duplicate, or incorrect transactions.
• Handle chargebacks or disputes quickly.

Adjust & Record

• Enter fees, refunds, and adjustments accurately.
• Properly categorize transactions for clear financial records.

Reconcile Regularly

• Daily (for high volume): Helps catch errors quickly.
• Weekly (recommended): Balances accuracy and efficiency.
• Monthly (minimum): Ensures accurate financial reporting.

Keep Clear Documentation

Maintain an audit trail for financial accuracy and compliance.

Pro Tip: Set a consistent schedule for reconciliation to avoid backlogs and ensure financial transparency.

Step-by-step instructions:

 How to run a net receipts report in Cloud9:

1. While logged into Cloud9 go to Reports>Reports, expand the section for financial reports, then select "Net Receipts by Date Range".
   1. It may be a good idea to save this report to "My Favorites".
2. Set the report to run with the following filters:

   1. Start Date: 1st of Month

      End Date: End of Month

      Best practice: Wait 3 business days for reconciliation to ensure payments have been made into bank account

      Locations: All

      Providers: All

      Break By: None

      Patient Identifier: Patient ID (Patient ID is also included in the Stripe reports so you can properly validate data.) 
      

3. Set Report to Export to CSV 
   
4. CSV File Guide:
   1. TextBox10: Transaction
      TextBox 22: Patient Name
      TextBox 28: Payment Amount
      TextBox24: Last 4 of CC
      TextBox21: Patient ID
      TextBox20: Payment Type

How to run a balance change by activity report in Stripe:

1. Login to Stripe merchant portal.
2. Navigate to Reporting > Reports > Balance Change from Activity 
   
   1. Set your custom date range, then click download.
3. Within Download window select the following:

   1. Report Format:
      Itemized

      Report Category:
      All
      Selected Account:
      Practice Choice
      Custom: Show:
      Select the following Fields:

      Account ID
      Account Name
      Balance Transaction ID

      Created
      Gross

      Fee

      Net
      Reporting Category

      Source ID

      Trace ID

      Trace ID Status

      Automatic Payout ID

      Automatic Payment Effective

      Charge ID

      Payment Intent ID

      Charge Created

      Payment Method Type

      Card Brand

      Card Funding

      Card Country

      Dispute Reason

      Order ID

      PatientID

      Product
      Tenant

      Download Format

      Single Report

   2. Once you select the custom fields selection will be saved for future use!

How to run a Payouts report in Stripe:

1. Login to Stripe merchant portal.
2. Navigate to Reporting>Reports>Payouts
   1. Set your custom date range, then click download.
3. Within Download window select the following:

   1. Select Account:

      Columns: Custom: Show 
      Account ID 
      Account Name

      Payout ID

      Effective At

      Gross

      Fee

      Net

      Reporting Category

      Balance Transaction ID

      Payout Expected Arrival Date

      Payout Status 

      Payout Reversed At

      Payout Type

      Payout Description

      Payout Destination ID

      Trace ID

      Trace ID Status 
      

       

How to reconcile Cloud9 Credit Card Transactions to Stripe Transactions:

Using the Stripe Balance Change from Activity report, each line item in the report will directly correspond to a credit card payment in Cloud 9, and vice versa.

Data Matching:

Stripe Created Field ↔ C9 TextBox10 Timestamp

Stripe Gross Field ↔ C9 TextBox28 Payment Account, where the payment type is Credit Card

Stripe Patient ID ↔ C9 TextBox21 Patient ID

How to reconcile Stripe Transactions to your bank account:

1. Using the Stripe Balance Change from Activity report, sum the Net amounts where the Trace ID matches. This total should align with the Stripe Payout report.
2. Then the Net Amount in the Payout report should equal a deposit into the practices bank account.